UNESCO Science Prize
Encyclopedia
The UNESCO Science Prize is a biennial scientific prize awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to "a person or group of persons for an outstanding contribution they have made to the technological development of a developing member state or region through the application of scientific and technological research (particularly in the fields of education, engineering and industrial development)."
The candidates for the Science Prize are proposed to the Director-General of UNESCO by the governments of member states or by non-governmental organization
s. All proposals are judged by a panel of six scientists and engineers. The prize consists of , an Albert Einstein Silver Medal, and is awarded in odd years to coincide with UNESCO's General Conference.
The candidates for the Science Prize are proposed to the Director-General of UNESCO by the governments of member states or by non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s. All proposals are judged by a panel of six scientists and engineers. The prize consists of , an Albert Einstein Silver Medal, and is awarded in odd years to coincide with UNESCO's General Conference.
Past Laureates
- 1968: Robert Simpson Silver "for his discovery of a process for the demineralization of sea water."
- 1970: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre and International Rice Research InstituteInternational Rice Research InstituteThe International Rice Research Institute is an international NGO. Its headquarters are in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines, and it has offices in sixteen countries...
"for their work which made it possible to produce, in the space of a few years, improved strainsStrain (biology)In biology, a strain is a low-level taxonomic rank used in three related ways.-Microbiology and virology:A strain is a genetic variant or subtype of a micro-organism . For example, a "flu strain" is a certain biological form of the influenza or "flu" virus...
of cerealCerealCereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s." - 1972: Viktor Kovda "for his theory on the hydromorphic origin of the soilSoilSoil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s of the great plains of Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas" and nine researchers from "for their development of the L-D processBasic oxygen steelmakingBasic oxygen steelmaking , also known as Linz-Donawitz-Verfahren steelmaking or the oxygen converter process is a method of primary steelmaking in which carbon-rich molten pig iron is made into steel. Blowing oxygen through molten pig iron lowers the carbon content of the alloy and changes it into...
designed for recovery of steelSteelSteel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
from low phosphorus pig ironPig ironPig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
." - 1976: Alfred Champagnat "for his findings on the low-cost mass production of new proteinProteinProteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
s from petroleumPetroleumPetroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
." - 1978: A team of research workers from the Lawes Agricultural Trust "for their work on synthetic insecticideInsecticideAn insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...
s related to natural pyrethrumPyrethrumPyrethrum refers to several Old World plants of the genus Chrysanthemum which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum is also the name of a natural insecticide made from the dried flower heads of C. cinerariifolium and C...
." - 1980: Leonardo Mata "for his work on the relationship between malnutritionMalnutritionMalnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess , or in the wrong proportions....
and infection, particularly in infants" and a group of four scientists from the Medical Research Council of Ireland "for their work on the synthesis of an anti-leprosyLeprosyLeprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
agent, B-633." - 1983: Roger Whitehead "for his work on the role of maternal nutrition and lactationLactationLactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process occurs in all female mammals, however it predates mammals. In humans the process of feeding milk is called breastfeeding or nursing...
in infant growth." - 1985: A group of six scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationThe Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is the national government body for scientific research in Australia...
"for their work on the biological control of Salvinia molesta infestations in the Sepik River Basin of Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
." - 1987: Yuan LongpingYuan LongpingYuan Longping is a Chinese agricultural scientist and educator, known for developing the first hybrid rice varieties in the 1970s. His "hybrid rice" has since been grown in dozens of countries in Africa, America, and Asia—providing a robust food source in high famine risk areas. He is called "The...
"for his work leading to the creation of an hybrid riceHybrid riceHybrid rice is any genealogy of rice produced by crossbreeding different kinds of rice. As with other types of hybrids, hybrid rice typically displays heterosis such that when it is grown under the same conditions as comparable high-yielding inbred rice varieties it can produce up to 30% more rice...
with high yield potential." - 1989: Johanna DöbereinerJohanna DöbereinerJohanna Liesbeth Kubelka Döbereiner was a Brazilian agronomist. Her family were German Czechoslovakians who left the country after World War II. She received her degree from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, but settled in Brazil and became a Brazilian citizen in 1956...
"for her work in exploiting biological nitrogen fixation as the major source of nitrogenNitrogenNitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
in tropical agriculture." - 1991: A group of researchers and engineers from the Instituto Tecnológico Venezolano del Petróleo "for their contribution to the development of hydrocracking distillationDistillationDistillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
and hydrotreatment technology." - 1993: Octavio NovaroOctavio NovaroOctavio Augusto Novaro Peñalosa is a prominent theoretical physicist specialized in theoretical catalysis, physical chemistry, biophysics and geophysics. He received the National Prize for Arts and Sciences in 1983 and became the first Mexican researcher to receive the UNESCO Science Prize...
for his contribution to the phenomenon of catalysisCatalysisCatalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....
. - 1995: Wang XuanWang XuanWang Xuan , born in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China, innovator of the Chinese printing industry, was an academician at both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering...
"for his contribution to the Chinese photocomposition system". - 1997: Marcos MoshinskyMarcos MoshinskyMarcos Moshinsky was a Mexican physicist of Ukrainian origin whose work in the field of elementary particles won him the Prince of Asturias Prize for Scientific and Technical Investigation in 1988 and the UNESCO Science Prize in 1997....
(/) "for his work in nuclear physicsNuclear physicsNuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
." - 1999: Atta ur RahmanAtta ur RahmanAtta-ur-Rahman, D.Phil., TI, SI HI, NI, is a leading scientist and scholar in the field of organic chemistry from Pakistan, especially renowned for his research in the various areas relating to natural product chemistry...
"for his work in organic chemistry which has contributed to the development of plant-based therapies for cancer, AIDS and diabetes" and José Leite LopesJosé Leite LopesJosé Leite Lopes , noted Brazilian theoretical physicist in the field of quantum field theory and particle physics.-Life:...
"for his contribution to the development of physicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
in Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
." - 2001: Baltasar Mena IniestaBaltasar Mena IniestaBaltasar Mena Iniesta is a Spanish-born Mexican mechanical engineer specialized in Rheology. He has been laureated with Mexico's National Prize for Arts and Sciences , UNESCO Science Prize , and has chaired both the International Committee on Rheology and the Mexican Society of Rheology .Mena...
(/) "for his ability to relate his research in rheology and new materials to technological applications." - 2003: Somchart Soponronnarit "for research on areas of renewable energy and drying technology."
- 2005: Alexander BalankinAlexander BalankinAlexander Balankin is a Mexican scientist of Russian origin whose work in the field of and its engineering applications won him the UNESCO Science Prize in 2005....
(/) "for his pioneer contributions in development of fractalFractalA fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
mechanics and improving exploration techniques for the oil industry".