Dr. Stephan Smeekes received the Christiaan Huygens Science Award 2012 on 1 November 2012.
Congratulations!
The jury praised Dr. Smeekes’ research for bringing “the science field of econometrics a huge step forward. ”
In 2004, Smeekes (Maastricht, 5 January 1983) graduated cum laude from Maastricht University with a master’s degree in econometrics. After graduating, Smeekes joined the Department of Quantitative Economics and began his research under the guidance of future supervisors Professor Jean-Pierre Urbain and Professor Franz C. Palm. Smeekes has presented his work at various international conferences and published in leading scientific journals.
The jury, appointed by the KNAW and consisting this year of Professor Piet Rietveld (chair), Professor Jan Kiviet and Professor Philip Hans Franses, was of the opinion that Smeekes’ dissertation demonstrated “great ingenuity and perseverance, not only by the impressive analytic derivations and elaborations, but also by the extensive simulation used to illustrate the designed methods.”
Christiaan Huygens Science Award
The Christiaan Huygens Science Award encourages innovative research in the disciplines in which Christiaan Huygens excelled. The award is presented in a different discipline each year. In 2012 the award is presented in the disciplines actuarial and economics.
The award was established in 1998 and is presented annually to a researcher whose doctoral dissertation has made an innovative contribution to a specified discipline.
The winner receives a certificate, a bronze statuette of Christiaan Huygens, and a tax-free monetary award of EUR 10,000. The award is funded by the Christiaan Huygens Science Award Foundation and various enterprises and institutions that have an affinity for the specific discipline concerned.
The Academy appoints the jury and oversees the nomination procedure.