The anthropologist Gerhard Weber is a Professor at the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, the head of the Research Network “Human Evolution & Archaeological Sciences HEAS” and head of the Core Facility “Vienna Micro-CT Lab” at the University of Vienna. His research is dedicated to the evolution and development of humans, their ancestors and their closest relatives.

He received the award especially for solving the puzzle of the true origin of the so-called "Venus of Willendorf" which was found in 1908 in the Wachau. This year, he could show that the figurine, which is 11 cm tall was carved of a type of rock that does not exist in Willendorf and its surroundings. The provenance of the figurine’s material out of which the female figurine was carved, could be linked to a place in northern Italy, near Lake Garda.