Dutch astronomer Ewine van Dishoeck has won the prestigious Kavli award for astrophysics for her work on the origin of stars and planets. She will receive the gold medal and €1m prize money from the hands of King Harald V of Norway on Tuesday.

‘I am still speechless after the phone call from the Norwegian Academy,’ Van Dishoeck, who became chairman of the International Astronomical Union in the same week, said. ‘It’s a great honour, especially for my young co-workers and colleagues worldwide. Thanks to them we are now in the Champions League of astronomy.’

‘But is not just about pure science but the fact that we are helping to solve one of human kind’s greatest puzzles: are we alone in the universe?’ she added.

The Kavli award is awarded every two years by the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters.