The Science and Technology Policy Council's Incentive Award for 2011 was presented at the Rannís Research Forum on Wednesday 8 June.
Dr. Hörður G. Kristinsson, Matís' research director and director of the biotechnology and biochemistry division, received the award this time. Hörður received the recognition from the Prime Minister, who is also the chairman of the Science and Technology Policy Council.
Hörður was born in 1972. He completed his undergraduate studies in biology from the University of Iceland in 1996 and then went to the United States for further studies. During his master's studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, he worked on research into the utilization of by-products of seafood using enzymes, but such technology is now used successfully in many parts of the world. In 2001, he completed a doctorate in food biochemistry from the University of Massachusetts, where he researched the properties of fish proteins. The results of his doctoral project have been used to develop new technologies for isolating and utilizing proteins from by-products and underutilized fish species, such as blue whiting and capelin. It can therefore be said that they have both added to our well of knowledge about seafood as well as having great practical value. During Harður's last year of doctoral studies, he was offered the position of lecturer at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Florida, which is one of the largest and most progressive in the USA. There he built from the ground up a powerful laboratory in the field of food biochemistry with a special emphasis on the utilization of seafood. Hörður moved to Iceland in 2007 and started working for Matís in 2008 but also holds the position of associate professor at the University of Florida.
Hörður has been a pioneer in building research on biomaterials and bioactive substances from Icelandic nature. He played a key role in the development of the Matís Biotechnology Center in Sauðárkrókur, which opened in 2008. Specialists work on domestic and foreign research projects in close collaboration with the food industry in Skagafjörður and elsewhere in the country. Emphasis is placed on offering facilities and expert assistance to develop both products and production processes with the aim of speeding up the process from idea to product and thus reducing the cost of development. In the same spirit, we can also mention a new facility for a start-up company at Matís called Brúin. There are now powerful biotechnology companies such as Kerecis and Primex that are close to Hörður and his colleagues.
Hardur's research has had great practical value and he holds three published patents. Hörður has published material about his research in prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journals and given lectures at conferences around the world. He is active in international research collaboration and currently manages several multinational research projects. Hörður has also been active in teaching and his doctoral students have become ten and the master's students nine.
In his work, Hörður has shown that he is an excellent scientist, teacher and administrator. He has shown initiative and led the development of a new field of study that is already beginning to pay off in the national economy. He is a good role model for students and colleagues and a key employee in a growing company. It was the unanimous opinion of the jury of the Incentive Award that Hörður G. Kristinsson meets all its criteria and is therefore a worthy winner of the Incentive Award of the Science and Technology Policy Council 2010.
About the Incentive Award
The Science and Technology Policy Council's Incentive Award is given to a scientist who, early in his career, is considered to have excelled and created expectations for a contribution to scientific work that strengthens the foundations of human life in Iceland. The prize, which is now ISK 2 million, has been awarded since 1987, for the first time on the 50th anniversary of the University of Iceland's Faculty of Business. The aim of awarding the Incentive Award is to encourage researchers to do good and to draw the public's attention to the value of research and the work of scientists.
For further information, contact Hörður at 858-5063.