The 2020 Netherlands Prize for ICT Research is to be awarded to Dr Pablo Cesar. The group leader of the Distributive and Interactive Systems group at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) and associate professor at Technical University Delft is given the prize for his research on modelling and controlling complex collections of media objects (including real-time media and sensor data that are distributed in time and space). The prize comes with € 50.000, that can be freely spent by the winner to support their own research.

Four candidates were put forward for the 2020 ICT Prize, and the jury was impressed by the quality and diversity of these submissions. The jury, comprising Prof.dr. E.H.L. (Emile) Aarts (Tilburg School of Economics and Management), Prof.dr.dr.h.c.ir. K.A. (Kees) Schouwhamer Immink (Universiteit Essen-Duisburg/ Turing Machines B.V. Rotterdam) and Prof.dr.ir. P.H.N. (Peter) de With (Technical University Eindhoven), ultimately selected Pablo Cesar as the worthy recipient of the 2020 Netherlands Prize of ICT Research. The jury praises Cesar for his impressive scientific achievements and his ability to communicate his research in an understandable way. Cesar reaches and inspires people inside and outside his field.

The prestigious Netherlands Prize for ICT Research is awarded annually to a scientific researcher who has carried out innovative research or is responsible for a scientific breakthrough in ICT (max. 15 years after their promotion -at the time of the decision).  The prize is awarded jointly by the Dutch ICT research platform IPN and NWO through the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities.  Besides the € 50,000 prize money awarded to the winner. Cesar together with NWO will make a video describing the award-winning work and its importance, for distribution to high schools, universities and other knowledge institutes.

Cesar will be awarded his prize in a festive ceremony during ICT.OPEN2020, which takes place on 17-18 March 2020 in Groningen.

Previous winners of the Netherlands Prize for ICT research include:

• Prof dr Bettina Speckmann – TU Eindhoven(2011)
• Cees Snoek – University of Amsterdam (2012)
• Prof dr Marieke Huisman –Twente University (2013)
• Dr Birna van Riemsdijk – TU Delft (2015)
• Prof dr Alexandru Iosup – TU Delft / VU Amsterdam (2016)
• Dr Peter Schwabe – Nijmegen University (2017)
• Prof dr Joost Batenburg – CWI / Leiden University (2018)
• Prof Dr Elmar Eisemann – TU Delft (2019)