About the award
The legal predecessor of the Wigner Research Center for Physics, the KFKI Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics Research, founded the Zimányi Medal in the autumn of 2011. The goal was to commemorate the late József Zimányi, professor emeritus of the RMKI, who was also a full member of the HAS (Hungarian Academy of Sciences) and a researcher of high-energy nuclear physics and quark-gluon plasma of international fame. The founders' aim was to preserve the legacy and scientific results of the late professor and to set him as an example for young generations of physicists. The medal is awarded to theoretical physicists who are under the age of 40 and whose research in the field of theoretical high-energy nuclear physics has achieved important international recognition and impact. The decision on awarding the medal is taken by an international committee, led by Miklós Gyulassy, professor at the University of Columbia (New York), external member of the HAS and scientific advisor to the HAS Wigner Physics Research Center.
In addition to the medal, the winner also receives a financial award from the Zimányi József Physics Foundation. The medal entitled "Zimányi Medal on Nuclear Theory" was made by sculptor Varga Imre.
Award winners up to present
2019 - Eero Aleksi Kurkela (CERN)
2018 - Petersen, Hannah (Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies)
2017 - Björn, Schenke (Brookhaven National Lab, USA)
2015 - Sasaki, Chihiro (University of Wroclaw, Poland)
2014 - Lappi, Tuomas (University of Jyväskylä, Finland)
2012 - Péter, Petreczky (Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA)
2011 - Hirano, Tetsufumi (Sophia University Tokyo)
