The award of exceptional individuals of science ESET ScienceAward has new laureates. On Saturday, October 16, 2021, three personalities of Slovak science received the awards during a gala evening in the Slovak Philharmonic in the presence of the President of the Slovak Republic Zuzana Čaputová and the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Eduard Heger.

Ján Dusza became an Outstanding Individual Contributor to Slovak Science in 2021, Ladislav Valkovič became an Exceptional Young Scientist under the Age of 35 and Jozef Zajac became an Outstanding Academic.

Outstanding Academic – Dr.h.c. mult. prof. Ing. Jozef Zajac, CSc. acts as the Dean of the Faculty of Manufacturing Technologies of the Technical University of Košice. He deals with the topic of progressive production technologies such as laser, water jet, plasma and high-speed machining. They have been used in industry for several decades, but according to Zajac, the best years are still ahead.

From the point of view of a university teacher, he emphasizes the importance of linking university studies with practice. His Faculty achieves up to 99 percent success in employing graduates within three months of graduation, while 70 to 80 percent of them remain working in Slovakia.

“I see it as an award not only for me, but also for all primary, secondary and university teachers who have had to cope with the challenges of this pandemic era,” he said.

Congratulations!

Find more information about Jozef Zajac in his profile on the ESET ScienceAward page.

For the third year in a row, the ESET ScienceAward honoured top scientists who are the personification of excellent science in Slovakia and internationally, and their scientific work and results are beneficial for various spheres of society.

Laureates of all three categories are selected on the basis of demanding criteria, including current scientific research results and publications, measurable scientometric data, as well as communication and popularization, collaboration with other scientific disciplines, feedback from close collaborators or students and much more.

The chairman of the international commission and Nobel Prize laureate Kip Thorne praised the world-class Slovak scientists. “The selection of laureates was extremely challenging this year also, as all finalists are excellent in their fields. This confirms that science in Slovakia has an international quality. However, large scientific projects require not only excellent science, but also the support of state and private institutions,” he said.

Source: https://www.esetscienceaward.sk/