For the fourth year running, the ESET Foundation announces the Laureates of the ESET Science Award, an award for scientific and educational personalities of science from Slovakia with a global impact. This year, the laureates were selected by an international jury chaired by Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Ada Yonath.
Professor Silvia Pastoreková from the Biomedical Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences has won in the main category of Outstanding Scientist in Slovakia. The laureate of the Outstanding Scientist in Slovakia Under the Age of 35 category is Miroslav Almáši and Professor Ľubomír Tomáška received the award in the Outstanding Academic in Slovakia category.
“I am glad that among the finalists of the award there are many talented personalities. I wish all of them to be rewarded for their curiosity, because that is what pushes the boundaries of knowledge,” said Ada Yonath, chair of the international committee.
The theme of this year’s gala was the story of women in science. “This topic is close to our hearts. As a software company, we strive to increase the proportion of women in the company and across the industry. I believe that diversity is essential for innovation and progress in any field. People with different views coming from different backgrounds bring different perspectives to whatever challenges we face as humanity, including the big scientific questions. This is also why the role of women is indispensable, not only in science,” explains Richard Marko, CEO of ESET.
In addition to Professor Ada Yonath, members of the international committee included Swiss materials scientist Anke Weidenkaff, Ukrainian materials chemist Yury Gogotsi, Dutch oncologist and researcher Rob Pieters and German particle physicist Manfred Lindner. The gala was attended by the President of the Slovak Republic, Zuzana Čaputová, under whose auspices the Award takes place, as well the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Eduard Heger, and by special guest astrophysicist Garik Israelian, the founder of the STARMUS World Festival.
More information about the ESET Science Award is available here: www.esetscienceaward.sk/en