Psychology Professor at Temple U. Wins $1-Million Prize

Laurence Steinberg, a professor of psychology at Temple University and renowned expert on adolescent development, was named today as the winner of the first Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize, worth one million Swiss francs or about $1-million, in recognition of his “outstanding scientific accomplishments which represent groundbreaking contributions to the improvement of the living conditions of young people,” according to a statement by the Jacobs Foundation, a Swiss philanthropic organization. The prize will be presented in December at the University of Zurich. Professor Steinberg’s work on how the adolescent brain differs from the adult brain was a key basis for the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling to strike down the death penalty for juveniles.