9 Sep 2020 12:25

Scientists from Italy, U.S., Greece become Global Energy Prize laureates

KALUGA. Sept 9 (Interfax) - Scientists from Italy, the United States, and Greece have become laureates of the Global Energy Prize, an Interfax correspondent reported from the ceremony which took place on Tuesday.

The prize fund totaled 39 million rubles.

For the first time in many years, the international committee selected a laureate from each of the three nomination categories.

Professor of the Gran Sasso Science Institute and former head of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Italian senator for life Carlo Rubbia was awarded in the Traditional Energy category for assisting in the development of sustainable energy in the context of nuclear waste disposal and natural gas pyrolysis.

Director of the Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute (ENSI), professor of the University of California, Berkley, Peidong Yang was awarded in the Non-traditional Energy category for inventing nanoparticle-based solar panels and developments in the sphere of artificial photosynthesis. In 2015, Yang and his team created a synthetic leaf which is a hybrid system of nanowires and bacteria. The nanowires collect sunlight and the bacteria use carbon dioxide and water to complete the process of photosynthesis and obtain a complete chemical carbon-based chemical substance such as butanol.

Professor of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) Nikolaos Hatziargyriou, in turn, received the prize in the New Ways of Energy Application category for his contribution to stabilizing the operation of power grids and developing smart power grids and microgrids using artificial intelligence.

This year, 78 scientists from 20 countries around the world were nominated for prizes. In 2019, 39 scientists from 12 countries took part in the Global Energy nomination cycle. Nominations for the award were received in approximately the same quantities: in the Non-traditional Energy category - 29, Traditional Energy - 27, and New Ways of Energy Application - 22.