The trophy features a head and brain(waves) in the shape of a heart and bearing a text by Pascal (Pensée 277), one of the founders of present-day cognitive science: ‘Le Coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point’. Which means ‘the heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of’. The trophy was designed and produced by Don Staakman.
The C.L. de Carvalho-Heineken Prize for Cognitive Science (in 2006 instituted as the Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Cognitive Science) is awarded to a distinguished researcher in this relatively new field. The biennial prize highlights the importance of investigating the cognitive functions of humans and animals. The prize consists of 200,000 US Dollars and a trophy; it is funded by the Alfred Heineken Fondsen Foundation.