Discovery is what moves us forward — as individuals, as societies, as humankind. It invites us to explore the unknown, to look closer, and to imagine what lies beyond the visible. Basic “discovery” research feeds humankind’s natural curiosity and wonder about the world, and it is what drives us at NOMIS.
At the 2025 NOMIS Distinguished Scientist and Scholar Award ceremony on Oct. 16 at the Kunsthaus in Zurich, Switzerland, we honored three researchers who are doing exactly that — making groundbreaking discoveries that are fundamentally changing how we understand life on Earth and beyond. They are following their curiosity with courage, rigor and imagination on a remarkable journey of scientific exploration.
From the roots, to the clouds, to outer space: Now in its 10th year, the NOMIS Award celebrates pioneering researchers who push the boundaries of fundamental science. This year’s NOMIS Distinguished Scientist and Scholar Award honors three researchers whose work quite literally spans these realms. Wolfgang Busch of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies is uncovering how plants adapt and thrive under stress, Markus Rex of the Alfred Wegener Institute is exploring the crucial role of clouds in the climate feedback shaping our atmosphere, and Sara Seager of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is searching for distant worlds beyond our solar system and conditions relevant to life.
Transforming Zurich’s Kunsthaus into a vibrant forum of open dialogue, the award ceremony brought together NOMIS’ global, interdisciplinary community of researchers to celebrate these extraordinary scientists and the spirit of discovery that lies at the heart of their work. Through their relentless pursuit of knowledge, the NOMIS Awardees are making discoveries that alter our understanding of the world, challenge our assumptions, and pave the way for new insights and new questions, ultimately driving human progress and realizing NOMIS’ vision of “creating a spark” in the world of science.
2025 NOMIS Awardee Wolfgang Busch
“Discovery for me is about asking the questions no one thought to ask — and being willing to be surprised by the answers.”
Wolfgang Busch is the Hess Chair in Plant Science, professor and director of the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, US.
Through his NOMIS-supported research project, Mapping the Root Perceptome, Busch aims to map the chemical world that roots can perceive — their “perceptome.” By systematically testing how thousands of chemicals influence root growth and identifying the root structures and receptor kinases proteins involved, Busch seeks to uncover the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which roots sense and respond to external cues in the soil.
2025 NOMIS Awardee Markus Rex
“Discovery has been the constant thread in my career — from unraveling ozone loss in the stratosphere to leading expeditions into the heart of the Arctic. Each research journey — whether in the lab, the field, or through data — has revealed not just new knowledge, but new questions that drive us forward.”
Markus Rex is head of Atmospheric Physics at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), and full professor at the University of Potsdam in Germany.
Rex is addressing the longstanding challenge of quantifying how clouds respond to global warming through his NOMIS-supported research project, Deepcloud, which will use machine learning to model cloud processes. Leveraging newly available observational data from an Arctic expedition and a satellite mission, Rex is exploring how Arctic clouds respond to global warming and how increases in small particles in the atmosphere influence cloud properties.
2025 NOMIS Awardee Sara Seager
“A childhood fascination with the night sky — and the question of whether we are alone — drew me to astronomy. But it was the realization that we can approach this question scientifically, specifically through physics equations that describe the world around us, that inspired me to devote my life to basic research.”
Sara Seager is professor of physics, professor of planetary science, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, and the Class of 1941 Professor Chair at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, US.
Seager’s NOMIS-supported research project, From Lab to Cosmos, poses the question, could life exist in Venus’ acidic clouds, on airless planets or in other extreme environments once considered uninhabitable? The project aims to expand the definition of habitability by conducting laboratory experiments that study biomolecules’ chemistry in sulfuric acid for Venus missions; explore biomolecules in ionic liquids as exotic solvents; and predict signs of life based on planets that could sustain life in extreme environments. Through this research, Seager seeks to redefine our understanding of life’s beginnings and its potential distribution across the cosmos.
Fostering a community of world-class scientists
The NOMIS Award honors trailblazing scholars and brings together researchers with diverse academic backgrounds and from all career stages, fostering exchange across disciplines and enabling new connections. Among the eminent researchers in attendance this year was 2022 NOMIS Awardee Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz. Reflecting on the event, Zernicka-Goetz said, “The award night is a rare moment of celebrating science in its most human form. It honors not only discovery, but also the deep connection between science and art — reminding us that behind every idea is a story, and behind every story, a person.”
NOMIS Managing Director Markus Reinhard brought some of these stories to life in a panel discussion with Busch, Rex and Seager, who answered questions both professional and personal — about the curiosity that drives their scientific explorations, the discoveries that challenged their assumptions and changed the trajectory of their investigations, the urgent need for effective science communication to address growing public skepticism, and the advice they would offer today’s young scientists. They all agreed that science is a slow process, and ups and downs are inevitable. The key to navigating this? Follow your curiosity and your passion.
Insight lectures: Creating a spark in science
NOMIS researchers are united not only by their deep intellectual curiosity but also by their steadfast commitment to collaboration and the free exchange of knowledge, which is essential to the cross-fertilization of ideas and addressing global challenges. Held in conjunction with the award ceremony, the annual NOMIS Insight lectures enable knowledge sharing and connection across the broader scientific community. On Oct. 15, Busch, Rex and Seager presented their groundbreaking research to an audience of students and scholars from diverse academic backgrounds. Set between a reception and dinner, the event offered a lively space for dialogue.
Consistently a source of inspiration, the keynote address has been delivered by prominent scientists over the years, including Helga Nowotny, a founding member of the European Research Council, and two Nobel laureates — Didier Queloz and Svante Pääbo (who is also a 2017 NOMIS Awardee). This year’s address was given by pioneering biologist Tom Battin, who is head of EPFL’s River Ecosystems Laboratory (RIVER) in Sion, Switzerland, and principal investigator of the NOMIS-supported project Vanishing Glaciers. Through a comprehensive exploration of the world’s glacier-fed streams, Battin and his team set out to answer some fundamental questions, including: What makes the microbiomes of these icy rivers that literally drain our planet’s roof so unique? What do we stand to lose as glaciers continue to melt?
Through their discoveries and insights, NOMIS researchers are transforming the world.
NOMIS Foundation
The NOMIS Foundation supports and enables insight-driven science across all disciplines, focusing on researchers who put forth bold new ideas, exhibit a pioneering spirit and seek to inspire the world around them. NOMIS’ vision is to “create a spark” in the world of science by enabling and supporting pioneering research in the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities that benefits humankind and our planet.
Feature image (left to right): 2025 NOMIS Awardees Markus Rex, Sara Seager and Wolfgang Busch (Photo by David Biedert)
