The Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research comprises eight prizes of 350,000 euros each. Laureates can spend this amount at their own discretion on a fundamental scientific research project carried out or supervised by the laureate.

There are many prizes for young researchers and established scientists. But for the group in between, fewer prizes are available. Researchers in the middle of their career have determined their scientific course and are at the same time capable of conducting innovative research. That is why the Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research offers mid-career scientists the opportunity to follow their own ideas, and thus explore new avenues within fundamental science.

The target group of the Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research consists of internationally recognised researchers working in the Netherlands who obtained their doctorate between five and fifteen years ago.

Ammodo attaches importance to unfettered fundamental scientific research: the free search for new knowledge without the immediate prospect of solutions or practical applications is indispensable for pioneering, new insights.

The Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research encourages fundamental science in the widest sense: from Humanities and Social Sciences to Biomedical and Natural Sciences.

Researchers can be nominated for the Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research by:

• executive boards of all Dutch universities
• faculty deans of all Dutch universities
• directors of Dutch research institutes
• at least three professors affiliated with a Dutch university acting together
• the board of the National Network of Female Professors

The next nomination period for the Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research will start in the spring of 2026.

An advisory committee of eminent professors will assess the nominations for each scientific domain. Each of the advisory committees will put forward two promising candidates within the relevant domain. The board of Ammodo decides on the definitive granting of the Award.

A maximum of two researchers from each scientific field will receive an Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research. A total of eight prizes are awarded.

The laureates of the sixth edition of the Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research will be announced in the spring of 2025.

The Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research is presented biennially for research in four scientific disciplines: Biomedical Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences.

The award ceremony for the sixth round of the Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research shall take place in 2025.

Click here for the regulations of the Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research.

If you have any questions, please contact us via asa@ammodo.org.

Since 2014, the KNAW has been responsible for the nomination and selection process for the Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research. From 2022, Ammodo will continue the organization around the Award independently. This decision was prompted by the expansion of Ammodo’s science policy with the Ammodo Science Award for groundbreaking research. Henceforth, advisory committees will be appointed for both Awards. Virtually no changes will be made to the nomination and selection process itself.