Today, on 3 November, laureates of the UNESCO-Russia Mendeleev International Prize in the Basic Sciences were announced. The first laureate of the Prize is Scientific Leader of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions JINR Yuri Tsolakovich Oganessian.

Academician Oganessian is awarded the high prize “to acknowledge his breakthrough discoveries extending the Periodic Table and for his promotion of the basic sciences for development at the global scale.”

The UNESCO-Russia Mendeleev Prize for achievements in the basic sciences is the only award in the field under the auspices of the world humanitarian organization. The UNESCO-Russia Mendeleev Prize is being awarded for the very first time this year, and it is symbolic that this event takes place in the Year of Science and Technology held in Russia.

Commenting on awarding the high prize, Yuri Tsolakovich Oganessian highlighted that establishment of the personalised prize in honour of such an outstanding person was a bright decision. “It is an unusual award established in honour of an outstanding person. Its uniqueness is that the Prize is awarded for achievements in four fields of basic science: mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. However, there are only two winners. Organizers of the Prize thus managed to reflect the brilliant and diverse scientific talent of Dmitry I. Mendeleev. It is known that he was also a bright lecturer and perfectly solved applied tasks. The Mendeleev Prize is a brave and novel approach to appreciate scientific activities of a researcher. The future of scientific discoveries depends on the synergy of scientific ideas from various scientific fields,” the laureate noted.

The other laureate of the Prize is Professor Vincenzo Balzani, the University of Bologna, Italy. Professor Balzani is an outstanding Italian chemist marked with awards of various countries, including the Leonardo da Vinci Award of the European Academy of Sciences, for his scientific activities.

Each laureate will receive a financial award of USD 250,000, a gold medal and a diploma. The awarding ceremony will take place on 15 November 2021 in the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.

The JINR Directorate and the international team of the Institute congratulate Yuri Tsolakovich on receiving the high award!

It should be reminded that the UNESCO-Russia Mendeleev International Prize in the Basic Sciences was established at the end of 2019 on the initiative of the Russian Federation in order to promote development, diffusion, and international cooperation in the basic sciences. The Prize is also an enduring legacy to the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT2019). The Prize is funded by the Government of the Russian Federation.

It should be also noted that the jury consists of seven eminent scientists with a recognised reputation in the basic sciences.