ESET Science Award 2020
The award ceremony of the second ESET Science Award took place in Bratislava's Old Market Hall under strict anti-epidemic measures, only in the presence of the nominated scientists. The online gala was watched by 30,000 viewers. The laureates of the ESET Science Award were selected by an international jury headed by Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne. Fedor Šimkovic was named laureate in the category Outstanding Individual Contributor to Slovak Science, Tamás Csanádi was named laureate in the Outstanding Young Scientist under 35 category, and Ivan Varga became the laureate in the category Outstanding Academic. Read more below.
Supporting science and research is one of the key areas the ESET Foundation has long supported because of its importance to society. The ESET Science Award pays tribute to outstanding personalities of Slovak science. On the importance of this initiative, Sir Roger Penrose, the 2020 Nobel Prize winner, commented: “I applaud the ESET Science Award's private initiative to promote excellence in research and education. It is a very important encouragement for science in Slovakia.“
The online gala was watched by 30,000 viewers. The ESET Science Award ceremony took place in Bratislava's Old Market Hall under strict anti-epidemic measures, with only the nominated scientists present. The ESET Science Award winners were selected by an international jury headed by Nobel Prize Laureate Kip Thorne, following a rigorous evaluation process. Fedor Šimkovic was named laureate in the category Outstanding Individual Contributor to Slovak Science, Tamás Csanádi was named laureate in the Outstanding Young Scientist under 35 category, and Ivan Varga became the laureate in the category Outstanding Academic.
Professor Thorne said: “Science and technology based on scientific research are the key to solving problems such as pandemics or global warming, they can save the world. I think it is equally important to encourage politicians and the public to respect science and the views of scientists. We also need new generations of world leaders who will lead the world towards responsible and science-based solutions. This inspiration and bringing the importance of science to society is a key benefit of the ESET Science Award.“
Other esteemed members of the jury were Czech chemistry expert Hana Dvořáková, British biologist Fiona Watt, German physicist Rolf-Dieter Heuer, German chemist Ralf Riedel and Hungarian mathematician Tibor Krisztin. The laureate of the Outstanding Academic category was decided by representatives of Slovak scientific universities.
Outstanding
individual contributor
to Slovak science
Outstanding
individual contributor
to Slovak science
Exceptional young scientist
in Slovakia under
the age of 35
Exceptional young scientist
in Slovakia under
the age of 35
Outstanding Academic
Outstanding Academic
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovak Republic
Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
Charles University, Czech Republic
Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Slovak Republic
University of Žilina, Slovak Republic
Technical University of Košice, Slovak Republic
CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Czech Republic
Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovak Republic
The Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information, Slovak Republic
Alexander Dubcek University in Trencin, Slovak Republic
University of Guelph, Canada
University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovak Republic
University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland
Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
University of Jyvaskyla, Finland
Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovak Republic
ESET, Slovak Republic
University of Žilina, Slovak Republic
University of Cologne, Federal Republic of Germany
University of South Bohemia České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Technical University of Košice, Slovak Republic
Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Slovenská sporiteľňa, Slovak Republic
HighChem, Slovak Republic
UMC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Oregon State University, United States of America
University of Florida, United States of America
Student Council for Higher Education, Slovak Republic
The University of Melbourne, Commonwealth of Australia
Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovak Republic
Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovak Republic
Technical University in Zvolen, Slovak Republic
Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovak Republic
Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic
The University of Melbourne, Commonwealth of Australia
Technical University in Zvolen, Slovak Republic
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