On 7 March, Professor Jens Nielsen, who has been awarded the 2016 Novozymes Prize, gave a celebratory lecture attended by more than 100 colleagues and students at Chalmers University of Technology.
In his speech Jens Nielsen focused on his work to characterize and modify the metabolism of microorganisms with the aim of making them produce chemicals so cost-effectively that the methods can be used in industry as an alternative to the oil-based chemical industry. He also described how, in a society based on renewable resources and independent of fossil fuels, the industrial use of cell factories can deliver a range of new products such as antibiotics and new materials.
Jens Nielsen, who is only the second recipient of the Novozymes Prize, will receive DKK 3 million, of which DKK 2.5 million is for research, and DKK 0.5 million is a personal award.
The Prize will be presented on 15 March 2016.
Read more about the Prize here.
ABOUT JENS NIELSEN
Born: 1962
Professor; Director, Chalmers Life Science Engineering Area of Advance; and Director, Division of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden; and Chief Scientific Officer, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Hørsholm, Denmark.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Jens Nielsen, Professor, Chalmers University of Technology, [email protected], tel. +46 31 772 3804
Søren Molin, Professor, Technical University of Denmark, Chair of the Novozymes Prize Committee, [email protected], mobile: +45 2031 8210
Christian Mostrup Scheel, Press Officer, Novo Nordisk Foundation, [email protected], mobile: +45 3067 4805
