Each year, Palaeontologica Belgica awards a citizen scientist or student who made a special contribution to Belgian paleontology.
The prize is named after Louis De Pauw (1844 -1918), autodidact and former head preparator of the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels. He played a major role in the salvage, mounting and display of the Iguanodons of Bernissart and the mammoth of Lier. Historically, the most iconic masterpieces of Belgian paleontology.
Together with the Louis De Pauw Award, Palaeontologica Belgica also awards a professional or academic paleontologist who actively collaborates with citizen scientists. By engaging and supporting scientific research beyond the academic and institutional borders, old ivory towers and hierarchic structures are being questioned and re-evaluated.
To encourage this work ethic, we present the 'Paleontologica Belgica Award' to paleontologists who greatly value working with citizen scientists in a Belgian context and/or whose contributions to Belgian paleontology have made an important impact.
