The UNESCO Science Prize is a biennial scientific prize awarded by the
(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
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
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 Institute () "for their work which made it possible to produce, in the space of a few years, improved
strains of
cereal
A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...
s."
*1972:
Viktor Kovda () "for his theory on the hydromorphic origin of the
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...
s of the great plains of Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas" and nine researchers from "for their development of the
L-D process designed for recovery of
steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
from low phosphorus
pig iron
Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...
."
*1976:
Alfred Champagnat () "for his findings on the low-cost mass production of new
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
s from
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...
."
*1978: A team of research workers from the
Lawes Agricultural Trust () "for their work on synthetic
insecticide
Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...
s related to natural
pyrethrum."
*1980:
Leonardo Mata () "for his work on the relationship between
malnutrition
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...
and infection, particularly in infants" and
Vincent Barry
Vincent Christopher Barry (17 May 1908 – 4 September 1975) was an Irish scientist and researcher. He is known for leading the team which developed the anti-leprosy drug clofazimine.
Early life and education
Vincent Christoper Barry was bo ...
's group of scientists from the
Medical Research Council (Ireland) () "for their work on the synthesis of an anti-
leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...
agent, B-633."
*1983:
Roger Whitehead () "for his work on the role of maternal nutrition and
lactation
Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The process ...
in infant growth."
*1985: A group of six scientists from the
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications.
CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...
() "for their work on the biological control of ''
Salvinia molesta'' infestations in the
Sepik River
The Sepik () is the longest river on the island of New Guinea, and the third largest in Oceania by discharge volume after the Fly River, Fly and Mamberamo River, Mamberamo. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG) provi ...
Basin of
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
."
*1987:
Yuan Longping () "for his work leading to the creation of an
hybrid rice with high yield potential."
*1989:
Johanna Döbereiner () "for her work in exploiting biological nitrogen fixation as the major source of
nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...
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 distillation and
hydrotreatment technology."
*1993:
Octavio Novaro () for his contribution to the phenomenon of
catalysis
Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...
.
*1995:
Wang Xuan () "for his contribution to the Chinese
photocomposition system".
*1997:
Marcos Moshinsky () "for his work in
nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...
."
*1999:
Atta ur Rahman () "for his work in organic chemistry which has contributed to the development of plant-based therapies for cancer, AIDS and diabetes" and
José Leite Lopes () "for his contribution to the development of
physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
in
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
."
*2001:
Baltasar Mena Iniesta (/) "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 Balankin (/) "for his pioneer contributions in development of
fractal
In mathematics, a fractal is a Shape, geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, usually having a fractal dimension strictly exceeding the topological dimension. Many fractals appear similar at various scale ...
mechanics and improving exploration techniques for the oil industry".
References
{{reflist
Science and technology awards
Science
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
Awards established in 1968