Zubin Mehta wins Dan David Prize

India-born music conductor Zubin Mehta has won the prestigious Dan David Prize for 2007 for outstanding contribution in his field.

Mehta is the second Indian to receive the award. Prof C N R Rao won it in 2005 for his contribution to the field of material sciences.

The one million dollar award is given annually in three different fields -- Archaeology, Performing Arts and Material Science -- in the three-dimension time framework of past, present and future. Tel Aviv University and the Dan David Foundation award the prize jointly.

Mehta won the prize along with musician Pascal Dusapin, in the present time dimension. Historian Jacques Le Goff won the award for the past time dimension and scientists James E Hansen, Sarah R Kurtz and Jerry M Olson were awarded for the future time dimension.

French Culture and Communications Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres and Tel Aviv University President Prof Itamar Rabinovitz attended the ceremony, which was held in Paris for the first time.

The laureates annually donate 20 scholarships of $15,000 each out of the total sum of the scholarship to outstanding doctoral students throughout the world to foster future generation of emerging talent in chosen fields, the foundation said.