Media Contact: Alyson O’Mahoney Robin Leedy & Associates +1 (914) 241-0086 ext. 13 aomahoney@robinleedyassociates.com Online Newsroom: www.grubersite.com/Press.php

Foundation Contact: Bernetia Akin Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation 140 W 57th St Suite 10C New York, NY  10019 +1 (340)-775-8035 media@gruberprizes.org

FACT SHEET

The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation

The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation honors and encourages educational excellence, social justice and scientific achievements that better the human condition.

The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation is a private, United States-based philanthropic organization established in 1993 under the 501c3 section of U.S. Corporate Law funded entirely by Peter and Patricia Gruber, who serve as its Chairman and President, respectively. The Foundation is headquartered in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, and maintains a small branch office in New York City.

A major focus of the Foundation’s philanthropy is its International Prize Program, created to recognize excellence in science and humanities by highlighting five fields that create a better world: Cosmology, Genetics, Neuroscience, Justice, and Women’s Rights. Each Prize is given annually, and carries an unrestricted cash award of $500,000 and a gold lapel medal. To further support Cosmology, Genetics and Neuroscience, the Gruber Foundation has affiliated with preeminent science organizations to award fellowships to promising young scientists in those fields.

The Foundation’s philanthropy in the Virgin Islands, the community of its headquarters, is focused on funding local schools, public and private, supporting local social service organizations, as well as supporting cultural initiatives that enrich the community. Based on a program developed by the Templeton Foundation, in partnership with the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands and local education officials, the Foundation designed the Virgin Islands’ Laws of Life Essay Contest to be presented through English classes at four of the territory’s public schools.

Foundation Timeline

The Gruber International Prize Program

The International Prize Program honors contemporary individuals in the fields of Cosmology, Genetics, Neuroscience, Justice and Women’s Rights, whose groundbreaking work provides new models that inspire and enable fundamental shifts in knowledge and culture. The Selection Advisory Boards seek to honor individuals whose contributions in their respective fields advance our knowledge, potentially have a profound impact on our lives, and, in the case of the Justice and Women’s Rights Prizes, demonstrate courage and commitment in the face of significant obstacles.

The nomination form and additional information about nomination requirements and selection criteria may be found at: www.gruberprizes.org/Nominations/Nominations.php

Recipient Selection Overview

Independent advisory boards comprised of experts from each field review nominations and select a prize recipient at annual selection meetings held for each discipline.  Only fully completed nominations are considered, and the Chair of each Selection Advisory Board screens the nominations, presenting to the Board only those of sufficient caliber.

The Selection Advisory Board alone is responsible for the choice of recipient, making its decision from among officially nominated candidates following discussion and deliberation. Gruber Foundation staff members do not take part in the Board’s deliberations nor do they participate in the actual selection of a prize recipient.

Selection Advisors are internationally recognized and respected authorities in their respective fields.

Selection Advisors for Cosmology are nominated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU)

Selection Advisors for Neuroscience are nominated by the Society for Neuroscience (SfN)

Selection Advisors for Genetics, Justice, and Women’s Rights are chosen from preeminent achievers in each of those fields

The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation awards its international prizes to recipients only after following a process designed to ensure complete independence and integrity in selecting, as worthy of international recognition, scientific and human rights achievements at the highest levels.