Róbert E. Gyurcsányi, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Chemical and Bioengineering and Head of the Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, will receive this year’s Simon-Widmer Prize of the Swiss Chemical Society (SCS), according to a statement published on the society’s website. The prize, established in memory of two renowned Swiss professors of chemistry, Wilhelm Simon and Michael Widmer, recognises outstanding contributions to the field of analytical chemistry. The prize is worth 5,000 Swiss francs.

“This is a great honour because it is a very prestigious prize, awarded every two years or more, and in most cases it is awarded to outstanding analytical scientists from the best Swiss universities. The list of honourees is impressive, the first being Csaba Horváth, a former professor at Yale, a pioneer of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technology back in 2000,” Róbert Gyurcsányi told bme.hu.

According to the justification, the prize was awarded for the development of electroanalytical sensors and bioanalytical methods, which includes the BME lecturer’s research in the field of virus counters, ion sensors, nanoporous sensors, biosensors and molecular imprint polymers.

“The international nomination and the decision of the experts is a great recognition not only for me but also for my research team”,

said Róbert Gyurcsányi.

“An international professional award, especially in such a competitive field of research, with such previous winners, is extremely rewarding and emotionally meaningful to me. I came to ETH Zurich in 2002 with a postdoctoral fellowship named after one of the namesakes, Wilhelm Simon, and his scientific legacy was a major influence on the start of my research career,” he added.

Róbert E. Gyurcsányi will receive the award at the SCS meeting in Beatenberg on 19 March.

Rector’s Office, Communications Directorate
initial image: mta.hu