{"id":216573,"date":"2016-05-02T18:20:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-02T21:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/?p=216573"},"modified":"2016-05-02T18:20:00","modified_gmt":"2016-05-02T21:20:00","slug":"work-rewarded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/work-rewarded\/","title":{"rendered":"Work rewarded"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"2015

Steve Jurvetson<\/span>2015 Breakthrough Prize ceremony in the United States: program reminiscent of the OscarsSteve Jurvetson<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (Capes) and the Brazilian cosmetics firm Natura launched the Capes Natura-Campus Prize for Excellence in Research on November 11, 2015, to recognize the best scientific papers on sustainability and biodiversity.\u00a0 The award ceremony will be held on June 5, 2016 \u2013 World Environment Day \u2013 and the winners will receive cash prizes of R$25,000, along with a certificate.\u00a0 The goal is to foster the publication of papers in high-impact science journals and acknowledge early career researchers.\u00a0 The initiative joins the ranks of other awards that pay tribute to researchers in Brazil, such as the Almirante \u00c1lvaro Alberto Prize and the prizes in Art, Science, Culture, and Medicine that are sponsored by the Conrado Wessel Foundation (FCW).\u00a0 \u201cBrazil has few experiences in this area compared to countries like the United States,\u201d says Carlos Nobre, Capes president.\u00a0 \u201cThe winners become role models, help disseminate the values of science throughout society, and inspire new generations.\u201d\u00a0 New science awards have been emerging on the world stage as well, some of which distribute millions of dollars.<\/p>\n

In the realm of science and technology, these monetary rewards go beyond paying tribute.\u00a0 \u201cThese prizes make their greatest effect felt on the researcher\u2019s reputation,\u201d says Elizabeth Balbachevsky of the Department of Political Science at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s School of Philosophy, Literature and Human Sciences (FFLCH-USP).\u00a0 \u201cAn award-winning researcher earns peer respect, and this helps him or her garner funds for relevant research,\u201d says the professor, who points out that recognition can be attained through other means, for example, by publishing high-impact articles.\u00a0 The benefits of the prize are not always immediate.\u00a0 \u201cWinning a prize doesn\u2019t advance your career overnight.\u00a0 But it helps boost a researcher\u2019s notability and credibility and nourishes a cumulative, long-term process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The monetary value involved sometimes attracts candidates to these awards.\u00a0 This is true of the Breakthrough Prize, which on November 8, 2015, gave $3 million to each laureate in the areas of the Life Sciences, Mathematics, and Fundamental Physics.\u00a0 Inaugurated in 2012, the award is sponsored by major entrepreneurs such as Facebook\u2019s Mark Zuckerberg and Google\u2019s Sergey Brin. \u00a0The prize is worth nearly triple the Nobel, but the creators say they do not want to compete with science\u2019s most important honor, which has been presented for 114 years.\u00a0 \u201cThere is a message here that science is a much more collective effort than it was 100 years ago.\u00a0 It is international, it is diverse, it involves lots of people,\u201d said another prize sponsor, Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, during the award ceremony held at a NASA research center in California.<\/p>\n

\"UFMG

Cristina Lacerda\/ABC <\/span>UFMG educator Magda Becker Soares received the 2015 Almirante \u00c1lvaro Alberto PrizeCristina Lacerda\/ABC <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The Nobel committee selects a maximum of three researchers per science category.\u00a0 The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics was shared by Yifang Wang, from China; Atsuto Suzuki, from Japan; and some 1,380 collaborators, who took part in a broad study that made discoveries about oscillations in neutrinos, one of the fundamental particles of matter.\u00a0 One month earlier, Taka-aki Kajita, a Japanese scientist at the University of Tokyo, and Arthur B. McDonald, a Canadian at Queen\u2019s University, earned the Nobel Prize in Physics for their research into neutrinos.<\/p>\n

One feature of the latest international awards is that a good share emphasize the application of science and new knowledge to solving social issues.\u00a0 <\/b><\/strong>In 2014, for example, the scientists James Alison of the University of Texas and Tasuku Honjo of Kyoto University in Japan received around $1.6 million for their discovery of molecules that have the potential to treat cancer.\u00a0 The money was part of the Tang Prize, created in 2012 by Chinese entrepreneur Samuel Yin, who is known for promoting philanthropic initiatives.\u00a0 According to Yin, the prize has a greater commitment to research than to researchers \u2013 in other words, its goal is to support promising studies and not necessarily to honor scientists for their career work.\u00a0 Yin told the magazine Nature<\/i><\/em> that this is his way of \u201ccontributing to world development.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, introduced in 2013 by Britain\u2019s Royal Academy of Engineering with the backing of private sponsors, also draws attention because of the substantial sum it bestows on each recipient \u2013 roughly $1.5 million.\u00a0 The distinction first went to five researchers from France, England, and the United States.\u00a0 In 2015, only one scientist won: Robert Langer, an American who works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).\u00a0 The author of over 1,300 scientific papers in the areas of biochemistry and nanotechnology, Langer was one of the first researchers in the world to use polymers to control the delivery of large molecular-weight drugs in the human body to treat mental illness and cancer.\u00a0 On the night of the ceremony, Langer was handed his medal by Queen Elizabeth herself.<\/p>\n

Initiatives like these have sparked criticism.\u00a0 In an interview featured in a 2013 Nature <\/i><\/em>article, Jack Stilgoe, a lecturer in science policy at University College London, said that big prizes like Breakthrough tend to benefit their sponsors more than research itself, because the sponsors can promote themselves as supporters of science.<\/p>\n

The physicist Frank Wilczek, MIT professor and a 2004 Nobel laureate, also expressed doubts about these mega-prizes.\u00a0 In his view, it remains to be evaluated whether the initiatives actually contribute to scientific development or amount to nothing more than razzle-dazzle.\u00a0 Wilczek\u2019s remark is a reference to the fact that ceremonies like Breakthrough\u2019s, for example, are often reminiscent of the Oscars: they are broadcast live on television, complete with red carpets and Hollywood entertainer hosts like actor Morgan Freeman.\u00a0 In the opinion of Capes President Carlos Nobre, this does not necessarily constitute a problem.\u00a0 \u201cSports and entertainment celebrities are the icons today, especially for young people.\u00a0 Why not use this same model so science can reach more of society?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n

\"Alline

Personal archives<\/span>Alline Cristina de Campos, one of the recipients of the L\u2019Oreal Prize for Women in Science: award money will fund researchPersonal archives<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Amid these controversies, an inevitable question arises: What real impact does an award have on a recipient\u2019s career?\u00a0 The answer may vary with the country.\u00a0 The university system in the United States is highly competitive and allows researchers mobility between institutions.\u00a0 In this context, a researcher who appears on TV receiving a million-dollar prize may have greater bargaining power when it comes time to obtain funding or negotiate his or her salary.\u00a0 Conversely, in Brazil and some European countries like France and Germany, where the university system is more rigid and working conditions are generally defined by career level, a prize carries more of a symbolic weight on a researcher\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Brazil, faculty members who are hired as civil servants have tenure, which contributes to their settling into an institution very early on,\u201d explains Balbachevsky, who believes that in Brazil scientific awards are more likely to signal a stellar career than to push a researcher up the ladder.\u00a0 \u201cThe tradition in Brazilian awards is to honor scientists who have already earned acclaim.\u00a0 This is a way of letting younger researchers know what the science community expects of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The surgeon and researcher Angelita Habr-Gama, professor at the USP School of Medicine, says that after receiving the 2010 FCW Prize in Medicine, she enjoyed greater recognition even outside the science community.\u00a0 \u201cUndergraduate and graduate students started seeing me as a model to be followed.\u00a0 I feel very honored by it,\u201d she says.\u00a0 The archeologist Ni\u00e8de Guidon, founder and director of the Museum<\/em><\/em> of the American Man<\/em><\/em> Foundation (FUMDHAM), allocated part of the R$300,000 she received from her 2013 FCW Prize to speed up construction of the S\u00e3o Raimundo Nonato airport in the state of Piau\u00ed \u2013 a project under state government responsibility that is years behind schedule.\u00a0 The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) had made the airport one of the contingencies for releasing funding for construction of the Nature Museum in the nearby town of Coronel Jos\u00e9 Dias.\u00a0 \u201cThe prize\u2019s biggest impact was that I was able to help the community where I work and live,\u201d says Guidon.<\/p>\n

Launched in 2002, the FCW Prize goes to individuals or organizations in the fields of art, science, medicine, and culture.\u00a0 The prizewinner in each category currently receives R$300,000.\u00a0 Over the past thirteen years, 100 recipients have been chosen by a committee of ten representatives from science institutions that partner with the foundation, including the S\u00e3o Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC), and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC).\u00a0 \u201cThe Conrado Wessel Foundation is the institution that grants the greatest number of awards to scientific figures in Brazil,\u201d explains Jos\u00e9 Caricati, FCW superintendent.\u00a0 \u201cWe sponsor other prizes.\u00a0 We have agreements with the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development [CNPq], which \u2013 along with the Brazilian Navy \u2013 awards the Almirante \u00c1lvaro Alberto Prize, and also with Capes for its Dissertation Grand Prize.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The

Andr\u00e9 Pessoa<\/span>The archeologist Ni\u00e8de Guidon donated part of her R$300,000 FCW Prize money to construction works on an airport in the town of S\u00e3o Raimundo Nonato, Piau\u00edAndr\u00e9 Pessoa<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The Almirante \u00c1lvaro Alberto Prize is regarded as Brazil\u2019s top distinction in science and technology.\u00a0 It resembles the FCW award and recognizes one researcher of renown every year.\u00a0 The 2015 recipient was Magda Becker Soares, an educator at the School of Education of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).\u00a0 Her award package included not only a certificate, medal, and R$200,000 but also a trip to the Amazon, where she boarded a Brazilian Navy hospital ship that serves people living along the river.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m retired.\u00a0 I won the prize more for what I\u2019ve done than what I\u2019m going to do.\u00a0 Still, it had an impact on my life because I\u2019d never been to the Amazon.\u00a0 I came back from there feeling more Brazilian,\u201d the professor reports.<\/p>\n

While most science prizes in Brazil recognize successful careers, others are meant to reward beginning researchers.\u00a0 This is true of the L\u2019Oreal Prize for Women in Science, offered under a partnership between this French multinational, UNESCO, and the ABC.\u00a0 The award spotlights the work of women in research and selects among projects rather than finished work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI received a phone call from Professor Jacob Palis, ABC president, telling me I\u2019d won in the category Life Sciences.\u00a0 I thought it was a prank,\u201d says Alline Cristina de Campos, 33, professor at USP\u2019s Ribeir\u00e3o Preto School of Medicine and one of the recipients of the 2015 L\u2019Oreal Prize.\u00a0 Over the course of 2016, Campos will receive $20,000 in funds for a study on the use of cannabinoids<\/em><\/em> like cannabis <\/em><\/em>to treat anxiety and depression.\u00a0 In December, another arm of the project will begin receiving FAPESP funding under the modality Young Investigators in Emerging Institutions.\u00a0 \u201cAlthough the prize is in my name, my whole team will benefit.\u00a0 The money will be used for us to purchase equipment and resources and to fund the dissemination of our results at conferences in Brazil and abroad,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prizes for researchers multiply in Brazil and abroad","protected":false},"author":421,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[166],"tags":[243],"coauthors":[740],"class_list":["post-216573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-policies-st-en","tag-innovation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/421"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216573\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216573"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=216573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}