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TWAS Newsletter
The Academy's quarterly magazine.

Forty-six new TWAS Fellows

Forty-six new TWAS Fellows

The election took place at the Academy's 25th General Meeting in Muscat, Oman, on Sunday, 26 October 2014.

Follow the 2014 General Meeting at TWAS’s Facebook page. On Twitter, follow the hashtag #TWASmtg. On Flickr, visit TWAS's photostream. To learn more about the meeting, download the programme.

Fifty-two new TWAS membersThe forty-six new Fellows bring the total TWAS membership to 1148. Ten new members are women.

Thirty-four members hail from Austria (2), Brazil (5), China (11), Taiwan, China (3), India (11) and Tanzania (2). One each (12 total) live and work in Argentina, Australia, the Central Africal Republic, Ecuador, Hungary, Japan, Kuwait, Oman, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe. Six live in countries not significantly represented in the Academy's membership, including one in the Central African Republic where TWAS until now had not been represented at all.

The new TWAS Fellows, who will be inducted at the Academy's 26th General Meeting in 2015, are:

01-Agricultural Sciences

  • ABDURAKHMONOV, Ibrokhim (Uzbekistan): b.19-2-1975 (M). PhD, Professor in Molecular Genetics and Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Genetics and PEB, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan. Nominee is the pioneer in studying and exploiting genetic diversity of cotton using genetic mapping, marker-assisted selection and RNAi strategies.  His group has led to estimate linkage disequilibrium, and characterize several cotton genes  and microRNAs, which resulted in development of the first generation RNAi-derived superior biotech cotton cultivars in Uzbekistan. He has received several national and international honours including the ICAC Cotton Researcher of the Year, the Uzbekistan Government award "Mark of Uzbekistan" and the 2010 TWAS Prize in Agricultural Sciences.
  • DATTA, Swapan (India): b.28-1-1953 (M). PhD, Professor and Deputy Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi 110 014, India and R&b Ghosh Chair Porfessor at University of Calcultta (on leave). The nominee is well recognized Agricultural Scientist particularly in rice biotechnology for his pioneering research on genetic engineering of indica rice. He has established homozygous rice using anther culture with genes of agronomic interest. His outstanding research includes marker free Golden Rice and high iron rice which would be useful in reducing malnutrition in developing countries. Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences India,  of the National Academy of Sciences India and of the  Indian National Science Academy, Datta has won the Paul Johannes Bruhl Memorial Medal in 2010, the P. Maheshwari Medal in 2006, and the CGIAR Science Award for his work on the enhanced iron and zinc accumulation in transgenic indica rice.
  • GROSSI DE SA, Maria Fatima (Brazil): b.15-11-1956 (F). PhD, Researcher, Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasilia, Brazil.The nominee has established a reference research group involved in the studies of the Plant – Pest Molecular Interaction, prospection and identification of new genes/promoters applied in biotic/non-biotic stress studies, functional genomics and genetic engineering of crops for pest resistance and drought tolerance. Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, among others, she has received the Brazil SCOPUS Award and several Embrapa national team awards.
  • HAN, Bin (China): b.15-4-1963 (M). PhD, Professor, National Center for Gene Research, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. The nominee has contributed to the study of plant genomics ranging from investigating rice domestication, developing bioinformatic tools, de novo sequencing and assembly, genes with agronomic and evolutionary importance.  The findings have broad impact in plant genomics, bioinformatics, genome sequencing and rice genetics. Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, among others, he has received the Second Prize of National Natural Science and the First Prize of Shanghai Science and Technology Progress.
  • MUNNS, Rana (Australia): b.10-12-1945 (F). PhD, CSIRO Honorary Fellow; Professor of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, CSIRO Plant Industry, Canberra, Australia. The nominee is recognized for her insights into the fundamental principles of crop adaptation to saline soil, and their applications.  She characterized the critical plant processes and discovered new genes for salt tolerance. Member of the Australian Academy of Sciences, she has received the Citation Award (Thomson Reuters) for most highly cited Australian plant scientist, 2002-2012, and the Highly Cited Scientist (ISI) 2009-present.
  • OMAR ASEM Samira (Kuwait): b.19-12-1950 (F). PhD, Program Director, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait. The nominee has contributed to the conservation and sustainable development of renewable natural resources such as; monitoring and assessment of terrestrial environment, establishment of protected areas, rangeland management, control of mobile sand rehabilitation of degraded rangelands, agriculture master planning, soil survey, GIS application, livestock aerial census, sustainable land-use planning and environmental claims. Vice-President of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), among others, she has received the 2006 Environmentalist of the Year Award of India, the National Award for Achievements in Research of Kuwait and the Environment Figure Award by Al-Waqf Fund for the Advancement of the Environment.

02-Structural, Cell and Molecular Biology

  • CHARY, Venkata Ramana Kandala (India): b.10-2-1954 (M). PhD, Senior Professor, Department of Chemical Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India. The nominee has unveiled important biomolecular 3D structures by NMR, such as Ca2+-binding proteins from E. hist,   -crystallins and biologically rare DNA forms, and studied their conformational heterogeneity and dynamics. He has also developed methodologies to speed up the acquisition and analysis of multidimensional NMR data by several orders of magnitude.  Fellow of INSA and NASI, and president of Indian Biophysical Society, he won the Young Scientist Medal of INSA 1986, the Bruker Young Scientist Award 1986, the Asundi Memorial Lecture Award of INSA 2006, and the JC Ghosh Memorial Award 2009-10.
  • SALUNKE, Dinakar (India): b.1-7-1955 (M). PhD, Executive Director, Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Gurgaon, National Capital Region of Delhi, India. The nominee has made notable contributions in understanding the dichotomy of antibody specificity and molecular mimicry in the humoral immune response. His work, using structural, thermodynamic and immunological biology approaches, led to discovering new ways of antibody degeneracy and has impacted the evolving paradigm shift in immune recognition and generation of antibody repertoire. Fellow of all 3 science academies of India and elected Vice-President of INSA in 2013, he has won the Bhatnagar, Ranbaxy and National Bioscience Awards, a JC Bose fellowship and the GN Ramachandran gold medal for Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology 2010, among others.
  • SHAHA, Chandrima (India): b.14-10-1952 (F). PhD, Staff Scientist VII, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India. The nominee is a cell biologist whose work has helped us understand the Chandrakala Hora Memorial Medal, Indian National Science Academy, Indiamechanisms of cell death in uni- and multi-cellula, Indiar organisms. She is a fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences and the winner of the Shakuntala Amirchand Award of India, the  Prof. Archana Sharma Memorial Award, National Academy of Sciences, India and the Chandrakala Hora Memorial Medal, Indian National Science Academy.
  • TSAI Ming-Daw (Taiwan, China): b 1-9-1950 (M). PhD, Distinguished Research Fellow & Director, Institute of Biological Chemistry, Taiwan, China. The nominee's research has focused on “Biophosphates: from Enzymes to Signaling”.  He combined advanced biochemical and chemical methods, which are integrated with structural and biological studies, to uncover novel enzymatic reaction mechanisms and signaling mechanisms involving biophosphates. Member of the Academia Sinica, he has received the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, and the Distinguished Scholar Award of The Ohio State University.

03-Biological Systems and Organisms

  • ALLEYNE, Trevor (Barbados/Trinidad & Tobago): b.1-1-1955 (M). PhD, Senior Lecturer, Unit of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of The West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad. The nominee's research has focused on the electron transport chain enzyme, cytochrome c oxidase.  The work led to the conclusion that electron transfer in this enzyme occurs via conformational changes and protonation/deprotonation of specific amino acids. Member of the Caribbean Academy of Sciences, he has received the CIDA Canadian/UWI Fellowship and the RhodesTrust Research Fellowship.
  • BRAHMACHARI Samir Kumar (India): b.1-1-1952 (M). PhD, J. C Bose National Fellow, Academy Professor -AcSIR, Chief Mentor -OSDD, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India. The nominee has made pioneering scientific contributions and promotion of functional genomics research in India and for outstanding leadership culminating to the establishment of CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology and the AcSIR along with the path-breaking concept of OSDD for Tuberculosis. Member of all three science academies of India, he has received the Banga Bibhushan Award (Highest civilian award of the Government of West Bengal), the Bharat Asmita Vigyan Tantragyaan Shreshtha Award, and the SS Bhatnagar Award.
  • MAJUMDER, Hemanta K. (India): b.5-5-1950 (M). PhD,  Ramanna Fellow (DAE, Govt. of India), Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India. The nominee has made outstanding contribution in Leishmania research, was was invited to edit a special issue of the journal Current Molecular Medicine, published in 2004 (Bentham Science Publishers, USA) and he also edited a special volume of the journal Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, Vol. 625 (Drug Targets in Kinetoplastid Parasites) in 2008. Fellow of all science academies of India, he has won, inter alia, the JC Bose National Fellowship,  the JC Ghosh, and BK Bachhawat Prizes of India, and the Sir Ronald Ross Memorial Lecture Award, among others.
  • MGAYA, Yunus (Tanzania): b.27-7-1957 (M). PhD, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) and Professor of Marine Biology, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The nominee has worked on Age and Growth of the Mosshead Sculpin Clinocottus globiceps Girard with an assessment of its Role in production of Tidepool Fishes.  He studied quantitative aspects of growth, genetics and reproduction of the European Abalone (ormer) Haliotis tuberculata Linnaeus under aquaculture conditions. Member of the Tanzania Academy of Sciences and African Academy of Sciences, he has received the Best Worker (Academic) prize from the University of Dar es Salaam, the WIOMSA recognition of his work.
  • RON, Santiago (Ecuador): b.16-10-1970 (M). PhD, Principal Professor, Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador. The nominee has made contributions in the study of the evolution of animal communication and the speciation and diversification of Neotropical amphibians, and for his studies of the processes that have caused global population declines in amphibians. Founding Member of the Ecuadorian Science Academy (Academia de Ciencias del Ecuador -ACE), he was a TWAS Young Affiliate (2008-2013) and is a member of the Global Young Academy.

04-Medical and Health Sciences incl. Neurosciences

  • CORREA-OLIVEIRA, Rodrigo (Brazil): b.6-4-1956 (M). PhD, Senior Researcher, Centro de Pesaquisas René Rachou FIOCRUZ-Minas, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The nominee  has made contributions to the development of integrated approach for studies on human infectious disease, identification of major immune mechanisms involved in the development of severe pathology and protective immune response of individuals with Schistosoma  mansoni and Trypanosoma cruzi (chagas disease) infections.  He also contributed to development of vaccines against human hookworm and canine visceral leishmaniasis. Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, among others he has received the Carlos Chagas Honour Medal and the highest level research award of the Brazilian National Research Council.
  • CUNHA, Fernando Q. (Brazil). b.20-10-1954 (M). PhD, Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The focus of the nominee's research has been on (i) role of cytokines on the onset of inflammation and pain, (2) mechanisms of leukocyte migration into the inflammatory site and (3) role of inflammatory response for sepsis progression. A member of the Brazilian Academy of Science, he has won the Prize Mauricio Rocha e Silva, and the Best Scientist of USP Prize.
  • ELGOYHEN, Ana Belén (Argentina): b.13-12-1959 (F). PhD, Principal Researcher, CONICET and Adjunct Professor, Department of Pharmacology School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The nominee showed that the transduction and transmission of sound is modulated by efferent signals that travel from the brain back to inner ear. She discovered the molecular structure of the receptors that mediate synaptic transmission between efferent fibers and cochlear sensory hair cells. Member of the USA Society for Neuroscience, the Argentine societies for pharmacology, biochemistry and molecular biology, she has received the TWAS 2011 Prize in Biology, the Bernardo Houssay Award and the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science for Latin America, among others.
  • GAO, George Fu (China): b.15-11-1961 (M). DPhil (Oxon), Director and Professor, CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology; and Deputy Director-General, Chinese center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China. The nominee has contributed towards understanding the molecular basis of the pathogenicity (“host jump” or interspecies transmission) of influenza virus and other enveloped viruses (e.g. MERS-coronavirus), which provide molecular level insights into the prevention and control of infection, drug development and Cellular immunity. Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, among others, he has received the Nikkei Asia Prize, the Science and Technology Innovation Talent-CCTV Grand Ceremony for SYT, the Beijing Scientific and Technological Award.
  • MUTABINGWA, Theonest Kahangwa (Tanzania): b.26-3-1951 (M). PhD, Professor, Hubert Kairuki Memorial University, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. The nominee has mapped malaria drug resistance in Tanzania that influenced treatment policy.  He spear headed changing from chloroquine to sulfadoxine/primethamine for malaria prevention in pregnancy.  Efficacious proguanil is combined with another drug to produce effective “Malarone”. Member of the Tanzania Academy of Sciences, he has received the NIMR award for the best research scientist at Amani Medical Research Centre, Tanzania.
  • SALOTRA, Poonam (India): b.8-10-1955 (F). PhD, Scientist F, Molecular Parasitology Laboratory, National Institute of Pathology (ICMR), New Delhi, India. The nominee has made contributions in leishmaniasis, pathogen genomics ad drug resistance.  She developed a vaccine which is in pre-clinical trials and the diagnostics developed by her are in use in referral laboratories. Member of the Indian National Science Academy and the National Academy of Sciences Allahabad, she has received the Bill and Melinda Gates Global Health Series Award, the Basanti Devi Amir Chand Award and the Prof. BK Aikat Award, among others.

05-Chemical Sciences

  • ALVES, Oswaldo Luiz (Brazil): b.14-8-1947 (M). PhD, Professor of Chemistry, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil. The nominee made significant and original contributions towards obtaining special glasses for optoelectronics; the mechanism involved in the formation of silver nanoparticles produced by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum; and the development of technology related to environmental remediation of industrial effluents (textile and paper) licensed to a Brazilian company. Fellow of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Alves has won the Prize Abiquim for Innovation, 2009, the Technological Innovation Award 2008, the Fritz Feigl Prize, and is a member of the Brazilian Order of Merit 2002.
  • KURODA, Reiko (Japan): b.7-10-1947 (F). PhD, Professor, Research Institute for Science & Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba-ken, Japan. The nominee studies supramolecular handedness at the molecular level, and has discovered new chiral recognition/generation technique to the condensed phase, by developing and using chiro-optical spectrometers. Member of the Science Council of Japan and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (chemistry), she has won the L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Award in 2013, Saruhashi Prize, the Molecular Chirality Award, Yamazaki-Telichi Prize and an honorary doctorate from the Chalmers University of technology, Sweden.
  • LI, Yadong (China): b.25-11-1964 (M). PhD, Academician, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. The nominee focuses on synthesis, assembly, properties, and applications of inorganic nanomaterials. He developed a liquid-solid-solution phase transfer synthetic strategy for the synthesis of different types of nanocrystals, and proposed an electronegativity rule for the synthesis of bi- or tri-metallic nanocrystals and explored the relationship between structure and property of nanocrystals. Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he has won the National Natural Sciences Award several times.
  • PATI, Swapan Kumar (India): b.7-12-1968 (M). PhD, Professor, JNCASR, Bangalore, India. The nominee has made contributions to the understanding of novel properties and phenomena of molecular and novel material systems.  His work includes magnetic, optical, electronic and energy aspects of systems ranging from molecules to advanced materials. Member of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad, among others, he has received the TWAS Prize in Chemistry (2012), the B.N. Birla Science Prize and was appointed as a TWAS Young Affiliate in 2007.
  • TIAN, Zhong-Qun (China): b.21-12-1955 (M). PhD, DSc, Changjiang Professor State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces & Department of Chemistry, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China. The nominee has contributed to the methodological developments of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, spectro-electrochemistry and nanofabrication for fundamental molecular-level studies of metal-solution interfaces and growth mechanism of various nanostructures. Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of Chemistry, among others, he has received the Faraday Medal from RSC and the Prix Jacques Tacussel from the International Society of Electrochemistry.
  • ZHAO, Jincai (China): b.16-12-1960 (M). PhD, Professor, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Photochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China. The nominee's accomplishments centre on decontamination of organic pollutants, potentially by using the solar energy: (1) Detailed elaboration on the mechanism of degradation of organic dye pollutants catalyzed by TiO2 under visible irradiation; (2) Design and synthesis of a series of visible-light-active metal-complex photocatalysts; and (3) Discovery of some important environmental photochemical phenomena. Member of CAS, he has won the National Natural Sciences Prize of China, and recently the Japanese Photochemistry Association Lecturer Award.

06-Engineering Sciences

  • AL-SULAIMAN, Sabah Ahmed Abdul-Wahab (Oman): b.1-2-1958 (F). Ph.D., Full Professor, Sultan Qaboos University, College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Sultanate of Oman. The nominee’s work is related to the importance of protecting the environment and sustainable development.  Her research interests are monitoring of pollutants in the atmosphere, modeling and assessment, outdoor and indoor air quality, air pollution control, modeling and chemistry of ozone formation, modeling of the dispersion of air pollution in the atmosphere, thermal inversion etc. Al-Sulaiman has received the Khalifa Award for Education of the United Arab Emirates, the WSO Education Award and the First Prize of Saudi Arabia for Environmental Management Award, among others.
  • CHEBIYYAM, Siva Ram Murthy (India): b.20-6-1960 (M). PhD, Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) Chair Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai, India. The nominee has made significant contributions in designing and developing novel algorithms/protocols for effective use of high performance real-time computing and communication systems. Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, the National Academy of Sciences, India and the Indian National Academy of Engineering, he has received the IBM Real-Time Innovation Award, the Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Research Award, among others.
  • CHENG Hui-Ming (China): b.31-10-1963 (M). PhD, Director of Advanced Carbon Division, Shenyang National Lab for Mater. Sci. (SYNL), Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China. The nominee has made contribution to the invention of floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition for synthesis of single and double walled carbon nanotubes, the fabrication of a novel graphene foam, and the research and development of new energy storage and conversion materials. Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he has received the Distinguished Award for Novel Materials and Their Synthesis, the Award for Scientific and Technological Progress, the Charles E. Pettinos Award and the Khwarizmi International Award, among others.
  • TAN, Tieniu (China): b.20-1-1964 (M). PhD, Professor & Director, Center for Research on Intelligent Perception and Computing, CAS Institute of Automation; Deputy Secretary General, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. The nominee's work is in the area of pattern recognition and have led to numerous practical applications of great societal importance. Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, among others, he has received the National Award for Science and Technology Progress, the China Patent Award twice and the National S&T Award for Young Scientists.

07-Astronomy, Space and Earth Sciences

  • FERESU, Sarah (Zimbabwe): b.5-6-1955 (F). PhD, Professor & Director, Institute of Environmental Studies, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe. The nominee is an expert in public health microbiology and environmental microbiology, and has contributed to the Global Environment Outlooks 4 and 5 of UNEP, the GEO Year Book 2006 and the Global Energy Assessment. She is editor of Zimbabwe Environment Outlook 2010 and of a book on Poverty and Sustainable Development in Zimbabwe. Elected Fellow of the Zimbabwe Academy of Sciences, she won the International Foundation for Science/King Baudouin Award in May 1990.
  • JIAO, Nianzhi (China): b.18-12-1962 (M). PhD, Professor, State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science. Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China. The nominee has: 1) Revealed the linkages between Prochlorococcus and ocean currents/anthropogenic impacts in coastal oceans; 2) Clarified the distribution pattern of AAPB photoheterotrophs in global oceans, resulting in recognition of their specific roles in energy and carbon cycling in the ocean; and 3) Proposed the concept of "Microbial Carbon Pump (MCP)", leading to the constitution of the SCOR MCP-Working-Group joined by 12 countries, launching a new research line for carbon sequestration in the ocean. Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he has received the Lu Jiaxi Distinguished Mentor Award,  the Top 10 Achievements in S&T in Chinese Universities and the Science and Technology Award by The Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation, Hong Kong, among others.
  • MIRABEL, Igor-Feliz (Uruguay): b.23-10-1945 (M). PhD, Superior Researcher of the National Research Council (CONICET) - Institute of Astronomy and Space Physics, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The nominee has contributed to the discovery of microquasars which involve two aspects of relativistic physics, stellar black holes and relativistic jets; ultraluminous infrared galaxies that are mergers of giant spiral galaxies and tidal dwarf galaxies formed out of tidal debries of cosmic collisions between giant galaxies. Member of the National Academy of Exact Sciences, Physical and Natural Sciences of Argentina, he has been awarded the Konex Foundation prize in Physics & Astronomy for the decade 2003-2013, the "Bernardo Houssay" prize of the Ministry of Science & Technology of Argentina, the 2011 Grand Prix Deslandres of the French Academy of Sciences, among others.
  • ZHAI, Mingguo (China): b.24-12-1947 (M). PhD, Professor, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. The nominee has contributed to Precambrian and metamorphic geology,  e.g. the discovery of an early Precambrian high-pressure granulite/retrograde-eclogite terrane and an exposed lower-crust section of early Precambrian age (in north China), and the discovery of UHP jadeite quartzite in the Dabieshan orogen and Triassic eclogite in Korea. Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he has won the Academy’s Natural Science Award four times.

08-Mathematical Sciences

  • LI Ker-Chau (Taiwan, China): b 3-8-1953 (M). PhD, Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, China. The nominee’s work in statistics covers Sliced Inverse Regression and Principle Hessian directions which opened up an important area of dimension reduction in high dimensional data analysis.  He also invented the method of liquid association for bioinformatics application. Academician of the Academia Sinica, among others, he has received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Chinese Statistical Association twice and the Friedman Memorial Prize in Applied Mathematics, UC Berkeley.
  • N’GUEREKATA, Gaston Mandata (Central African Republic): b.20-5-1953 (M). PhD, Professor and Assistant Dean, School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Morgan State University, Baltimore MD, USA. The nominee has introduced the notion of uniform spectrum to prove the existence of almost automorphic mild solutions of evolution equations whose linear part is governed by a linear operator in analytic.  He also introduced the concept of circular spectrum of bounded functions in order to prove the existence and uniqueness of solutions to difference equations and nonautonomous periodic evolution equations. Member of the African Academy of Sciences, he has received the Dr. Santye Jean McIntire International Award, the NAFEO Noble Award and the Morgan State University’s Outstanding Award for Research and Scholarly Achievement, the France Legion of Honour (Chevalier) and the Central African Republic Academic Palms (Officer), among others.
  • SRINIVAS, Vasudevan (India): b.6-6-1958 (M). PhD, Senior Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India. The nominee works in the area of algebraic geometry, with an abiding interest in the study of algebraic cycles, particulary in the presence of singlularities.  He has established a number of pioneering results in this area, some obtained by making connections with K-theory. Member of the Indian Academy of Science and the Indian National Science Academy, among others, he has received the TWAS Mathematics Prize in 2008, the Humboldt Prize, the Bhatnagar Prize.

09-Physics

  • MUKHI, Sunil (India): b.20-11-1956 (M). PhD, Senior Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, India. The nominee is known for pioneering a technique to demonstrate conformal invariance of sigma models; Applying topological tools to supersymmetric solitons and indices; Discovering new dualities and interactions of branes and orientifolds; Obtaining noncommutative actions and derivative corrections for D-branes; and Analysing membrane excitations of M-theory and uncovering a novel Higgs mechanism in 3d. Fellow of two science academies of India (INSA and IASc), he has won the Bhatnagar Prize and the JC Bose National fellowship.
  • PÁLINKÁS, József (Hungary): b.18-9-1952 (M). PhD, President, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary. The nominee has contributed to the polarization of x-rays from highly ionized atoms, the electron capture of neutral atoms, and experimentally verified the Thomas scattering mechanism.  He also has worked in experimental particle physics and organized the participation of ATOMKI and the UD in big CERN collaborations OPAL and CMS. Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, among others, he has received the Officers Cross of the Republic of Hungary, the Academy Award of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the ATOMKI Young Investigator Award.
  • PIMENTA, Marcos (Brazil): b.11-4-1958 (M). PhD, Full Professor, Department of Physics, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The nominee has made important contributions to the study and understanding of the electronic and optical properties of graphene and carbon nanotubes using resonance Raman spectroscopy, that are relevant for the use of these materials in nanotechnology. Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, among others, he has received the TWAS Prize in Physics (2013), the Capes-Scopus Prize and Commander of the National Order of Scientific Merit from the President of Brazil.
  • WU, Yueliang (China): b.4-2-1962 (M). PhD, Professor & Director, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics China, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. The nominee has distinguished contributions in particle physics and quantum field theories, such as: Explanation for direct charge-parity (CP) symmetry violation and isospin selection rule in kaon decays; Establishment of two Higgs doublet model for new sources of CP violation; Development of heavy quark effective field theory; Derivation of dynamically generated Higgs potential for spontaeous chiral symmetry breaking; Prediction for mass spectra of resonance mesons in holographic AdS/QCD; and Parity and CP symmetry motivated scalar dark matter model. Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, he has won the State Natural Science Award of China.
  • ZEILINGER, Anton (Austria): b.20-5-1945 (M). PhD, President, Austrian Academy of Sciences and Full Professor of Experimental Physics, University of Vienna, Austria. The nominee's experiments on the entanglement of photons, including the first demonstration of quantum teleportation, have become central to quantum information science and laid the groundwork for a new technology.  He also performed breakthrough experiments with matter waves of large molecules. Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, US National Academy of Sciences, Academia Europaea, and science academies in France, Serbia, Slovak Rep and Germany, among others, he has received the Urania Medal, the Wolf-Prize in Physics, the King Faisal Prize and the Lorenz-Oken Medal.

10-Social and Economic Sciences

  • KUAN, Chung-Ming (Taiwan, China): b.15-8-1956 (M). PhD, University Chair Professor, Department of Finance, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, China. The nominee was one the first few experts bringing artificial neural networks to economics and developed a new, adaptive theory for economic learning.  He proposed various econometric tests, including the moving-estimates test, MOSUM test and generalized fluctuation tests for parameter constancy.  He also proposed different econometric models including the innovation regime switching (IRS) model that allows for a flexible Markovian switching structure and the conditional autoregressive expectile (CARE) model that provides a flexible structure for the Value at Risk. Member of the Academia Sinica, he has received the Academic Award from the Ministry of Education of Taiwan, China; the Outstanding Scholarship Award from the Foundation for the Advancement of Outstanding Scholarship twice and the Information Science Award from the Joint Conference of Information Sciences, USA.
  • LUTZ, Wolfgang (Austria): b.10-12-1956 (M). PhD, Founding Director, Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (IIASA, VID/ÖAW, WU), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), World Population Program, Laxenburg, Austria. The nominee has contributed to quantitative analysis of global population-development-environment interaction with emphasis on climate change; broadening conventional  methods to the multi-dimensional modeling of human capital and innovative methods for international population projections. Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Finish Academy of Sciences and Leopoldina-German National Academy of Sciences, he has received, among others, the Wittgentein Award Laureate and the Mattei Dogan Award of IUSSP.
  • ZHANG, Linxiu (China): b.4-1-1962 (F). PhD, Professor and Deputy Director, Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. The nominee has worked in the area of public investment on poverty, and regional inequality and rural labour market.  She has used state-of-art rigorous impact evaluation method – Randomized Controlled Trails (RCTs) to conduct policy experiments and assess the impacts. Among others, she has received the CAS 'Ten Most Outstanding Women in Science Award', the Outstanding Scientific Progress Award and the CAS 100 Talent Award.