Agnites Vrolik Award
About the Agnites Vrolik Award
The Agnites Vrolik Award was established in 2017 by the Utrecht University Fund to show that the impact of UU research is important and deserves rewarding. The prize is awarded every two years and comes with a cash prize of €25,000 (intended for extracurricular research).
Dr. Agnites Vrolik studied mathematics and physics at UU and also obtained his PhD here, in 1836. From 1854 to 1858 he was Minister of Finance. He was the first chairman of the Utrecht University Fund.
Winner 2025: Helen Toxopeus
Dr Helen Toxopeus is the proud winner of the fifth Agnites Vrolik Award. She received the award for her research demonstrating how innovation with nature can be achieved and financed in an urban context. The award ceremony took place on Thursday 12 February.
She pioneered an innovative and now internationally recognised field of research: the financing of urban nature-based solutions.
Helen Toxopeus obtained her PhD from Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2019 with a thesis entitled 'Financing sustainable innovation: From a principal-agent to a collective action perspective'.
Since then, she has been conducting follow-up research on this theme at the Entrepreneurship section of the Utrecht School of Economics and the Sustainable Finance Lab, initially as a postdoctoral researcher and, since 2021, as an associate professor.
Jury report
The jury cited several reasons for the award:
- Dr. Toxopeus' research offers an innovative and socially relevant answer to the urgent question of how rapidly densifying cities worldwide, under increasing climate pressure, can be designed to be healthy, safe and future-proof.
- Dr. Toxopeus has repositioned urban nature from a cost item to a strategic investment by pioneering internationally recognised research into the financing of urban nature-based solutions, providing insight into the economic, ecological and social benefits and their funding.
- She conducts high-quality transdisciplinary fundamental research, published in leading journals, with her influential study on EU taxonomy and investments in urban nature-based solutions having had a significant impact both scientifically and socially.
- As a bridge builder between science, policy and practice, Dr. Toxopeus translates her research into concrete policy instruments and action perspectives and connects public and private parties.
Previous winners Agnites Vrolik Award
Invest in the future
Founding the Agnites Vrolik Award was facilitated thanks to alumna mevr. Cobi de Bree. These days private contributions for scientific research and education have become more and more important. If you would like to support the Utrecht University Fund, you might like to consider making a bequest. By including the Utrecht University Fund in your will, you invest in the future of the university. This allows new generations of students and researchers to further develop their skills and knowledge, enabling them to contribute to a better society.