The European Crystallographic Association together with the Hungarian Chemical Society is pleased to announce the founding of Alajos Kálmán Prize.
The International Alajos Kálmán Prize is awarded to an individual researcher, in recognition for outstanding scientific contributions, in the field structural sciences, within the last 5-10 years. The Prize was established by the Hungarian Chemical Society, and is endorsed of by the European Crystallographic Association. It is awarded twice, in a three-year cycle, at the ECMs. The selection of the awardee is conducted by ECA SIG13, although the recognised field is wider, including all structural sciences. The prize consists of a medal and a financial award, as well as the awardee delivers a Prize Lecture at the ECM.
The International Kálmán Prize preserves the memory of the late Alajos Kálmán, an eminent scientist in the field of chemical crystallography. For more information, please visit the website: ecanews.org/alajos-kalman-prize/
Awardee at 2023
Professor Attila Bényei
from Department of Physical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen
Prof. Attila Bényei is an internationally recognized researcher of structural science. Throughout his career, and especially in the last ten years, he has carried out excellent research activities, proving his broad perspective, critical approach, knowledge of different methods, application of different theories, and constructive presentation of his opinion. His activity created a school at the University of Debrecen.
Awardee at 2022
The awardee of the 2nd International Alajos Kálmán Prize is
Professor Eric Collet
from the University of Rennes
Prof Eric Collet performs his inspirational interdisciplinary research at the interface of material science, chemistry and physics with crystallography at the very heart of his work. Prof Collet is one of the pioneers who paved the way for the subsequent studies in the greatly innovative field of X-ray free electron lasers science. He with his collaborators made high impact studies of ultra-fast femto second experiments, ultra-fast photo excitations like photo induced structural dynamics, phase transitions and molecular switching. His outstanding achievement is based on the structural study of molecular complexes and new transition mechanisms, especially from the molecular to the crystal scale. In addition Prof Eric Collet has some outreach contributions about the great potential of crystallographic research for the wellbeing of our current and future society. He actively contributes to bring structural chemistry to a wide audience.
Awardee at 2021
The Advisory Board of the Hungarian Chemical Society awards the second Hungarian Alajos Kálmán Prize in 2021 to
Professor László Párkányi
Prof emer., Research Centre for Natural Sciences
Prof László Párkányi is an outstanding crystallographer, widely known in Hungary and in the international community. He has great contribution to the structural characterization of silicon and metalorganic compounds. He has also developed numerous software for crystallographic computing. His software for isostructurality calculation is highlighted among many others.
Awardee at 2020:
The Advisory Board of the Hungarian Chemical Society awards the first Hungarian Alajos Kálmán Prize in 2020 to
Professor Mátyás Czugler
Prof emer., Research Centre for Natural Sciences
The career of Prof Mátyás Czugler is primarily joined to the Research Centre for Natural Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the first generation of the School on single crystal X-ray diffraction established by Prof Alajos Kálmán. Mátyás Czugler was the student, then close colleague and is the intellectual successor of Alajos Kálmán. Prof Czugler introduced the supramolecular approach in chemical crystallography in Hungary, performing outstanding research on the field of host-guest systems and complexes. He participates in international collaborations and projects. His international recognition is reflected by the fact for example that he was appointed the co-editor of the journal Acta Crystallographica Section E: Crystallographic Communications for several years. He established extensive cooperation with Hungarian organic chemistry laboratories and with several Hungarian institutions performing pharmaceutical research. He is the author of 180 scientific publications, he has received 2763 independent citations, his H-index is 29.
Awardee at 2019:
The Advisory Board of the Hungarian Chemical Society awards the first Hungarian Alajos Kálmán Prize in 2019 to
Professor Luigi R. Nassimbeni
from University of Cape Town, South Africa.
for his outstanding activity in supramolecular chemistry,
revealing aspects of thermodynamics, kinetics and separation of inclusion compounds,
and discovering the relevance of certain weak bonds in significant industrial processes.