Prof. Suresh P. Benjamin received the “Georgy Forster Research Award”

National Institute of Fundamental Studies congratulates Research Professor, Suresh P. Benjamin, for receiving the “Georgy Forster Research Award” bestowed by the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation in Germany. This award is conferred in recognition of the award winner’s entire academic record to date.

Professor Benjamin is a well-known biologist and an international authority in the study of Oriental crab and jumping spiders, of which he has discovered 122 new species to date. His naming of three new species of spiders after Enid Blyton characters has been featured in the BBS and CBC. He also has made significant contributions to the public popularization of science in Sri Lanka. Suresh has dedicated his life to conserving spiders and other invertebrates of Sri Lanka, a biodiversity hotspot. In Germany, he continues his research on the higher-level systematics of crab spiders.

Professor Benjamin is hosted by Dr. Dirk Ahrens and Dr. Bernhard Huber at the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig in Bonn.