Twenty HUN-REN researchers honored at the research network’s year-end gala

HUN-REN presented its 2025 awards and honors at a ceremonial gala held at the headquarters of the Hungarian Research Network on December 4. As we have already reported, the HUN-REN Excellence Award was granted to linguist Professor Mária Gósy. Young researchers and senior research professors were also recognized, with the Róbert Bárány Awards and Research Professor Emeritus titles presented at the event.

The Róbert Bárány Award is given by HUN-REN to researchers under 40 whose innovative and outstanding scientific work makes a significant contribution to the progress of science. From 2025 onward, the certificate is accompanied by a unique work of art. Created by visual artists Csilla Szilágyi and Gergely Mindák, the piece conveys growth and forward momentum at the same time as it symbolizes the solid foundations of science and the freedom of thought.

The recipients of the Róbert Bárány Award were greeted by Sigrid Bárány, the great-granddaughter of Professor Róbert Bárány. The winners of the 2025 Róbert Bárány Award are:

In humanities and social sciences

Réka Horeczki – ELTE Centre for Economic and Regional Studies

Her demographic and economic-historical approaches have shed light on key aspects of small-town development and on the complex phenomenon of underdevelopment in rural regions.

Janka Kovács – ELTE Research Centre for the Humanities
Her research explores the history of the “psy sciences” in Hungary in the 18th and 19th centuries. She is currently working on an OTKA postdoctoral project focusing on the early history of institutionalized psychiatry in Hungary between 1830 and 1868.

Ágnes Major – ELTE Research Centre for the Humanities
Her research focuses on 20th-century Hungarian literature, the reception history of Géza Csáth, theories of biofiction and adaptation, cult studies, and questions in philology and textual scholarship.

In life sciences

István Fodor – HUN-REN Balaton Limnological Research Institute
His research has made a major contribution to understanding the function and evolution of the nervous and neuroendocrine systems of molluscs.

Richárd Sinkó – HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine
His outstanding work in thyroid endocrinology has expanded not only our theoretical knowledge but also has strong translational value. Most notably, he developed a new methodological innovation that makes it possible to directly determine the tissue-level effects of thyroid hormones in humans.

Vivien Reicher – HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences
She pioneered non-invasive sleep research using dogs, opening up new directions in comparative studies. She is currently investigating the links between sleep and emotion-regulation problems in adolescents affected by ADHD.

In mathematics and natural sciences

Duncan Mifsud – HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research

Duncan V. Mifsud conducts astrochemical experiments on ices found in space, using laboratory models to simulate the chemical changes triggered by ionizing radiation.

​​Attila Kunfi – HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences
His main research focuses on developing dithienyl-arene–based photoswitches that can be isomerized with visible light, studying their electronic and optical properties, and exploring their use in solar energy storage.

Tímea Nóra Török – HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research
In her work, she has developed nanoscale building blocks for neuromorphic circuits - memristors - to solve characterized and applied neuromorphic data-processing tasks.

As in previous years, this year’s ceremony also included the presentation of Research Professor Emeritus titles. The purpose of establishing and awarding this honor is to recognize HUN-REN researchers for outstanding scientific careers and for significant contributions to the organization and development of science. In 2025, ten members of the research network received the Research Professor Emeritus title.

In 2025, the following researchers were awarded the title of Research Professor Emeritus:

• Gábor Kornél Battistig – HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research
  
  
• Pál Fodor – ELTE Research Centre for the Humanities
  
  
• Zoltán Füredi – HUN-REN Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics
  
  
• Ervin Győri – HUN-REN Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics
  
  
• Éva Zsuzsanna Kondorosi – HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged
  
  
• András Kroó – HUN-REN Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics
  
  
• Gábor Szőcs – HUN-REN Research Centre for Agro-Sciences
  
  
• Imre Gyula Vass – HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged
  
  
• Ottó Veisz – HUN-REN Research Centre for Agro-Sciences
  
  

László Zimányi – HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged

A short introduction to Mária Gósy, winner of the HUN-REN Excellence Award, along with a brief film about her, is available here.