The Lorenzo Mendoza Fleury Science Prize,[1] also known as the『Premio Fundación Empresas Polar』is the most important award offered by the private sector to contemporary scientists from Venezuela who have shown outstanding talent, creativity and productivity during a given period.
The prize was created in 1982 by "Fundación Empresas Polar"[2] and is named after the founder of Empresas Polar,[3] a Venezuelan corporation owning one of the largest breweries in the country but whose operations also include an array of industries, mostly related to food processing and packaging. The award was established as part of the Corporate social responsibility of the group.[4] Every two years since 1983 the prize has been systematically awarded to Venezuelan scientists in the fields of Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry and their interdisciplines. For each biennial edition, the Board of Directors of Empresas Polar Foundation appoints a Selection Committee composed of seven scientists having extensive academic experience in their respective research fields. This committee then propose candidates, evaluate nominees, select winners, and write and submit the verdict to the Board of Polar Foundation. The selection process evaluates the talent, creativity and productivity of each candidate in their respective specialties. Besides giving public recognition to the awardees, the prize also includes a diploma and a freely spendable amount of cash to each one of them.
Since the prize started its first edition in 1983, there have been 90 awardees, including 15 women, with the following specialties: Biology:32, Physics:21, Mathematics:18 and Chemistry:18.[5][6] Awardees have been members of the following institutions:
The list of scientists who have received the prize is shown below:
