Academy honours presented during the 187th General Assembly

In recognition of their outstanding scientific work, the Presidium of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences awarded the Academic Award to 13 researchers.

László Tamás Horváth, Doctor of the MTA, honorary professor at Szent István University, retired scientific advisor at MTA-SZIE Plant Ecology Research Group and retired chief advisor at the Hungarian Meteorological Service was awarded the Academic Award for his internationally acclaimed researches regarding nitrogen and the greenhouse gas cycle and the domestic management of related European research projects.

Ildikó Karsai, Doctor of the MTA, Head of Department at MTA Centre for Agricultural Research was presented the the Academic Award for her outstanding scientific achievement in researching the genetic components of plant development and ear time emergence in ear cereals, as well as for launching a genome-wide association research of barley and wheat. She was also honoured for her participation in producing winter varieties of wheat and durum wheat.

István Katona, Doctor of the MTA, Head of Department at MTA Institute of Experimental Medicine, scientific advisor was awarded the Academic Award for his pioneering work in exploring the physiological and pathophysiological significance of the organization of endocannabinoid signalling in the nervous system, contributing to understanding the mode of action marijuana, epilepsy and a form of autism have on a molecular level. Together with his students, he came up with a methodological development for the exploration of molecular processes in the nervous system which has since then gained international recognition.

János Kelemen, Corresponding Member of the MTA, professor emeritus of ELTE BTK Institute of Philosophy, Department of General Philosophy was presented with the Academic Award for his outstanding research into the philosophy of language, his study of Dante’s literary and philosophical influence spanning multiple centuries and his role in developing the talent of a new generation of Hungarian philosophers.

Imre Lengyel, Doctor of the MTA, professor, head of institute and head of the doctoral school at the University of Szeged, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Institute of Economics and Economic Development received the Academic Award for the development of theoretical systems of Hungarian regional science, his internationally acknowledged results in elaborating the model and method of regional competitiveness and his work aimed at the foundation of regional economic development.

Imre Salma, Doctor of the MTA, professor, head of department at ELTE TTK Institute of Chemistry, Department of Analytical Chemistry was presented the Academic Award for his internationally acknowledged scientific results in researching the formation, chemical and physical atmospheric processes and environmental, climate and health effects of aerosol particles. He was also awarded for his pioneering work in the field of atmospheric nucleation.

Károly Simon, Doctor of the MTA, professor and head of department at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics TTK, Institute of Mathematics, Department of Stochastics was presented the Academic Award for his research in the boundary between the theory of dynamical systems and geometric measure theory and for his active participation in the public life of mathematics as well as for the training of new generations of scientific researchers.

Beáta Sperlágh, Doctor of the MTA, Deputy Director of MTA Institute of Experimental Medicine, head of department and honorary professor received the Academic Award for her pioneering work in the study of purinergic signalling processes and for the identification of new target areas for drugs in the nervous system.

Tibor Tallián, Doctor of the MTA, scientific advisor at MTA Research Centre for the Humanities, Institute for Musicology, professor at Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music was awarded the Academic Award for his outstanding research in the fields of 19–20th-century history of Hungarian music and institutions of musical education, the life and music of Béla Bartók and the history of international and Hungarian opera and songs.

In recognition of their outstanding scientific work, the Presidium of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences presented a shared Academic Award to Ferenc Siklér, Doctor of the MTA, head of department at MTA Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics and Gábor Veres, Doctor of the MTA, associate professor at ELTE TTK Institute of Physics, Department of Nuclear Physics and research fellow at CERN. They were recognised for their internationally acclaimed results in the experimental study of strong interactions, especially of heavy-ion collisions, for further development of instruments of experimental particle physics, for their work as teachers, consultants and group leaders and for their activity in publication and propagation.

Ferenc Siklér and Gábor Veres source: mta.hu/Tamás Szigeti

A shared Academic Award was also presented to László Szabó, Doctor of the MTA, professor at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Applied Mechanics and Károly Váradi, Doctor of the MTA, professor at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Machine and Industrial Product Design. They were both honoured for their internationally acknowledged results regarding the theoretical and practical results in numerical mechanism, for their propagation of the finite element method in Hungary, for the development of inelastic matter models, as well as for their establishing new schools of thought within their field.

László Szabó and Károly Váradi source: mta.hu/Szigeti Tamás

In recognition for her prolific activity in popularizing science, the Presidium of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences presented the Journalist Award of the Academy to Gyöngy Kovács Kiss, Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Korunk. She was honoured for her definitive role in the widespread propagation of the results of Hungarian historical science, in her capacity as editor-in-chief of Korunk and as editor of Korunk Akadémia.

The Governing Board of the Academy awarded the Mór Wahrmann Medal to Erzsébet Knáb, Managing Director for Human Resources at AUDI HUNGARIA. She was honoured for her role in creating and managing AUDI HUNGARIA’s organizational unit for educational and scientific partnerships and for her prominent role in establishing co-founded departments by AUDI and the Széchenyi István University. She was also honoured for establishing a scientific research partnership with the Budapest University of Technology and Economics as well as for finalising a co-operational agreement with the MTA in 2015, thus significantly advancing research & development and modern education for future generations.

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences awarded the János Arany Lifetime Achievement Award to Susan Gal, professor of anthropology and linguistics at the University of Chicago. She was acknowledged for her outstanding research in the areas of linguistic nationalism, language and gender and the rhetorical and symbolic aspects of political transformation in contemporary Eastern Europe and post socialist areas. She was also recognized for her numerous publications relating to Hungary, which contributed to the authentic presentation of Hungarian linguistic and social issues on the international stage.