National awards and prizes for University of Ljubljana scientists

A Zois Lifetime Achievement Award has been given to Professor Emeritus Ljubica Marjanovič Umek from the Faculty of Arts. Zois Awards for Outstanding Achievements have gone to Professor Igor Klep from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Professor Tomaž Katrašnik from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Professor Damjana Rozman from the Faculty of Medicine. The Zois Award for Important Scientific Research Achievements has gone to Professor Mitja Lainščak from the Faculty of Medicine and Murska Sobota General Hospital. The awards ceremony will take place on 28 November 2024 at Cankarjev Dom.

A Zois Lifetime Achievement Award has been given to Professor Emeritus Ljubica Marjanovič Umek from the Faculty of Arts. Dr Marjanovič Umek works in the field of developmental psychology, specialising in cognitive and speech development in children. She created the first Slovenian-language test for assessing language development, thereby laying the foundations for specialist work in the field. Her research has also highlighted the important role played by early enrolment in high-quality nursery-school settings in infant and child development.

Professor Igor Klep from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics has received a Zois Award for Outstanding Achievements, which include solving a key problem in matrix theory that had remained unsolved for almost 40 years, and, with colleagues, demonstrating the important features of matrix clusters, which opens up new fields of algebra research. Professor Klep is one of the most innovative and globally renowned Slovenian mathematicians, particularly in fields of algebra in quantum physics, functional analysis and computational mathematics.

A Zois Award for Outstanding Achievements has also gone to Professor Tomaž Katrašnik from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering for his work on simulation models and diagnostic methods for electric mobility. The group he leads is developing innovative computer models and diagnostic methods for electric mobility. The transfer of his outstanding scientific results to some of the world’s leading companies is having an important impact on the development of safer and more efficient electric vehicle motors.

A Zois Award for Outstanding Achievements has gone to Professor Damjana Rozman from the Faculty of Medicine for her work in the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology and functional genomics. In collaboration with her colleagues, Dr Rozman has developed a new method that increases our understanding of the role and formation of cholesterol in complex liver diseases, including liver cancer. She found that these diseases differed significantly according to sex, opening up the possibility of treatment tailored to a patient’s sex. Her research into gene expression had a significant impact during the Covid-19 pandemic, when she uncovered links between the molecules from which cholesterol is formed and the severity of the disease. Her results are contributing to better understanding and to better treatment for both sexes.

The Zois Award for Important Scientific Research Achievements has gone to Professor Mitja Lainščak from the Faculty of Medicine and Murska Sobota General Hospital for his work in the field of cardiovascular medicine. Professor Lainščak is a leading expert on cardiovascular medicine, particularly heart failure, and his research has helped greatly to improve patient treatment.

The ceremony at Cankarjev Dom on 28 November will feature the conferral of Zois Awards for Important Achievements, Zois Awards for Outstanding Achievements, the Zois Lifetime Achievement Award, the Puh Award, the Puh Lifetime Achievement Award and the Slovenian Ambassador of Science Award. A Zois Lifetime Achievement Award will also go to Academician and Professor Željko Knez from the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of Maribor for his work in the field of chemical engineering. A Zois Award for Outstanding Achievements will go to Dr Ivan Šprajc from the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) and the Institute of Anthropological and Spatial Studies for his work on archaeological and archaeoastronomical work in Mesoamerica. A Zois Award for Important Achievements will go to Professor Uroš Potočnik from the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology at the University of Maribor for genome research targeted at the development of personalised medicines. Professor Andreja Benčan Golob from the Jožef Stefan Institute will receive a Zois Award for Important Achievements for her work on electron microscopy of environment-friendly ferroelectrics, while a Zois Award will go to Associate Professor Lev Vidmar from the Jožef Stefan Institute for his discovery of new behavioural patterns in multi-particle quantum systems. Associate Professor Tomaž Grušovnik from the Faculty of Education at the University of Primorska will receive a Zois Award for Outstanding Achievements for his work in the field of environmental and animal ethics. Professor Vito Vitrih from the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technology and the Andrej Marušič Institute at the University of Primorska is in line for a Zois Award for Important Achievements for his work on numerical mathematics. The Puh Award for Outstanding Achievements will go to Dr Matija Gatalo, Dr Nejc Hodnik, Dr Marjan Bele and Professor Miran Gaberšček from the Institute of Chemistry for their work on developing new methods for preparing catalytic converters for fuel cells, while Igor Akrapovič from the Akrapovič company will receive the Puh Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong commitment to continuous investment in product and technology development. The Slovenian Ambassador of Science Award for achievements in raising Slovenia’s profile abroad will go to Professor Kristina Djinović-Carugo from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL Grenoble, France) for her work in the field of integrative structural biology.

Every year the national Committee for the Awarding of Prizes and Awards for Outstanding Achievements in Scientific Research and Development gives out a maximum of 15 prizes and awards, including no more than two Zois Lifetime Achievement Awards, four Zois Awards for Outstanding Achievements, six Zois Awards, one Slovenian Ambassador of Science Award and up to three Puh prizes or awards (including no more than one lifetime achievement award).

Our sincere congratulations go to all recipients.