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The Kavli Prize
Week

Kavli Prize Week is both a biennial celebration of science as well as an opportunity for dialogues on significant research in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience.

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September 1 -5, 2024

Oslo's main street Karl Johans gate made up for the Kavli Prize Week.

The Kavli Prize Week

Held primarily in Oslo, Norway, Kavli Prize Week includes lectures by the laureates on their groundbreaking discoveries, a special ceremony and banquet held in honor of the laureates, and science symposia on the three prize fields. Popular lectures and public presentations are also held in both Oslo and Trondheim.

The Kavli Prize Award Ceremony

Ewine van Dishoeck on stage during the 2018 Kavli Prize ceremony

Ewine van Dishoeck on stage during the 2018 Kavli Prize Ceremony (Photo credit: Thomas Eckhoff).

The Kavli Prize Award Ceremony is the signature event of Kavli Prize Week, honoring the year's laureates in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience.

The highlight of Kavli Prize Week, this extraordinary event is a celebration of science and the arts presided over by His Majesty King Harald and held at the Oslo Concert Hall – one of the most important cultural institutions of Norway.

Attending is an international audience that, along with the public, includes peers and guests of the laureates, as well as leading representatives of science from around the world.

Photos of the Kavli Prize Award Ceremony

Kavli Prize Banquet in Oslo City Hall (Photo credit: Thomas Eckhoff).

The Kavli Prize Laureate Banquet

The Kavli Prize Laureate Banquet is held at Oslo's City Hall, one of Norway's most famous buildings and home to the art of masters such as Per Krohg, Henrik Sørensen, Alf Rolfsen and Edvard Munch.

Taking place in the magnificent Great Hall, which is also the venue for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, the banquet is attended by members of the Royal Family, and features addresses by the laureates, as well as special musical performances and presentations.

The banquet is hosted by the Norwegian government and is an invitation-only event.

Photos of the Kavli Prize Laureate Banquet

2018 Kavli Prize neuroscience laureates in conversation with science journalists, from left: Adam Rutherford, Vivienne Parry, Christine Petit, A. James Hudspeth and Robert Fettiplace (Photo credit: Thomas Eckhoff).

Laureate Interviews

The Kavli Prize Laureates take part in on-stage conversations with well known international science journalists, talking about their lives as scientists, their research efforts and the future.

Watch Laureate Interviews

2016 Kavli Prize laureate Carla J. Shatz giving her laureate lecture (Photo credit: Ole Sæther).

Laureate Lectures

Held at the University of Oslo, the lectures provide an opportunity to attend special presentations by the laureates about their extraordinary achievements, including the work that has been recognized by the Kavli Prize for dramatically expanding our understanding of their fields.

Watch Laureate Lectures

Popular Science Lectures

Popular science lecture for youngsters at Oslo Concert Hall prior to the award ceremony (Photo credit: Thomas Eckhoff)

The Kavli Prize popular science lectures bring scientists and popular scientific authors from around the world to Oslo to discuss engaging topics as far-ranging as science itself.

Open to the public, past topics have ranged from the science of cooking to the triggers for memory; from the intricacies of particle physics to the search for extraterrestrial life. A separate lectures program is also arranged for young science enthusiasts.

Among the past speakers: best-selling author Bill Bryson, theoretical physicist and author Lisa Randell, food expert and chef Nathan Myhrvol, and Jill Tarter, Director of the Center for SETI Research at the SETI Institute.

Watch Popular Science Lectures