Gold medal for strengthening research and new talents
May 4, 2017
DTU´s gold medal for VILLUM FONDEN´s efforts in strengthening the basis for research and new talents
Lars Kann-Rasmussen has received a special honorary award - DTU's Gold Medal - for his long-standing work at the board of VILLUM FONDEN and for the importance that he and the foundation have had in strengthening the basis for research and new talents at DTU.
Lars Kann-Rasmussen, former chair of VILLUM FONDEN, was awarded DTU's Gold Medal at DTU's Annual Commemoration Day on 28 April 2017. The gold medal is awarded to individuals who have made a particularly notable contribution to DTU and the work of the university.
"For a number of years, Lars Kann-Rasmussen has been of vital importance for the foundation´s grants and has been instrumental in the highly visionary decisions made by VILLUM FONDEN in terms of means and impact", said DTU's President Anders Overgaard Bjarklev in his motivation speech.
• Son of the founder of VILLUM FONDEN and VELUX FONDEN, Villum Kann Rasmussen, who established VELUX A/S and other companies in the VKR Group
• Chair of the board of VILLUM FONDEN 2005-2014
• Chair of the board of VKR Holding A/S 1992-2010, and member of the board of VKR Holding A/S 1985-1992
• Chair of the board of VELUX A/S 1974-2010
"For many years the Villum Kann Rasmussen Annual Award in Science and Technology has been an encouragement and inspiration to its many award recipients, and among these are a good many from DTU.
Talented research groups have received grants over the years through the "VKR Centres of Excellence". The groups have been able to achieve the critical mass required to ensure a high international level, and the grants have been a crucial prerequisite for DTU's ability to maintain an elite level.
The care for talents has among other things been conducted through VILLUM FONDEN´s ’Young Investigator Programme’ which benefits young associate professors, assistant professors and postdocs", DTU's President Anders Overgaard Bjarklev continued in his motivation speech.
Congratulations to Lars Kann-Rasmussen.
The DTU Gold Medal was established in 1997. The medal is awarded to individuals who have made a special contribution to DTU. The medal is not awarded every year.
The DTU Gold Medal was created by the artist Jan Petersen and minted by “Den Kgl. Mønt” (the Royal Danish Mint). The medal is pentagonal, modelled with characteristic letters (DTU's full name + "for an honorable contribution") on the obverse, and the reverse is embossed with symbols and simple characteristic formulas for five subject areas.
Read more about DTU's Gold Medal and previous recipients here.