V4 Academic Leaders in Prague

In the last decades, there have been significant changes in the foreign policy orientation of the Visegrád countries: the unilateral Euro-Atlantic orientation has been replaced by an East-West mixed orientation. Miklós Sebők, Research Professor at the HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences, Institute of Political Science, Department for Government and Public Policy, and head of the MTA-TK Lendület (Momentum) V-SHIFT Research Group, and his colleagues use state-of-the-art artificial intelligence methods to investigate the foreign policy shifts in the countries of the Central and Eastern European region, based on all parliamentary documents and countless newspaper articles of the past 35 years. Such a scale and depth of analysis would have been unthinkable before AI.

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A few months ago, Professor Péter Hegyi, Director of the Semmelweis University Centre for Translational Medicine and Director of the University of Pécs Institute for Translational Medicine succeeded László Lovász, former president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, as director of the Academia Europaea Budapest Knowledge Hub. In our interview, the new director says that his two main objectives are to accelerate the practical and social use of scientific discoveries and to support the visibility of Hungarian researchers and scientific results abroad.

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In medical research, it is vitally important that each study is conducted in accordance with international professional recommendations and expectations, that the results are accessible to all, and that the lessons of proven discoveries are transferred into clinical practice as soon as possible. However, these conditions are not always met. Szimonetta Lohner, Associate Professor at the Institute of Public Health Medicine at the University of Pécs, and her research group, established under the Momentum Programme, is investigating the practice of medical research to achieve these goals.

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Errors in the DNA sequence occur regularly and need to be corrected immediately to maintain normal gene function. DNA repair mechanisms associated with DNA replication are well known, but DNA error repair also occurs in non-dividing cells, about which much less is known. However, many diseases, such as some neurodegenerative diseases, are caused by DNA errors in non-dividing cells. Gergely Róna, head of the MTA-TTK Lendület (Momentum) DNA Error Repair Research Group and researcher at the Institute of Molecular Life Sciences of the HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, and his colleagues are investigating little-known forms of DNA repair mechanisms with the support of the Momentum Programme.

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Maria Lugaro investigates the circumstances of the birth of stars and planets with the support of MTA’s Lendület (Momentum) Programme. To this end, the astronomer and her colleagues will analyse data obtained by testing stardust in the laboratory.

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Automorphic forms are among the most interesting objects of mathematical research today, since they serve as a link between many subfields of mathematics, such as number theory and partial differential equations. Peter Maga, Senior Research Fellow at the HUN-REN Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics, and his Momentum research group will be investigating automorphic forms on higher-rank groups in the coming years.

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Honorary Member Alain Peyraube delivered his inaugural academic lecture on 21 November 2023; a summary of the lecture in English, with a picture gallery and video.

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The chemical and pharmaceutical industries would be unthinkable today without catalysts. Therefore, the development of increasingly efficient catalysts is one of the most important goals of chemistry, as these catalysts make chemical synthesis cheaper, more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Zoltán Novák, professor in the Department of Organic Chemistry at ELTE and head of the Sustainable Catalytic Processes Research Group, and his colleagues are also working on the development of new types of catalysts which are partially recyclable and reusable and require only small amounts, can be activated by controllable external impulses, and do not require expensive precious metals.

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The thalamus is one of the most underestimated brain areas. According to the classical view, its only job is to act as a switching station between the cerebral cortex and stimuli from the outside world. However, László Acsády, head of the MTA-KOKI Momentum Thalamus Research Group and deputy director of the HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine (KOKI), and his colleagues have shown in recent decades that this view could not be further from the truth. Indeed, the complex communication between the cortex and the thalamus and the processing that takes place in the thalamic cells prove that this brain area plays an active role in brain function. His brain research team can now continue their research with funding from the Momentum Programme.

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Riverine plankton communities are of crucial importance in maintaining the ecological health of rivers, yet compared to standing water plankton, the community of riverine floating organisms is very poorly studied. András Abonyi, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Aquatic Ecology of the Centre for Ecological Research, is changing this. He is the head of the Momentum Research Group on River Ecology and, with the support of the Momentum Programme, is investigating the transformation of the plankton community in rivers in response to river regulation and changes over time.

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Magdolna Hargittai discusses her latest book which focuses ont he achievements of female sicentists and the importance of role models in promoting and supportint more women in STEM.

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We had the honor of hosting Adam Riess, one of the recipients of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, as a guest in the Ceremonial Hall of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, where he not only presented the story of his groundbreaking discovery that stirred the scientific community, but also talked about the far-reaching consequences of it in astrophysics. The video recording of his lecture is available in our article.

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The new leadership of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences will be elected by its General Assembly on 9 May 2023. The preparations for the election of the Academy leadership due in 2023 have been completed by the 22-member Nomination Committee, composed of members delegated by the eleven scientific sections, who are either members of the Academy or non-member representatives delegated to the General Assembly, in line with the provisions of the Academy’s Statutes as well as the Committee’s own Rules of Procedure.

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In this interview, Professor Istvan Hargittai discusses his motivation for writing his latest book ‘Brilliance in Exile,’ which explores the lives of Hungarian émigré scientists who have made significant contributions to science after leaving their country of birth.

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What is the benefit for us urban dwellers of encountering wildflower meadows or vegetable gardens on our way home? Does sex reversal in a significant number of urban frogs help in adaptation? Are urban birds any smarter than those living in their natural habitats? These were some of the questions discussed at the special session organised by the Academia Europaea Budapest Knowledge Hub on 22 March 2023, which focused on the conservation and restoration of urban habitats.

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Vera T. Sós was born on 11 September 1930 in Budapest. She completed her university studies in the Mathematics and Physics Department of Eötvös Lorand University (ELTE). She was elected a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1985 and a full member in 1990.

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By unfolding the enigma of the exceptional success of Hungarian emigrant scientists and telling their fascinating life stories, Brilliance in Exile combines scholarly analysis with stimulating portrayals of uncommon personalities. Istvan and Balazs Hargittai discuss the conditions that defined five waves of emigration from the early twentieth century to the present.

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Eric Hanushek, professor at Stanford University, is one of the best-known and most influential scholars in the field of economics of education, having worked on a wide range of topics such as teacher quality, the effects of class size reduction, school accountability, and more recently, the relationship between economic growth and the skill levels in countries. Professor Hanushek gave a lecture at Hungarian Academy of Sciences about education in a changing world. On this occasion we asked him about the good teachers, optimal class sizes, talented and average students, the basic skills and the artificial intelligence.

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Biosphere reserves are the outcome of a unique endeavour to integrate research, nature conservation and sustainable development. Their past, present and future were explored at a World Science Forum side event co-organized by UNESCO and MTA under the title “Biosphere Reserves: Shining Gems of Natural Ecosystems”.

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To honour this year’s WSF motto of “Science for Social Justice”, all the speakers of the opening event urged the global scientific community with one voice to put science at the service of society, drawing on all the tools and means at hand, and to make a strong commitment to fighting against social inequalities and all the evils they bring. The World Science Forum in Cape Town officially began on 6 December with the Opening Ceremony, where the co-organising states were represented by their respective Heads of State and Ministers, with the international partner organisations represented by their top executives.

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A side event co-organised by the Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO), the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Department of Science and Innovation of South Africa, looked into the current availability of and future potential for large research facilities at the service of basic science working towards the fulfilment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

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The Wednesday afternoon plenary session “Science for climate justice – How can science, working with civil society, lead the way in correcting the failure of climate policy?” was one of the most interesting sections of the whole World Science Forum thus far. Africa is the most authentic location for the discussion of this topic because, unfortunately, the low-income states of the continent will be harshly affected by climate change. Therefore, climate justice will be one of the most important scientific and political problems of the coming decades.

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The most prestigious global forum for science diplomacy is reaching a new milestone in its history this year: it is visiting the African continent for the first time. The 10th World Science Forum will be taking place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 6 to 9 December 2022. Convened under the main theme “Science for Social Justice”, this year’s forum calls on decision-makers to recognise the vital role that science must play in solving the world’s worsening societal, economic and environmental crises.

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The delegations of the V4 Academies started their two-day forum with a workshop dedicated to the performance of V4 countries in the grant schemes of the European Research Council. Below is a summary of the main messages of the workshop.

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Few are those among contemporary researchers who will have a number named after them. Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Oxford University and Honorary Member of MTA, Robin Dunbar is actually one of them. The number he introduced has come to feature in each and every book on human evolution. One of the best-known anthropologists of our time, Professor Dunbar. We spoke to him on this occasion, asking him, of course, about the origin and scope of Dunbar’s number.

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After three years, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences has returned to the influential scientific advocacy organisation as a research funding institution.

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The Visegrad Group Academies Forum held its annual meeting at the Headquarters of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on 26-27 May 2022. The focus of the two-day meeting was on the success of European Research Council (ERC) grants, the V4 academies’ uniformly outstanding epidemiological research and communication activities, help for Ukraine, young researcher initiatives, and cooperation in the use of European-level research infrastructures and in the application of advanced therapy medicinal products. At the forum, the academy presidents issued a joint statement on the aggression against Ukraine and support for Ukrainian scientists.

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The application of the latest scientific advances and testing techniques, and greater participation by people, could significantly reduce cancer mortality in the European Union, according to a report presented in Hungary at the Headquarters of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Watch a video of the conference and read the full report.

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The Hungarian Academy of Scinces announces an open call for research proposals to finance research projects for 4 years (between 1 September 2022 – 31 August 2026), which aim to lay the foundations for the development of education and training by providing new scientific findings and to carry out research on how to renew the pedagogical perspectives and methods for knowledge transfer and the transmission of values.

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The Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), on the basis of the recommendation of the Qualification Council for Research Centres (KMT), has given the MTA Centre of Excellence Award to 95 Hungarian scientific workshops and institutions in recognition of their outstanding scientific work. The representatives of the research centres that have won the prestigious award received the certificates at a ceremony at the Széchenyi tér headquarters of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

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In addition to the award ceremonies and toasts, this year’s recipient of the Young Researcher Award has posted a video message from the front in Eastern Ukraine. MTA Vice President György Kosztolányi, meetings chairman of the External Members’ Forum and representative of Hungarian Academy members living abroad, called the viewing of Viktor Traski’s video a historic moment that will be written into the golden book of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

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“The changes in the external environment and, thus, in the situation of the Academy have forced it to revitalise itself, but MTA has consistently been able to act as a proactive partner and is now more of a master of its own fate than it was two years ago”, said Tamás Freund in his President’s Report at the 195th General Assembly of the Academy. The President of the Academy also announced the launch of several research programmes linked to social and national strategy priorities.

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Avram Hershko, a Hungarian-born Israeli scientist, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004, gave a presentation at the 195th General Assembly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

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According to the latest report of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Academies (EASAC) on regenerative agriculture, not only is ecologically sensitive agriculture not an enemy of food production but, due to climate change and environmental degradation, it will, in a few short decades, represent our only chance of being able to feed humanity. To explore the background of the report presented at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on Wednesday 6th of April, we interviewed two Hungarian members of the scientific community who were behind it – Orsolya Valkó and András Báldi.

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Prof. Tamás Freund, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, received Prof. Tarmo Soomere, President of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, who arrived in Budapest for a meeting of the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC).

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The coronavirus pandemic demonstrated that vaccines based on radically new techniques could be more effective than previous ones. They can be developed faster and protect against those infectious diseases where previously there were no vaccines. However, it is not only mRNA that could be the basis of a new type of vaccine: peptides can also be used for this purpose. Kata Horváti, from the HAS-ELTE Research Group of Peptide Chemistry, Department of Organic Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, received the Lendület (Momentum) grant to develop peptide-based vaccine strategies. An overview of her research is the next step in the introduction of the researchers who are the latest recipients of the HAS’s programme of excellence.

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An eminent European Earth scientist’s talk on Europe as a “Natural Laboratory for Frontier Research in Earth Sciences”

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