Credit: Einstein Stiftung Berlin/Sebastian Semmer
“We know that institutions matter: They transform the [scientific] dedication of individuals to the next generation,” remarked representatives of the Einstein Foundation Berlin as they awarded the Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research to BITSS on March 14.
The award recognizes individual researchers, institutions, and early career researchers whose work helps to improve the quality and advance the robustness, reliability, and transparency of research. BITSS Faculty Co-Director and Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, Edward Miguel, and Executive Director Carson Christiano accepted the Institutional Award on behalf of BITSS at the Bode Museum in Berlin, Germany.
Acclaimed scientist Marcia McNutt, President of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and President of the prize jury, presented the trophies. The ceremony also featured opening remarks from Kai Wegner, Governing Mayor of Berlin, and Ina Czyborra, Senator for Higher Education and Research, Health and Long-Term Care. Günther Hasinger, founding director of the German Center for Astrophysics and former science director of the European Space Agency (ESA), delivered the keynote address.
March 14 was selected to recognize Albert Einstein’s birthday, and the significance was not lost on Miguel. “We’re thrilled that BITSS was recognized for its contributions to open science, and honored to be associated with the legacy of such an accomplished scientist,” said Miguel.
For more than a decade, BITSS has improved the credibility of science by advancing transparency, reproducibility, rigor, and ethics in research. BITSS members generate evidence on open science problems and solutions, increase access to open science education, and strengthen the greater scientific ecosystem. Today, BITSS trainings, tools, and its network of scholars have reached thousands of researchers in dozens of countries around the world.
“We see our work as taking the next step in the credibility revolution — going beyond the statistical models to study the whole scientific process and make sure it is done with the utmost integrity,” added Miguel. “We hope to train the next generation of scholars to value and embrace those principles, so that [they] will place open science at the center of their science,” said Miguel.
The Einstein Foundation Berlin is an independent, not-for-profit, science-led organization established as a foundation under German civil law in 2009. It promotes international cutting-edge science and research across disciplines and institutions in and for Berlin. It has funded more than 200 researchers, including three Nobel laureates, over 70 projects, and eight Einstein Centers.
Read more about the announcement of the prize here and follow us on X at @ucbitss to revisit highlights from the award ceremony.