The Marcus Wallenberg Prize postponed to autumn 2021

The 2020 Marcus Wallenberg Prize event will be held in the autumn of 2021. The Young Researchers’ Program will also be postponed to next autumn.

The Prize event was planned for October 2020. The Marcus Wallenberg Foundation has however decided to postpone the ceremony and symposium due to the COVID-19 pandemic with its increased uncertainty regarding travelling recommendations.

"In our view, a postponement is the best solution considering the circumstances related to COVID-19 for all participants in the prizegiving ceremony", says Marcus Wallenberg, chairman of the Marcus Wallenberg Foundation.

The Foundation has also decided not to choose a new winner for 2021 but to focus on the winners of the 2020 Marcus Wallenberg Prize. Joseph J. Landsberg, Richard H. Waring and Nicholas C. Coops share the Prize for a model to predict forest growth in a changing climate.

The Marcus Wallenberg Prize is an international prize, which is presented once a year by King Carl XVI Gustaf to honour a scientific breakthrough of great importance to forestry and the forest industry.

Young Researchers’ program also next autumn

The Young Researchers’ Challenge is open until 30 July 2020. The Program was planned to take place during the Marcus Wallenberg Prize event this autumn but will also be postponed to the autumn of 2021.

"All applicants will be informed about the changes", says Mikael Hannus, Executive Secretary of the Marcus Wallenberg Foundation.

Post-docs, PhD students, or other researchers up to 35 years of age are invited every year to apply for the Young Researchers’ Program. During four days they have the opportunity to attend the Prize ceremony and banquet in honour of the Marcus Wallenberg Prize winners in Stockholm, Sweden. They also have the chance to present their research to leading scientists and representatives of the forest-based industry and fellow researchers from all over the world.

The application form for the Young Researchers’ Program 2021 can be found at mwp.org/yrc2020.