Antje Boetius receives Carl-Friedrich-von-Weizsäcker-Prize 2022

Hector Fellow Antje Boetius, marine researcher and micro­bi­ol­o­gist from Bremer­haven, is awarded the Carl-Friedrich-von-Weizsäcker-Prize for her many years of dedica­tion to explor­ing the deep sea and its influ­ence on mater­ial cycles, biodi­ver­sity and world­wide climate change.

Endowed with €50,000, the award from the Stifter­ver­band and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopold­ina is presented for valuable scien­tific contri­bu­tions to tackling the challenges facing society today. It is there­fore the German award for scien­tists working in the area of science-based policy advice.

"Antje Boetius deliv­ers pioneer­ing work with her research in the areas of deep sea and polar research", says the Presi­dent of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopold­ina, Gerald Haug. "Her work in the oceans, from the methane consum­ing microbe commu­ni­ties in the deep sea to the ecolog­i­cal conse­quences of the sea ice decline in the Arctic, reflects the wide range of her scien­tific work. She builds bridges between biology, chemistry and Earth System Science and thus signif­i­cantly contributes to the devel­op­ment of the new disci­pline of biogeochemistry."

The award ceremony will take place on Monday 12 Decem­ber 2022 in Halle (Saale) as part of the Leopoldina’s tradi­tional Christ­mas Lecture, which will be held by this years’ prize winner on the topic of "Ocean Life".