For his contributions to the field of brain development, Jürgen Knoblich was presented with the City of Vienna Award. On 10 May 2022, Knoblich attended a ceremony at the invitation of the Vienna Cultural Department. He received the 2021 Prize of the City of Vienna in the Mathematics, Computer Science, Natural Sciences, and Technology category. The award is part of a longstanding tradition (since 1947) with previous winners including Erwin Schrödinger.
The Prize of the City of Vienna is awarded in recognition of a person’s life’s work to date, which the Department of Culture stated "emphasizes the importance of Vienna and Austria as a birthplace for art, science, and popular education." In their statement, the jury explained that Knoblich “is internationally regarded as an outstanding expert in the field of brain research with a focus on epilepsy and autism.”
Vienna's City Hall was the site of the gala, where Rathauskorrespondenz reported that Susanne Scholl (Vienna City Prize for Journalism 2021) delivered the keynote speech, and Ernst Schmiederer (Prize of the City of Vienna for Education 2020) delivered the acceptance speech. The IMBA Director was in good company—namely Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) Deputy Director Meinrad Busslinger, who was presented with the 2020 award that same evening in the same category.
The Cultural Department will publish video portraits of all award recipients on its website and include their names in its official journal. More information about the City of Vienna Award can be found on its website and as part of its press release.