The TWAS Council at this year’s TWAS General Meeting in Muscat, Oman, chose Hala El-Khozondar of the Palestinian Autonomous Territories, and Hans van Ginkel of the Netherlands as the honourees for 2015.

Hala El-Khozondar is professor at the electrical engineering department of the Islamic University of Gaza. She is recognized for her research on popular materials such as optical fibres and metamaterials, as well as polycrystalline materials – which are composed of small grains that are 'glued' together by forces between atoms. Understanding polycrystalline materials is useful, for example, in improving metals and ceramics for industrial use. El-Khozondar was elected a member of TWAS in 2011.

Hans van Ginkel is professor emeritus of Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He is a social scientist with special interest in societal uses for geographical knowledge, including urban and regional planning, public housing, housing markets and public administration. He has prepared and led debates on higher education and sustainable human development.  He was elected a member of TWAS in 2005.

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.