The Dan David Prize annually awards three prizes of US$1 million for achievements with an outstanding scientific, technological, cultural or social impact on our world.


The 2008 winners are:


Past: Sharing the prize in the field of Creative Rendering of the Past - Literature, Theater, Film:


Author Amos Oz of Israel - Oz has written more than 25 books, which portray historical events, emphasizing the individual and exploring conflicts between nations.


Playwright Tom Stoppard of the United Kingdom - Stoppard portrays the search for meaning, while displaying dazzling theatricality and genius for laughter.


Filmmaker Atom Egoyan of Canada - Egoyan explores the human impact of historical events and the nature of truth and its representation through art.


Present: In the field of Social Responsibility with Particular Emphasis on the Environment:


Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore


Gore is working to enhance awareness of global warming and promote its remedies.


Future: Sharing the prize in the field of Geoscience:


Geoffrey Eglinton, Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, United Kingdom - Eglinton studies organic chemical fossils and the mechanisms by which their products yield essential resources for the future.


Ellen Moseley-Thompson and Lonnie G. Thompson of Ohio State University in Columbus - As professors of geography and geological sciences, respectively, they study ice cores to further understand the complex interactions within the Earth's outer envelopes, such as glacier melting and the polar icecap retreat.


"The constellation of laureates is particularly meaningful," said Mr. Dan David, international businessman and philanthropist who founded the Prize. "On the one hand, great creators depicting historical events in literature, theater and film; on the other, eminent scientists whose research predicts environmental disaster if we do not act; and in between, a man promoting awareness of this prediction and its remedies so that human history will continue to be told for generations to come".


The awards will be presented at a ceremony on May 19, 2008 at Tel Aviv University, where the Prize was founded in 2001 and is headquartered.