22 Mar 2007
The NATO Science Partnership Prize for 2007 has been awarded to two scientists from Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom for excellent collaboration in a NATO-sponsored Science for Peace project.
During the award ceremony, held at NATO Headquarters on 22 March, Professor Mukash Burkitbayev of Kazakhstan and Professor Nick Priest of the United Kingdom received the 2007 prize for their cooperative project assessing radioactive contamination at the nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, which was operated by the former Soviet Union.
The prize was formally presented to the winners by the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Minuto Rizzo, who pointed to the value of this project as a good example of the excellence in cooperation for which the Prize is awarded.
The high-quality radiological laboratory which has been set up under this project at the al Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, provides the country with a much needed capability to analyse radiation risks. The project has also been instrumental in training young scientists.
Professor Burkitbayev and Professor Priest have worked together extremely well in conducting a demanding activity. But they did not work alone. Each heads up a team of scientists which have worked together closely in conducting the research.
The NATO project has been an enabler in establishing and expanding these teams in the United Kingdom and Kazakhstan and making them more effective, in addition to establishing an international network.
The Prize consists of a €10,000 grant to each of the winners to support their further research, as well as an official certificate and a special crystal trophy.
