Argentine physicist Karen Hallberg, whose works constitute a “fundamental contribution” to the understanding of nanoscopic systems and new materials, is one of the five winners of the annual prize “For women in science” from the L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO that will be awarded this Thursday in Paris.
Hallberg, a professor at the Balseiro Institute of Nuclear Physics and a director of research at the Atomic Center of Bariloche, will receive the prize as a representative of Latin America in the 21st year of the organization’s awards.
The organizers rewarded her "development of cutting-edge computer applications that allow for better understanding of the physics of quantum matter,” L’Oréal and Unesco said in a statement.
For Hallberg, this award "plays a fundamental role, since it favors collaboration between reputable researchers and helps women scientists to gain visibility,” Hallberg was quoted saying in the organisation’s statement. For the first time this year, the honors were opened to women in mathematics and computer science.
French winner Claire Voisin, the first female mathematician to enter the prestigious Collège de France, was awarded for her "exceptional works" on algebraic geometry in Europe.
Her American colleague Ingrid Daubechies, of Duke University, received the prize for North America. Daubechies' work on the "Wavelet Theory" allowed the development of methods for the treatment and filtration of images applicable to technologies such as medical imagery and wireless communication.
Chemistry professor Najat Aoun Saliba, director of the Nature Conservation Center of the American University of Beirut, was awarded for her work on the identification of carcinogens and other toxic substances present in the air in the Middle East and in the new nicotine and narghile diffusers. She was recognized for the region of Africa and the Arab States.
- TIMES/AFP
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