Dr. Georg Prize

The Dr. Georg Blinden Foundation awards a nationwide prize endowed with €10,000 in recognition of outstanding surgical achievements in ophthalmology. This award is granted annually from the proceeds of the foundation’s assets to assistant physicians or practicing ophthalmologists (excluding clinic directors, professors, and lecturers). The award is conferred based on a recommendation from the Association of Rhineland-Westphalian Ophthalmologists (RWA) or a corresponding successor organization. The aim of the prize is to promote excellent surgical approaches, innovative procedural concepts, and the continuous professional development of young ophthalmologists, as well as to highlight special merits.

Applications or nominations may be submitted for individuals with demonstrably high-quality surgical performance and innovation potential. Evaluation criteria include the scope and quality of the submitted case numbers as well as the innovativeness of the applied procedures. The award emphasizes the commitment to support young specialists on their path to becoming excellent surgeons and to strengthen the advancement of modern ophthalmology. The first award was presented in 2003; since then, the foundation has repeatedly honored pioneering achievements in areas such as cataract surgery, biopsy instrument development, and glaucoma management. Recipients are traditionally announced during the RWA annual conference and receive, in addition to the financial grant, public recognition of their work.