The European Academy of Sciences (EurASc), led by its President, Professor Rodrigo Martins, is pleased to announce the success of its advocacy for a stronger focus on research and innovation within the European Commission. In response to a formal petition, supported by Nobel laureates and prominent figures from the scientific community, the European Commission has appointed Ekaterina Zaharieva as the first-ever commissioner exclusively focused on startups, research, and innovation.
This appointment marks a significant shift, as previous commissioners—such as Mariya Gabriel—had been tasked with a broad portfolio that included culture, education, and youth, diluting the attention given to research and innovation. The EurASc, in collaboration with the Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE) and its president, Prof. Dr. Martin Andler, had urged President Ursula von der Leyen to prioritize this critical area with a dedicated commissioner. Their request has now been fulfilled.
In a letter sent to von der Leyen earlier this year, the European Academy of Sciences emphasized the need for Europe to strengthen its research ecosystem to compete globally. Professor Martins, together with the EurASc Presidium, stressed the importance of increasing investment in research and enhancing the European Research Council’s (ERC) capabilities. They argued that only through empowered leadership could Europe achieve the strategic goals laid out by von der Leyen, including those in the European Prosperity Plan, which places research and innovation at the heart of Europe’s future economy. (PRESS RELEASE)
The appointment of Ekaterina Zaharieva as commissioner for startups, research, and innovation is widely seen as a critical move to ensure that Horizon Europe’s budget is protected and that Europe remains competitive in the global science and technology landscape. This aligns with the proposals of Mario Draghi, who also advocated for a more robust European focus on research and innovation to improve quality of life across the continent.
Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary General of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), praised the decision and highlighted the importance of having a commissioner capable of immediate action. Ekaterina Zaharieva, with her extensive experience, is expected to bring much-needed momentum to Europe’s research and innovation sectors.
The scientific community across Europe celebrates this victory as a step towards a prosperous future grounded in science, technology, and innovation.
We would like to address an important matter that impacts the reputation and integrity of the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc).
Recently, we have been made aware of an organization called the Europaische Akademiesending der Naturwissenschaften, which has caused some confusion.
It is important to emphasize that EurASc has no affiliation with this entity. Our members are elected solely based on their scientific merit, ensuring the highest standards of excellence and integrity.
We reaffirm the scientific and moral principles that underpin our academy. All our members are elected based on their outstanding scientific achievements and contributions. Our election process is governed by stringent scientific criteria. Our academy includes Nobel Prize and Fields Medal laureates, showcasing the exceptional caliber of our members. We bestow prestigious awards such as the Leonardo da Vinci Medal and the Blaise Pascal Medal in recognition of exceptional contributions in various scientific fields. Membership in EurASc cannot be purchased. Our rigorous selection process ensures that only the most deserving scientists are elected.
Additionally, it has come to our attention that the Natural Sciences Academy (http://www.eanw.org/news.html), features content primarily in Cyrillic and offers a so-called Leonardo da Vinci diploma. This raises concerns, especially with our Chinese correspondents and relationships. It is essential to note that our academy maintains the highest standards and does not engage in any practices that could compromise our integrity.
We are committed to upholding the highest standards of scientific excellence and ensuring that our reputation remains untarnished.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
President and Vice-President of the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc)
The European Academy of Sciences is deeply concerned by the recent violence in the Middle East and condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the brutal terrorist attack that Israelis suffered and stands up in support of our Israeli scientific colleagues. We are shocked and appalled by the atrocious violence that has been perpetrated by the terrorists against Israeli citizens. We are also concerned by the tragic situation of the civil population in Gaza, and we encourage the international community to urgently develop a humanitarian solution.
Our thoughts are with all victims on both sides of this conflict.
A high-level Scientific Forum on “Advanced Materials and Intelligent Manufacturing” will take place in Henan (Zhengzhou), China, on September 23-25, 2023.
The purpose of this workshop, jointly organized by the Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, the Technological Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) and European Academy of Sciences (EurASc) is to enhance research collaboration and knowledge exchange between European countries and China, including Hong Kong, in the areas of advancedmaterials, new energy materials, intelligent manufacturing, biomaterials, data science, etc. Besides EurASc President and Vice-President, the Heads of the Scientific Committees of Chemistry, Materials Science and Medicine and Life Sciences Divisions will participate to this international levent.
Thank you for supporting this year’s European Inventor Award ceremony. We set out to host a global event that celebrated innovation and underlined the value of intellectual property. The ceremony’s reach once again helped shine a spotlight on inventors and promote the incredible work carried out by their companies.
We now turn our attention to 2023 and Valencia, our host city for the next edition. Our nomination drive has begun and as you are among the best placed to spot ground-breaking innovation and the sharpest minds, we would welcome your nominations.
Further information on the categories, nomination process and selection criteria is available at epo.org/nominate.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the project team at european-inventor@epo.org.
We look forward to receiving your proposals and thank you in advance for supporting the 2023 European Inventor Award.
The ” Enrico Fermi ” Award of the Italian Physical Society for 2022 was awarded ex aequo to Giorgio Benedek (EurASc Fellow – Physics Division), Professor Emeritus of the University of Milan Bicocca, and to Jan Peter Toennies, Professor Emeritus of the Max-Planck-Institut of Göttingen, with the following motivation:
“For their pioneering, experimental (JPT) and theoretical (GB) studies of the dynamic effects at the atomic scale on the surface of solids through the development of high resolution spectroscopy based on the diffusion of helium atoms”.
The award ceremony will take place at the opening session of the 107th National Congress of the Italian Physical Society, in Milan, on 12 September 2022.
We have the pleasure to announce the Leonardo da Vinci Award and Blaise Pascal Medallists 2022.
Leonardo da Vinci Award – Professor Anny Cazenave
In recognition for her Outstanding Lifelong Achievement. Dr. Cazenave is Director for Earth Sciences at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), in Bern, Switzerland, since 2013. Previously, she was a star scientist of the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, in Toulouse, France, where she now is emeritus scientist. She is a world authority on anthropogenic sea level changes. Dr. Cazenave is a leading specialist of space research applied to Earth physics. As already mentioned, she is a world authority on sea level change and its relation with climate, especially using satellite remote sensing (hydrology from space). She is an expert of marine geophysics, mainly using satellite altimetry. She was a pioneer of satellite geodesy and its applications, including gravity, tides, precise positioning, global mass redistributions among oceans, atmosphere and land. Dr. Cazenave’s present research addresses different aspects of sea level changes: improvement of satellite measurements of sea level and quantification of uncertainties, estimation of the causes of sea level variations from global to local scales, and study of sea level impacts in coastal zones. Over the past decade, within the context of the Climate Change Initiative Programme of the European Space Agency, she has led a project to improve the ~30 year-long altimetry-based sea level record through a complete reprocessing of altimetry data from nine different space missions, developing new algorithms, improved geophysical corrections, etc. This huge undertaking, which involved several European partners, produced a new sea level dataset that is now available to the international community. She also initiated new research to estimate sea level changes in coastal zones as classical nadir altimetry does not work within 10-20 km of the coast due to parasitic reflections from land. This is critical research because, until recently, it was not known whether sea level at the coast rises at the same rate as in the open ocean. Novel, unexpected results obtained by Dr. Cazenave and her group showed that, along a large portion of the world coastal zones, coastal sea level trends at distances < 2-3 km from the shoreline are similar to those in the nearby open ocean. In few instances only, higher or lower rates are observed at the coast compared to offshore. This is key information for decision-making and adaptation. Accordingly, it is most befitting for the European Academy of Sciences to grant the 2022 Leonardo da Vinci Award to Prof. Anny Cazenave.
Blaise Pascal Medallist in Chemistry – Professor Gary J. Schrobilgen
In recognition to his contributions to the advances of science in the field of Chemistry. By the originality and the great scope of his discoveries, associated with the extreme elegance of the syntheses and the accuracy of the physical-chemical characterizations, Gary Schrobilgen is recognized worldwide as the specialist of fluorinatedcompounds of noble gases and species with very high oxidation degrees. This recognition is attested by the numerous chapters on the subject which have been requested to him by the editors of encyclopedias and journals, such as Kirk-Othmer, Encyclopedia of NMR, Concise Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, Encyclopedia Britannica, etc.
Blaise Pascal Medallist in Engineering – Professor Marco Amabili
In recognition of his contributions to the advances of science in the field of Engineering. Professor Amabili currently is the Canada Research Chair in Vibrations and Fluid-structure Interaction at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. His eminent and seminal contributions span over the areas of mechanics of plates and shells, structural dynamics and stability. He is the Author of almost 250 papers published in the best refereed international journals (SCOPUS H-Index=59) and of the worldwide well-known book “Nonlinear Vibrations and Stability of Shells and Plates” published by Cambridge University Press.
Blaise Pascal Medallist in Materials Science – Professor Claudia Felser
In recognition of her contributions for her work related to the design and realization of new quantum materials, with impact to quantum and energy conversion technologies. Prof. Felser’s work has led to fundamental breakthroughs in materials science and condensed matter research. Together with her team and cooperation partners, she has developed a self-contained program whereby new topological phenomena are theoretically predicted, quantum materials that would exhibit these phenomena are grown, experiments where these properties are expected to emerge are designed and implemented and thus novel effects are confirmed.
Blaise Pascal Medallist in Mathematics – Professor Alain-Sol Sznitman
In recognition for his contributions to Probability Theory. He is one of the main players who have transformed probability theory into one of the most active and important branches of mainstream mathematics — both directly via their own work, but also by creating a sense of community. In this last decade, Sznitman has again crafted a deep subject. With the “interlacement” questions, one looks at questions of the connectivity properties of “the complement of a random structure” rather that of the random structure itself. This turned out to be a deep topic, with relations to many other currently active areas of probability theory (maxima of random fields), where again, the ideas that he developed turn out to be central.
Blaise Pascal Medallist in Physics – Professor Susan Scott
In recognition for her contributions to the advances of Physics. Distinguished Professor Susan Scott is an internationally recognised mathematical physicist, who has made ground-breaking discoveries in General Relativity, Cosmology and Gravitational Wave Science spanning more than three decades. She played a leading role in Australia’s participation in the first detection of gravitational waves in 2015, and the development of the field of gravitational wave science in Australia following on from that discovery.
RECRUITMENT FOR THE POST OF DIRECTOR-GENERAL International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) The Council of INL is seeking an experienced, inspirational and dynamic leader to serve as INL’s next Director-General to succeed Prof. Lars Montelius, at the conclusion of his successful mandate in August 2022. INL is the first and only Intergovernmental Organisation (IGO) in the world entirely focused on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, created with the aim to become a global centre of excellence in applied nanotechnology research and to attract some of the world’s best scientists and engineers. INL was established by a joint decision of the Governments of Portugal and Spain and has been operating since late 2010, following a total investment of 100 M€. The Director-General, with proven experience of research, innovation and co-creation of knowledge with industry, shall be responsible for the overall leadership, strategic direction and management of the multidisciplinary and international community of INL. Moreover, the Director-General is the spokesperson for INL and serves as an advocate and communicator with all stakeholders and interested parties including worldwide scientific community, policy makers, industry groups, funding organisations, the media and the general public.
