Patrik Vuilleumier is the 2009 winner of the Hans-Sigrist prize awarded by the University of Bern with a grant of CHF 100' 000. The Hans-Sigrist Foundation Prize is the most important distinction of the University of Bern. The NCCR Affective Sciences is very proud of this prestigious scientific recognition.

Tribune de Genève, Le neuroscientifique genevois Patrik Vuilleumier est le lauréat du prix Hans-Sigrist 2009 de l'Université de Berne, doté de 100'000 francs.

A SYNERGIA research grant, a new important funding initiative of the Swiss National Foundation, has just been awarded to the project « Intentionality as a mark of the mental. Metaphysical Perspectives on Contemporary Philosophy of Mind », led by Prof. Kevin Mulligan, Prof. Gianfraco Soldati, Dr. Julien Deonna and Dr. Fabrice Teroni as project leaders. The principal investigator is Prof Fabrice Correira (UNIGE). The budget amounts to CHF 1 350 000 for a duration of three years and it will finance at least two doctoral students in the NCCR Affective Sciences.

An agreement of collaboration has just been signed between the University of Geneva and the State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning of the Beijing Normal University in China on  a project entitled « Odors and emotions : A cross-cultural study ». This project implies the researchers of the CISA (in particular Camille Ferdenzi, Sylvain Delplanque and Didier Grandjean) and the Chinese researcher Taomei Guo.

The TSR1 (Télévision Suisse Romande 1) program "Temps Present" invited CISA researchers to speak about the effects of music on emotions and the brain. The program was broadcast on October 15, 2009.

More information on the program available at:

http://www.tsr.ch/tsr/index.html?siteSect=370501&sid=11253630

The exhibition The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animal was opened on October 12, 2009 at the Muséum d’Histoire naturelle in Geneva.
Dr Marc Mehu, Dr Benoît Bediou and Nele Dael, researchers members of the GEneva Multimodal Emotion Portrayals (GEMEP), co-organized the realization of this exhibition and 8 workshops with the Natural Science Museum in Geneva. This Exhibition will be held from October 13, 2009 to February 7, 2010 at the Muséum d’histoire naturelle, Route de Malagnou 1, 1208 Genève.

Dr Sophie Schwartz and Irina Constantinescu have edited a new book for children from 9 to 12 years old where they explain the sleepiness. They also answer to several questions the children may have on this subject.

September 2009, Tribune de Genève, "Porte ouverte sur le monde du sommeil"

The Oxford Companion to Emotion and the Affective Sciences has just been published by the Oxford University Press.

Edited by

David Sander, Scientific Coordinator of the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, and Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Switzerland,
and
Klaus Scherer, Director of the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland,

The Marcel Benoist prize, often considered as the Swiss Nobel prize, has been awarded to Ernst Fehr this year. It is the very first time that this prize goes to an economist. The minister and President of the Marcel Benoist Foundation, Pascal Couchepin, has received Ernst Fehr and portayed him as one of the most innovative and productive economists of our times.

Our whole NCCR is very proud of this prestigious scientific recognition.

On September 1-3, 2008, a dozen of Affective scientists participated in the joint Summer Institute organized by the NCCR IM2 in Riederalp (VS). At almost 2000 meters above sea level, the debates were very fruitful between psychologists and engineers and several scientific collaborations are starting between the two teams.