Albert Einstein World Award of Science 2001
Field of Research: Neurobiology
Date: 21 November 2001
Place of Ceremony: Aula Academiegebow
Host Institution: The Utrecht University
Host Country: Utrecht, The Netherlands
Utrecht, The Netherlands, November 2001. The World Cultural Council presented the 2001 Albert Einstein World Award of Science to Prof. Niels Birbaumer, Professor of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology at the University of Tübingen, Germany. The Award Ceremony took place at Utrecht, The Netherlands, hosted by Utrecht University.
The Albert Einstein World Award of Science has been established as a means of recognition and as an incentive to scientific and technological research and development. It takes intospecial consideration research that has brought true benefit and well-being to humankind.
This recognition made by the members of the Interdisciplinary Committee of the World Cultural Council to Prof. Birbaumer is due to his many contributions to Neurobiology, as well as his pioneering work on the self-regulation of slow cortical potentials and behavior. It is a Prize granted to Prof. Birbaumer for his years of productive work carried out in the field of behavioral sciences and for his contribution to the scientific legacy of the world.
In the field of behavioral medicine, Prof. Birbaumer’s group is working on the psychophysiological treatment of chronic pain. The rigorously controlled studies have resulted in the most effective treatment program for lower back pain and migraine reportedin literature to date.
His laboratory is one of thethree largest worldwide and is definitely the most productive and internationally well-known in the field of cortical psychophysiology.
Prof. Birbaumer was born in Ottau, Czechoslovakiain 1945. He attended the University of Vienna in 1963, and received his Ph.D. in Psychology in 1969. Since 1975 he has been supervisor of the German Society of Behavior Modification. He is fellow of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research and fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. The scientific oeuvre of Prof. Birbaumer consists of over 400 publications. He is the author of three books and editor of eight.
