Alajos Kálmán Prize
The International Kálmán Prize preserves the memory of the late Alajos Kálmán (1935-2017), an eminent scientist in the field of chemical crystallography.
The Prize is awarded to an individual researcher in recognition for outstanding scientific contributions in the field of structural sciences within the last 5-10 years. The chair of the ECA SIG13 is the chairperson of the Alajos Kálmán Prize Committee. The selection of the awardee is conducted by ECA SIG13, but this does not mean that the nominee or awardee must have a strong affiliation with SIG13. The research activities of the nominees and awardee can be in all structural sciences related to crystallography.
The nominee must have a clear affiliation with the ECA, directly associated with crystallography and be a listed member of the World Directory of Crystallography. Nominators may be ECA Individual Members, or any person from a national member of ECA, or any Corporate Affiliated Member.
More details in the ECA website:
Alajos Kálmán Prize – European Crystallographic Association (ecanews.org)
Awardees:
2019: Prof Luigi Nassimbeni, University of Cape Town
For Prof Luigi Nassimbeni’s 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.
2022: Prof Eric Collet, 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.
2024: Prof Piero Macchi, Politecnico di Milano
Professor Piero Macchi has made fundamental and ground-breaking contributions to both Quantum Crystallography and Extreme Conditions Crystallography. His research includes the development of computational tools available to all charge density scientists. He has advanced the technique and boundaries of what one can do in experimental charge density measurements. His work leads to new experimental capabilities at the upgraded Swiss Light Source. He has an impressive record of high-impact publications, he made substantial contributions to the crystallographic community, and he has supervised numerous young researchers.