Featured Lendület Member: Gábor Juhász
The healthy functioning of cells is inconceivable without the digestion and breakdown of defective or redundant materials or substances that have been absorbed. If this system does not function properly, it can have a number of pathological consequences. These cellular breakdown processes are carried out by membrane-lined vesicles called lysosomes. They are investigated by Gábor Juhász, Scientific Advisor of the Institute of Genetics at the Szeged Biological Research Centre and Head of the Lysosomal Degradation Research Group, with the support of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences’ Lendület Programme.
MOREBig Five 100 – Video of the international conference celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of five legendary mathematicians
The Department of Mathematical Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) organised an international conference to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the mathematicians Lipót Fejér called the “Big Five”. At the ceremony, held at the HUN-REN Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics, László Fuchs, who celebrates his 100th birthday this year, was personally welcomed and received the János Arany Lifetime Achievement Award, the most prestigious academic honour for Hungarian scientists abroad, from the President of the Academy. A recording of the event, partly in Hungarian, is available in our article.
MORELászló Lovász awarded an honorary doctorate from Yale University
The former president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences was recognised for his pioneering work in combinatorics.
MOREEurope’s future depends on robust, open and free science and education – European academies of science issue joint statement
A joint declaration has been issued by the academies of science or equivalent scientific bodies of the 27 EU Member States, drawing attention to the importance of science and research. The declaration is addressed to all of the candidates standing for the European Parliament elections and, more broadly, to all interested parties, reminding them of the key role that science plays in the future of the European Union. The document was signed by Tamás Freund, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, on behalf of the Academy.
MOREThe Art of the State: Modelling the Endpoints of Evolution by Natural Selection – John M. McNamara, Honorary Member, Inaugural academic Lecture
John M. McNamara, Honorary Member, delivered his inaugural academic lecture on 10 October 2023; a summary of the lecture, including a gallery of images and video.
MOREFeatured Lendület Member: Viktória Kiss
In the Bronze Age in the Carpathian Basin, huge social changes took place in the population living in the territory of present-day Hungary. Viktória Kiss, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Archaeology of the HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities and head of the MTA-BTK Lendület (Momentum) Base Research Group, and her colleagues are investigating these processes and the characteristics of the people who lived there. They are using state-of-the-art computer science, genetic and isotope-geochemical methods for this work.
MOREAcademics András Stipsicz and Csaba Pál awarded the European Research Council Advanced Grant
Mathematician András Stipsicz and biologist Csaba Pál, full member and corresponding member, respectively, of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), have been awarded Advanced Grants by the European Research Council for leading researchers who have achieved significant research results in the last ten years.
MOREFeatured Lendület Member: Ildikó Király
In our conversations, we often recall memories which did not really happen, but are just a figment of our imagination, yet tell them enthusiastically, with full feeling, to our interlocutors. They are not lies, because we believe that they really happened to us. Ildikó Király, professor, Head of the Department of Cognitive Psychology at ELTE and Head of the Lendület MTA-ELTE Research Group on Social Minds, and her colleagues will be researching the formation, functioning and adaptive role of these memories in the coming years. These constructed memories seem to play an important role in our social relationships.
MOREErdős spaces - Inaugural lecture by Honorary Member Jan van Mill
Honorary Member Jan van Mill delivered his inaugural academic lecture on 9. October 2023; a summary of the lecture in English, with a picture gallery and video.
MOREFeatured Lendület Member: Ádám Gali
Quantum technology has the potential to revolutionise many branches of electronics, from communication to sensors to computing. Ádám Gali, professor, advisor to the Institute of Solid State Physics and Optics at the Wigner Research Centre for Physics, and head of the Lendület-funded Semiconductor Nanostructures Research Group, has been researching quantum bits in solids for some time. Since last year, he has continued his research as a winner of the now-advanced Lendület grant. Based on his results, he and his fellow researchers can lay the foundations for new types of quantum sensors.
MOREThe molecular architecture of synapses in health and disease – Inaugural lecture by Honorary Member Thomas C. Südhof
Honorary Member Thomas C. Südhof delivered his inaugural academic lecture on 20. September 2023; a summary of the lecture in English, with a picture gallery and video.
MOREFeatured Lendület Member: Imre Norbert Orbulov
Composite metal foams have played a significant role in many areas of industry over the last decades (for example, they are used in impact and blast protection of buildings and vehicles), but the methods used to develop them are now becoming less and less viable. Imre Norbert Orbulov, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), Professor of Materials Science and Technology, and head of the MTA-BME Research Group on High Performance Composite Metal Foams, and his colleagues are therefore exploring radically new approaches to the development of metal foams to help develop materials with significantly improved properties.
MOREInvincible Plant Pathogens – Inaugural Lecture by External Member Levente Kiss
External member Levente Kiss gave his academic inaugural lecture on 5 September 2023. Here is a summary of the lecture, including a photo gallery and video.
MOREFeatured Lendület Member: Emőke Rita Szilágyi
Most people know only a few significant Hungarian humanist authors from the 15th and 17th centuries (the most famous of them being Janus Pannonius, Balassi and Zrínyi), although many other writers and poets also worked in Hungary during this period. Emőke Rita Szilágyi, research fellow at the Institute of Literary Studies at Research Centre for Humanities, head of the Lendület research group on Humanist Canons and Identities in the Kingdom of Hungary (1450-1630), is trying to remedy this shortcoming with her winning Lendület grant: in the coming years, she will investigate who among the authors active in the 15th through 17th centuries have remained in the public consciousness, and why, or why they have fallen out of it.
MOREThe Science of Diastole – Inaugural lecture by Honorary Member Sándor Kovács
Honorary Member Sándor Kovács delivered his inaugural academic lecture on 21 June 2023; a summary of the lecture in English, with a picture gallery and video.
MOREFeatured Lendület Member: Anna Szécsényi-Nagy
Although there are many written sources on the Roman period, very little is known about the biological, medical, nutritional and many other characteristics of the population of Pannonia. This will be remedied by the research of Anna Szécsényi-Nagy, archaeogeneticist, archaeologist, senior research fellow at the Institute of Archaeogenomics of the HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, head of the MTA-BTK Lendület Bioarchaeology Research Group, and her colleagues, who will also study, for example, camels brought here by the Romans.
MOREFourteen Foreign Visiting Researchers to be Involved in Domestic Research in Hungary in 2024 with the Support of the Academy
Research involving fourteen internationally-renowned visiting professors supported by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) could contribute to the creation of new anti-tumour drugs, the success of biotechnology programmes aimed at improving drought and salt tolerance, and the development of new alternative ways of producing and storing energy. Under the programme, which aims to strengthen the international competitiveness of Hungarian research teams, researchers from the United States, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, Austria, Spain, Croatia, Argentina and Finland will come to Hungarian research centres, institutes and higher education institutions.
MOREFeatured Lendület Member: Zsuzsanna Kolbert Ördögné
In the near future, agriculture will have to face increasingly severe droughts, so we need to increase productivity in the face of growing stress to provide food for an ever-increasing human population. Zsuzsanna Kolbert Ördögné, Associate Professor at the Department of Plant Biology, University of Szeged and head of the Lendület Plant Nanobiology Research Group, and her colleagues are investigating what role seed priming with nanoagents can play in improving drought tolerance in cultivated plants.
MOREDeployable Structures in China’s Space Missions - Inaugural lecture by Honorary Member Hayan Hu
Honorary Member Haiyan Hu delivered his inaugural academic lecture on 15 June 2023; a summary of the lecture in English, with a picture gallery and video.
MORENew Hungarian ISC Fellows announced
ISC has announced its appointment of 100 new ISC Fellows – three of them are Hungarians.
MOREFeatured Lendület Member: Andrea Toldy
How can waste from cross-linked polymers, which make up a smaller proportion of plastics, be recycled? Andrea Toldy, Professor in the Department of Polymer Engineering at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and head of the MTA-BME Lendület Sustainable Polymers Research Group, is seeking answers to this question with the support of MTA’s Lendület Programme.
MOREHigh Dutch Honour for Chemist Gyula Vancsó, External Member of MTA
Chemist Gyula Vancsó, external member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) and Professor Emeritus at the University of Twente, has been awarded the title of Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau in the Netherlands for his achievements in the field of materials research and for his work on the development of materials science in the Netherlands.
MOREExtreme light pulses in the service of science and society – Nobel Laureate Gerard Mourou’s lecture in English on video
Extreme laser pulses provide researchers with a general tool to produce high-energy radiation and particles, and to generate high field strength, high pressure, temperature and acceleration. They can help us to answer still unanswered questions in physics, such as the origin of cosmic rays with energies greater than 10²º eV or the loss of information in black holes. The French researcher also spoke about this in his Science Day lecture.
MOREProposals for the handling of articles for journals that engage in objectionable practices – MTA’s recommendations on new types of publication misconduct
Alongside the positive consequences of the rise of open access, a number of new forms of unethical behaviour have also emerged. Therefore, in the spring of 2023, the Presidium of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences decided to set up a committee whose main task was to develop an action plan for science practicioners against questionable publication practices. The committee analysed the causes of the abuses and the steps that the research community and organisations responsible for science policy should take to preserve the credibility of science and strengthen trust in the field. As a result of the committee’s work, a report entitled Proposals for the Handling of Articles for Journals that Engage in Objectionable Practices has been produced and is now published on the MTA website, has been sent to university rectors, heads of doctoral schools and policy makers, and has been distributed digitally to the 18,000 members of MTA’s public body.
MOREWe offer limitless opportunities to young people – Interview with Nobel Prize winner Ferenc Krausz
Shortly after the news was announced, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist gave an interview to mta.hu. We asked Ferenc Krausz about the research that led to the prize, his donation to the victims of the war in Ukraine, the early detection of cancer, diabetes and other health problems, and why a young researcher would choose the field of attosecond physics.
MOREIn memoriam: Risto Kalervo Näätänen (1939-2023)
Risto Kalervo Näätänen, internationally renowned Finnish researcher in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, and the most cited psychologist of his lifetime, died in October 2023, having turned 84 on 14 June 2023. He was elected by the General Assembly in 2019 an honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. A great figure among the pioneers of psychology and an enthusiastic and unstinting supporter of Finnish-Hungarian scientific relations has left us.
MOREKatalin Karikó named a Nobel laureate
The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their shared biochemical discoveries that enabled the development of an effective mRNA-based vaccine against COVID-19.
MOREKatalin Solymosi, former co-president of Hungarian Young Academy, elected president of the Young Academy of Europe
At the annual general meeting of the Young Academy of Europe (YAE) on 9 October, Katalin Solymosi, a habilitated assistant professor at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) and former alumna and co-chair of MTA’s Hungarian Young Academy (FKA), was elected president of the organisation.
MOREFerenc Krausz is a Nobel laureate
The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics was and awarded jointly to Ferenc Krausz, Pierre Agostini and Anne L'Huillier “for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter.”
MOREEASAC’s Report on the Future of Gas
Natural gas is not cleaner than other fossil fuels, and using it instead of coal or oil would lead to little or no reduction in greenhouse gas effects, concludes the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) in its recently published report “The Future of Gas”. In the EASAC working group preparing the document, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences was represented by Professor Attila Imre, Doctor of MTA, and Head of Department of Energy Engineering in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME).
MOREBenő Csapó, Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Passes Away
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences is deeply saddened by the passing, at the age of 70, of Professor Benő Csapó, a prominent science education researcher and a passionate advocate of the cause of science education development in Hungary.
MOREMaking GPN Theory Work: Some Reflections – Lecture by Henry Yeung (NUS, Singapore)
Drawing on my forthcoming book manuscript Theory and Explanation in Geography – forthcoming with the RGS-IBG Book Series for late 2023/early 2024 publication –, this presentation reflects critically on the normative stance of theory building and epistemological practices in contemporary human geography.
MOREAcademician Éva Kondorosi receives the most prestigious award of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova
The full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences has been awarded the Dimitrie Cantemir Medal for her support of the European integration of Moldovan researchers, her significant contribution to the training of young researchers and her high quality lectures and scientific activities.
MORE„I'm interested in things that don't fit” – interview with Nobel laureate astrophysicist Adam Riess
Lucky physics of supernovae, rapid technological advances of the 90s, and a brilliant young astrophysicist. These were the ingredients of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. We had the opportunity to ask one of the laureates, what happened after that? And what is this tension that seems to mount around dark energy lately? Click for the video recording of the lecture and the interview!
MOREEASAC’s New Report on Neonicotinoids presented at the Headquarters of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
As a follow-up to its initial report on the subject in 2015, the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) has just published its second report on the agricultural use of the group of pesticides known as neonicotinoids. The public event presenting this latest report took place at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on 29 March 2023. Should we allow the use of these substances in sustainable farming? Do they have anything to do with the loss of pollinators? Is there a role for this group of chemicals in Europe in the future? Here is a summary of the event which addressed all these questions, together with a link to the video recording.
MORETamás Freund elected President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for another three years
On Tuesday, at the 196th General Assembly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Assembly of Academicians once again elected Tamás Freund, a neurobiologist and full member of the Academy, as President of the scientific body, by a large majority. In addition to the President Tamás Freund, Secretary-General Péter László Kollár, a civil engineer, and Deputy Secretary-General Anna Erdei, an immunologist, were likewise appointed for another three-year term.
MOREExoplanetary revolution! – Nobel Prize winner Didier Queloz gives a talk at the Academy’s General Assembly
The search for planets beyond the Solar System has been underway for three decades now, and Didier Queloz has been behind the telescopes and spectrographs from the beginning. The Swiss astrophysicist guided participants and guests through this period, from the discovery of “hot Jupiters” that orbit their own stars in just a few days to the search for signs of life. You will find a recording of his presentation in this article and on the MTA’s YouTube channel.
MOREThe Academy raises funds to assist the social support programme of a college in Transcarpathia
In view of the ongoing war in Ukraine, the goal of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences’ 2023 charity fundraising campaign is to assist the social support programme of the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College. In line with its fundraising efforts of 2022, the Academy would again like to express its solidarity with those most directly affected by the Russian-Ukrainian war.
MOREEuropean Climate Conference in Warsaw
The European Climate Conference, co-organised by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), took place in Warsaw between 15-16 May 2023. The inaugural European Climate Conference brought together 90 scientists from 45 countries across Europe and Central Asia to assess climate change and progress towards reaching climate neutrality.
MORETelling the stories of women scientists: An interview with Magdolna Hargittai MAE
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.
MOREThe Surprising Expansion History of the Universe - watch the Lecture by Nobel Laureate Astrophysicist Adam Riess
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.
MOREAnnouncement on the Nominees for the Chief Officer Posts of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
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.
MORETelling the story of émigré scientists: An interview with Istvan Hargittai by Academia Europaea Cardiff Hub
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.
MOREKey Issues in Urban Greening - Video of the special session held at MTA HQ
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.
MOREMathematician Vera T. Sós, Full Member of MTA, Passes Away
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.
MOREBrilliance in Exile – The Diaspora of Hungarian Scientists from John von Neumann to Katalin Karikó
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.
MOREEric Hanushek: The quality of the teacher is the most important element of schools
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.
MOREBiosphere reserves under UNESCO patronage – An international programme co-initiated by Hungarians aiming to preserve biodiversity was in the limelight at a side event of the World Science Forum
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”.
MORE“We cannot afford to waste talented minds anywhere in the world” – welcome address by Tamás Freund at the Opening Ceremony of the World Science Forum
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.
MOREGlobal challenges call for globally accessible research facilities – How to leverage large research infrastructure for the conduct of basic science for sustainable development?
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.
MOREWorld Science Forum – Science for Climate Justice
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.
MOREThe 10th World Science Forum to Kick Off on Monday in South Africa
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.
MOREStrategies to boost the performance of V4 countries in the grant schemes of the European Research Council
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.
MOREThe 150 of Us – An Interview with Robin Dunbar, Honorary Member of MTA, about the Social Network Size Number of Humans
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.
MOREFounding member MTA re-joins Science Europe in new capacity
After three years, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences has returned to the influential scientific advocacy organisation as a research funding institution.
MORESympathy and solidarity – Presidents of Visegrad Academies issue joint declaration at Budapest meeting in support of Ukrainian people, scientists and science, condemning Russia’s military aggression
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.
MORECancer screening programmes need new foundations – Video of international conference held at MTA HQ
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.
MORECall for research proposals for the Research Programme for Public Education Development – 2022
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.
MOREMTA Centre of Excellence – Video of the certificate award ceremony
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.
MOREMTA External Members’ Forum features war-related topical issue
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.
MOREA renewing, proactive Academy, an increasingly active public body – President’s Report by Tamás Freund
“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.
MOREAvram Hershko’s presentation at the Academy – video
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.
MOREThe intensively raised goat and the organic cabbage – can we have our cake and eat it? New report on regenerative agriculture presented at MTA by the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Academies
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.
MORERenewed Bilateral Agreement: The President of the Estonian Academy of Sciences visited MTA
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).
MOREGaining Momentum: Kata Horváti
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.
MOREFarewell lecture by Professor Sierd Cloetingh, outgoing president of Academia Europaea, at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest
An eminent European Earth scientist’s talk on Europe as a “Natural Laboratory for Frontier Research in Earth Sciences”
MORENobel Prize in physiology or medicine awarded to Katalin Karikó
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has decided to award the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
MOREEric Hanushek’s lecture at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences – video of the event at the Academy
Eric Hanushek is a professor at Stanford University and one of the world’s best-known and most influential researchers in the field of the economics of education. He has conducted research in many areas over the course of his career, examining the qualities of good teachers, the impact of class-size reduction, school accountability and, more latterly, the relationship between countries’ skill levels and economic growth. Professor Hanushek recently gave a lecture at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. You can see the video of this lecture in our article.
MORECuriosity indeed remains the main driving force behind scientists’ achievements – a thematic session co-organized by MTA and ANSO as part of the World Science Forum 2022 was looking into the future of basic research
Do scientists still cherish that curiosity behind revolutionary ideas in science which has always spurred them on in their quest for the unknown? With today’s growing expectations over the accountability and the directly noticeable societal benefits of science funding, how can we reconcile these with the academic freedom that has always been so dear to the most outstanding figures of basic research?
MOREWorld Science Forum – Social Justice and Dignity for Africa through Science
On Friday, the World Science Forum (WSF) in South Africa ended with the closing ceremony, where, according to tradition, the Declaration of the Forum was adopted. The speakers of the event highlighted in their speeches that science provides Africa and the whole world the opportunity to successfully tackle the existing and emerging issues originating from climate change, social injustices and inequalities.
MOREInformation on the Academy’s measures designed to help scientists fleeing Ukraine
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences (“MTA”) condemns all forms of war of aggression and follows with profound sympathy the wholly unwarranted suffering and destruction caused by the Russian attack on Ukraine. The MTA has launched a programme to help members of the public body of the Academy, scientists as well as staff members of Transcarpathian scientific, higher education, cultural and artistic institutions and organisations who flee from Ukraine to Hungary as a result of the war. In this document we describe in detail the options available for providing or receiving help.
MOREMTA’s fundraising campaign for scientists and scholars fleeing the war in Ukraine
The objective of this humanitarian fundraising initiative is to provide financial support for the scientific community of Ukraine, in particular researchers and MTA’s public association members belonging to the Hungarian community of Kárpátalja (Carpathian Ruthenia), along with their families, as well as to help safeguard our scientific and cultural heritage.
MORELászló Lovász joins the ERC Scientific Council
The European Commission has appointed three eminent scientists as new members of the governing body of the European Research Council (ERC), the Scientific Council. They are appointed for an initial period of four years. The three new members are Professor Chryssa Kouveliotou, professor at the George Washington University, Washington D.C., United States, Professor László Lovász, professor emeritus at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary, and President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2014-2020), and Professor Giovanni Sartor, professor at the University of Bologna and at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy.
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