MTA External Members’ Forum features war-related topical issue

On the second day of the Annual General Assembly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the External Members’ Forum was held at the MTA’s headquarters. In his welcome speech, MTA President Tamás Freund said that the more intensive involvement of external members in the life of the Academy and the recognition and support of the work of Hungarian researchers living abroad are a priority of his presidential programme.

Tamás Freund Photo: mta.hu / Tamás Szigeti

As a sad but topical matter, Tamás Freund emphasised that the Hungarian Academy of Sciences feels a special responsibility towards Hungarian scientists and their families in Transcarpathia, as well as towards all our fellow scientists living in Ukraine. The Academy has an ongoing charity fundraiser to help those affected by the war, and the Hungarian-American Academic Association has joined the fundraising initiative.

The President’s welcome speech was followed by the presentation of the János Arany Awards. The awards are intended to recognise Hungarian scientists and researchers from abroad who have demonstrated significant achievements during their lifetime (Lifetime Achievement Award), have achieved outstanding scientific results (Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award) or have made significant contributions as young researchers (Young Researcher Award).

In 2022 the János Arany Award for Lifetime Achievement was given to Miklós Bodor. Born in Satu Mare and living in the United States, the chemist’s achievements in drug development are comparable to those of the legendary Hungarian pharmaceutical researcher Gedeon Richter.

The Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award was given to Csaba Paizs, a chemical engineer born in Targu Mures and still living in Transylvania, who works as a professor at the Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca and is a prominent figure in Hungarian science and higher education in Transylvania.

The winner of this year’s Young Researcher Award is Viktor Traski, a mathematician born in Uzhhorod. The young scientist conducts research that will have innovative applications in the future. His areas of research include probability theory and mathematical statistics, including the study of random variables and different classes of stochastic processes. In peacetime the recent laureate was to give a talk on “Quadratic φ-SubGaussian random values and processes” at the Academy’s headquarters, but as he is currently fighting on the Eastern Ukraine front as a soldier in the Ukrainian army, he was unable to attend the ceremony.

He did send a short video, however, in which he briefly described his research – with the sound of distant explosions in the background – and expressed the hope that he would be able to present his findings in person at the Academy after this period afflicted by pandemic and war is over.

The video is available on the MTA’s YouTube channel:

The moving video was greeted by a standing ovation from the audience. 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”.

The event also included the presentation of the János Arany medals and the introduction of the new external members of the MTA elected this year.