The Bodossaki Foundation announces the launch of the process for the Bodossaki Excellence Award for 2026, which pays tribute to and showcases the achievements of outstanding Greek scientists who have devoted their lives to science and made a significant contribution to the advancement of their disciplines. The purpose of the Bodossaki Excellence Award is to make known to the wider public internationally acclaimed Greek scientists who are active in the fields of Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Technological, Biomedical and Social Sciences.
The Excellence Awards are presented every two years in two different scientific fields and for the year 2026, the Foundation will award two Excellence Awards in the following academic fields:
- Technological Sciences
- Social Sciences
Nominations will be accepted for submission until September 30, 2025 (closing date) and the relevant announcement is available here.
The Bodossaki Excellence Award is presented to two scientists of Greek nationality or descent, every two years and each award caries a cash prize of one hundred thousand euros (€100,000).
The difficult task of selecting, among the candidates to be nominated, those who will be presented with the award for their contribution in the advancement of science, is undertaken by the Excellence Award Committee, whose members include eight foreign globally acclaimed scientists who have won the highest distinctions in their respective fields, among whom are Nobel Prize laureates, recipients of the Spinoza Prize, and prominent members of scientific academies. In particular, the eminent members of the Excellence Award Committee are the following (in alphabetical order):
- Sir Richard Blundell, David Ricardo Professor of Political Economy, Department of Economics, UCL, CBE FBA
- Arup Chakraborty, Institute Professor; Professor of Chemical Engineering, Physics, & Chemistry, Core Faculty Member and Former Founding Director, Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, MIT, Founding Steering Committee Member, Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, & Harvard, Member NAE, NAS, NAM
- Daan Frenkel, Professor of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, ForMemRS, Member KNAW, AAAS, TWAS, NAS, Recipient of Spinoza Prize
- Frank Grosveld, Professor Emeritus, Former Head of the Department of Cell Biology, Erasmus MC, FRS, Member KNAW, Recipient of Spinoza Prize
- Daniela Rus, Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), MIT, Member NAE, AAAS
- Eva Tardos, Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Computer Science, Cornell University, Member NAE, NAS, APS, AAAS, external member of the Hungarian and Austrian Academy of Sciences. Recipient of IEEE von Neumann Medal.
- Jean Tirole, Honorary Chairman, Foundation JJ Laffont-Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), and Scientific Director, TSE-Partnership, Recipient of Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
- Fiona Watt, Director of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), Group leader at European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).
The ten-member Excellence Award Committee also includes, as ex officio members, the President of Bodossaki Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Athina Dessypri, and the Vice President of Bodossaki Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Theodoros Theodorou, Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens and Member of the Athens Academy and the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Since 2002, when the Bodossaki Excellence Award was first established, nine eminent personalities of the international scientific community have been presented with the Award, namely Professors George Chrousos (2011), Demetrios Christodoulou (2006), Athanasios Fokas (2006), Ioannis Iliopoulos (2002), Chryssa Kouveliotou (2024), Evangelos Moudrianakis (2009), Charalambos Moutsopoulos (2011), Kyriakos Nicolaou (2004) and Nektarios Tavernarakis (2024).
More information on the Bodossaki Excellence Award and laureates is available here.
Bodossaki Foundation consistently supports Greek scientists, from the very beginning of their careers through the Foundation’s Scholarships Programme, by recognizing their early achievements with the Bodossaki Distinguished Young Scientist Awards, which are presented to scientists up to 40 years of age, and by promoting science in Greece through targeted donations. The Bodossaki Excellence Award complements the Foundation’s multifaceted support of the scientific community, by paying tribute to the lifetime achievements of outstanding Greek scientists.