Výnimoční vedci posúvajú Slovensko o krok vpred

International jury

Michel Mayor

Physics
2019 Nobel Prize Laureate

International jury

Michel Mayor

Physics
2019 Nobel Prize Laureate

Professor Michel Mayor is an astrophysicist at Geneva University (Switzerland). Together with Didier Queloz, in 1995 he discovered the first extrasolar planet, named 51 Pegasi b, orbiting a solar-type star, 51 Pegasi, in our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Professor Mayor was awarded the Swiss Marcel Benoist Prize in recognition of his work and its significance for human life. In 2000 he was awarded the Balzan Prize and in 2004 he received the Albert Einstein Medal. In 2005, he was awarded the Shaw Prize in Astronomy. His team is responsible for finding about half of the exoplanets discovered to date, which comprise 4,000 exoplanets found in the Milky Way alone. Michel Mayor is a principal investigator of the HARPS consortium planet search survey, which has discovered a growing population of super-earths and Neptune-like small mass planets.

“Fostering curiosity and creativity in scientists is essential. The discovery of 51 Pegasi b in 1995 completely changed the priorities of my research and it happened thanks to thinking outside the box. Subsequently, I was happy to have been associated with that first epoch of exoplanet discoveries and broadening our world’s horizons. I am delighted to be the chair of the international jury at the ESET Science Award this year, especially because the award’s main aim is to promote excellent science and contribute towards fostering that curiosity among scientists, which is crucial for future discoveries and crossing those frontiers in science and exploration that are still unattainable by us today.”

Other jury members