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Global Energy Prize

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The Global Energy Prize
Global Energy Prize logo
Awarded foroutstanding scientific research and scientific-technical developments in the field of energy which promote greater efficiency and environmental security for energy sources on Earth in the interests of all mankind
CountryRussian Federation
Presented byThe Association for the development of international research and projects in the energy sector "Global Energy"
Reward(s)statuette, diploma, monetary prize of 39 million russian rubles ($530,000)
First awarded2003; 21 years ago (2003)
Number of laureates53 (as of 2024)
Websiteglobalenergyprize.org/en/ (in English)
globalenergyprize.org/ru/ (in Russian)
Announcement of 2020 award winners in the Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics in Kaluga, Russia

The Global Energy Prize is an international award in the field of energy industry which is given for "outstanding scientific research and scientific-technical developments in the field of energy which promote greater efficiency and environmental security for energy sources on Earth in the interests of all mankind".

It was founded in 2002 at the initiative of a Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Zhores Alferov. The headquarters are in Moscow, Russia. The prize is awarded by the President of Russia or "a person authorized by the president". The media and the professional community consider it "a biggest Russian award" and "one of the biggest in the world". Some depictions in the press described it as "a Russian analogue to the Nobel prize".[1] This is confirmed by the IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence which includes the Prize in its "top-99" list of the most recognized global awards.[2] It is the only award from Russia included in this list.

The award is managed by The Global Energy Association, which is dedicated to the development of international research and projects in energy industry. Besides award, the Association oversees conferences and informational programmes in this field, programmes for younger scientists and produces an annual report "Ten breakthrough ideas in energy for the next 10 years".

History

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The author of the concept was Zhores Alferov, Russian Nobel-winning physicist (2000), academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The prize was created in 2002 and Alferov was appointed the head of the International Committee for its awarding.[3] The founders of the prize were PJSC Gazprom, PJCS Federal Grid Company of the Unified Energy Systems (FGC UES, Former JSC Unified Energy Systems of Russia) and Yukos. The creation of the prize was announced by Vladimir Putin at the 2002 Russia—European Union Summit.

The first Global Energy Prize award ceremony took place in June 2003 at the Konstantinovsky Palace, Strelna (St Petersburg) and was attended by President Putin. The award was presented to three scientists: Nick Holonyak (USA), a professor at the University of Illinois, "for his invention of the first semiconductor LEDs (light-emitting diodes) in the visible region of the light spectrum, and his role as founder of the new field of silicon electronics and micro-electronics for power applications"; Ian Douglas Smith (USA), chief manager and senior researcher in Titan Pulse Sciences Division company, "for fundamental research into the physics of high-power pulse-energy engineering, and the development of pulsed power in electron accelerator applications", and a Russian scientist Gennady Mesyats for the same.

For the prize's management, the Global Energy Prize Foundation was established. It was functional until 2010 and, besides the prize, launched a number of energy-related programs. In 2010 it was converted into a voluntary association, and in October 2016 it was renamed into The Association for the development of international research and projects in the energy sector "Global Energy". As of 2021, the Association's members were Gazprom, "Rosseti FGC UES" and Surgutneftegaz.

Activities

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In 2020, the association broadened its geographical presence, so a new record was set in the 2021 nomination cycle. For the first time, 36 countries were represented on the long list – three times the number in 2019 (12 countries) and nearly twice the number in 2020 (20 countries).[4]

The 2021 list features scientists not only from North America, Western Europe and Asia, but also from Eastern Europe – Hungary and Latvia – from the Middle East and from Africa – Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Gambia, Egypt, Jordan, Madagascar, Nigeria, Togo and Zimbabwe – and from Latin America – Mexico and Uruguay. And for the first time, women were among the candidates – from India, Kazakhstan, the United States and Zimbabwe. In 2020, new members joined the board of trustees – the former president of Uruguay, Julio Maria Sanguinetti Coirolo, and the General Director, Association of Power Utilities of Africa (APUA), Abel Didier Tella. The new President of the Global Energy Association became Sergey Brilev, a prominent Russian TV journalist and manager. The former presidents were Igor Lobovsky (2003–2018) and Alexander Ignatov (2018–2020).

As of 2021, the monetary part of the award amounted to 39 million of russian rubles (530,000 USD). The association, besides award, oversees energy-related conferences and informational projects, programmes for younger scientists with participation of honoured experts. It also produces an annual report "Ten breakthrough ideas in energy for the next 10 years". Since 2020, the ceremony has been held in different cities of Russia: the first location to be selected was the Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics in Kaluga.

Up to now, the last public event of announcing the laureates took place in July 2024 in Volgograd;[5] the awarding ceremony should proceed in September.

In 2020, along with the existing Global Energy Prize, a new type of award was established: Honorary Diploma of the Association, for Russian scientists contributing to the energy industry of the Russian Federation. The first laureate was mathematician Viktor Maslov – for "fundamental input into the safety of nuclear energy". In 2021 the Association presented its diploma to physicist Igor Grekhov,[6] in 2022 – to hydro-power engineer Yuri Vasil'ev.[7]

Since 2022, the Honorary Diplomas are also awarded to the specialists from the developing countries (7 holders as of mid-2024).

International Award Committee

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Rae Kwon Chung, Chairman of the International Award Committee in 2019

The International Award Committee is responsible for choosing the laureates of the Global Energy Prize. It includes:

Board of trustees

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The statuettes given to laureates (2019)

The board of trustees of the association is responsible for supervision of its general management. It includes:

Laureates

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Since 2003, 53 scientists from 16 countries were awarded. Among them people from Australia, the UK, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Canada, China, Russia, the US, Ukraine, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Japan. The laureates are presented an honorary medal, a statuette, a diploma and a golden honorary pin (besides monetary amount).

Nominations are accepted from scientists and/or organizations through representatives. They have to be preliminarily authorized by the Association. Among them are Nobel prize laureates, laureates of prizes such as Kyoto Prize, Max Planck Prize, Wolf Prize, Balzan Prize, past Global Energy Prize laureates.

Country Laureate Notes
2003
United States Nick Holonyak Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
United States Ian Douglas Smith Chief Manager, Senior Researcher in Titan Pulse Sciences Division
Russia Gennady Mesyats Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Member of the Board of RAS Physical Sciences Division (Moscow), Scientific Consultant, Head of Laboratory of Physical Electronics, Institute of Electrophysics of the Ural Division of the RAS
2004
United States Leonard J. Koch Professor, originator of ideas and solutions in the field of nuclear reactor safety
Russia Alexander Sheindlin Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russia Fyodor Mitenkov Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences
2005
Russia Zhores Alfyorov Nobel Prize laureate, Academic, Russian Academy of Sciences
United States Klaus Riedle Honorary Professor, University of Erlangen–Nuremberg
2006
Russia Yevgeny Velikhov Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences, Research Advisor, Head of the Plasma Energetics Subdepartment, Department of Physics and Energetics of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Honorary President, National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute"
France Robert Aymar Engaged in research in the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion
Japan Masaji Yoshikawa Researched confinement of high-temperature plasma on tokamaks
2007
Iceland Thorstein Ingi Sigfusson President of Icelandic New Energy Ltd., chairman of the thermoelectric company of Genery-Varmaraf Ltd.
United Kingdom Geoffrey Hewitt Member of the Royal Society, European Academy of Sciences and Arts and other international organisations
Russia Vladimir Nakoryakov Engaged in research of hydrodynamics and heat-and-mass transfer processes in the field of energy technologies
2008
Russia Eduard Volkov Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences, Member of the academy's Energy, Engineering, Mechanics, and Control Procedures Division
Canada Clement Bowman Doctor of Science Honoris Causa, Ontario Tech University
Russia Oleg Favorsky Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences, Unit Leader, Energy, Engineering, Mechanics, and Control Procedures Division
2009
Russia Aleksey Kontorovich Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chief researcher, Laboratory of Theoretical Bases of Oil and Gas Content Forecasts, Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russia Nikolay Laverov Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences
United Kingdom Brian Spalding Researched concepts of heat-and-mass transfer processes, the basis of practical calculations in fluid mechanics
2010
Russia Alexander Leontiev Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences
Ukraine Boris Paton Former President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
2011
Russia Philipp Rutberg Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences
United States Arthur H. Rosenfeld Professor, member of the U.S. National Engineering Academy
2012
Russia Boris Katorgin Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of Moscow Aviation Institute's Department of Energy and Physics Systems
Russia Valery Kostiuk Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences
United Kingdom Rodney John Allam Former partner 8 Rivers capital, Member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change awarded the 2007 Nobel peace prize
2013
Russia Vladimir Fortov Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences
Japan Akira Yoshino Honorary Fellow, Asahi Kasei Corp., president, Lithium Ion Battery Technology and Evaluation Center, Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry 2019
2014
Russia Ashot Sarkisov Adviser to the Russian Academy of Sciences, Member of the Directorate of Nuclear Safety Institute
Sweden Lars Gunnar Larsson Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
2015
United States Shuji Nakamura Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara, Nobel Prize laureate in Physics 2014
United States B. Jayant Baliga Professor, Director of the Power Semiconductor Research Center, North Carolina State University
2016
Russia Valentin Parmon Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences, chairman of the academy's Siberian branch
2017
Switzerland Michael Grätzel Head, Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, EPFL, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne
2018
Russia Sergei Alekseenko Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of Heat and Mass Transfer Laboratory of Institute of Thermophysics of the academy's Siberian branch
Australia Martin Green Professor, University of New South Wales, Director of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics
2019
Denmark Frede Blaabjerg Professor in Power Electronics, Villum Investigator, Aalborg University, Head of Aalborg University Centre of Reliable Power Electronics
United States Khalil Amine Distinguished Fellow, Leader of the Advanced Lithium Battery Technology team, Argonne National Laboratory
2020
Greece Nikolaos Hatziargyriou Professor, National Technical University of Athens
United States Peidong Yang Director of the Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute (ENSI), Professor of University of California, Berkeley
Italy Carlo Rubbia Professor, Gran Sasso Science Institute, life Senator in Italy, Nobel Prize laureate in Physics 1984
2021
Russia Suleyman Allakhverdiev Head of the Controlled Photobiosynthesis Laboratory at the K. A. Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology
Russia Zinfer Ismagilov Academician of the Russian academy of sciences
United States Yi Cui Director of the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University
2022
Russia Viktor Orlov Chief Specialist of the Center for Innovative Technologies (Rosatom)
United States Mercouri Kanatzidis Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University
United States Kaushik Rajashekara Distinguished Professor of Engineering, University of Houston
2023
China Zhong Lin Wang Founding Director of Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems
China Ruzhu Wang Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University
2023
China Minggao Ouyang Professor at Tsinghua University
United Kingdom Zi-Qiang Zhu Professor at Sheffield University
United States Héctor D. Abruña Professor of Chemistry at Cornell University

References

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  1. ^ (in Russian) У нас появился аналог Нобелевской премииNovaya Gazeta, 28.04.2003
  2. ^ IREG recognized “Global Energy Prize” awarded to Dane and American Archived 2021-05-13 at the Wayback MachineIREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence, 2019
  3. ^ President Vladimir Putin took part in the presentation ceremony for the International Global Energy Prize for 2003Kremlin.ru, 15.06.2003
  4. ^ (in Russian) Число стран-участниц номинационного процесса премии "Глобальная энергия" выросло в 3 разаTASS, 22.03.2021
  5. ^ А. Yemelianenkov (2024-07-03). "В Волгограде назвали лауреатов международной премии "Глобальная энергия"" [In Volgograd, the laureates of the international Global Energy Prize were announced]. Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  6. ^ The Global Energy Association (GEA) presents honorary diploma to physicist Igor Grekhov on the official website of GEA, 20 Dec. 2021
  7. ^ Академик Юрий Васильев получил Почетный диплом «Глобальной энергии» за выдающийся вклад в развитие энергетики [Academician Yuri Vasil'ev received a GEA Honorary Diploma for outstanding contribution to the development of power engineering], on the official website of GEA, 24 Nov. 2022.
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