Young UvA talent receives Heineken Young Scientists Award
University of
Amsterdam (UvA) Cognitive scientist Paola Escudero was selected as
winner of the Heineken Young Scientists Awards by the Dutch Royal
Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). In addition to Escudero, four other
excellent young scientists received the prize which was awarded for the
first time this year. The winners each receive €10,000 and an artwork.
The
KNAW wants to give talent an extra boost through the Heineken Young
Scientists Awards. KNAW president Robbert Dijkgraaf: ‘Science depends on
young researchers who jump in at the deep end full of enthusiasm and
sometimes make the greatest discoveries.'
Escudero received the
Heineken Young Scientists Awards for her research on learning to speak a
foreign language. Within the theoretical framework of Optimality
Theory, she has developed a model that details the cognitive processes
speakers go through when forming sounds which do not occur in their
mother tongue. Escudero is conducting psycholinguistic research at the
UvA to test her theoretical model experimentally.
About the Heineken Young Scientists Awards
The KNAW presents the Heineken Young Scientists Awards biennially to five scientists who do excellent scientific work and therefore set an example for other young scientists. Researchers working at a Dutch research organisation who obtained their doctorate no longer than five years ago are eligible for this award. The presentation of the Heineken Young Scientists Awards will take place on Thursday, 23 September at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam.
Source: UvA Press Office
r.l.p.glass@uva.nl