The prize was presented to Prof. Szabó, full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, rector and professor emeritus, in recognition of his groundbreaking research in laser physics, as well as his extensive role in the development of the international relations and scientific collaborations of the Hungarian higher education institutions.
Prof. Gábor Szabó was born in Nagykanizsa in 1954. He graduated in physics from József Attila University, Szeged (JATE) in 1978. During his career, he spent several years at the Max Planck Institute in Göttingen and at Rice University in Houston as a visiting researcher. Since 1994, he has been a professor at the Department of Optics and Quantum Electronics at the University of Szeged. Between 2000 and 2002, he worked as Deputy Secretary of State for Research and Development at the Ministry of Education, and from 2010 to 2018 he served two terms as Rector of the University of Szeged. Since 2007, he has been the President of the Hungarian Association for Innovation. In 2010, he became a full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
His scientific interest focuses on photoacoustic spectroscopy, ultrafast laser spectroscopy, femtosecond pulse generation, nonlinear optics, the optimum control of quantum systems, as well as the medical applications of lasers.
Professor Szabó has played a key role in the establishment of ELI ALPS Laser Research Institute. Between 2007 and 2011, he acted as a professional advisor for the ELI Project, from 2010 to 2019 he was a member of ELI ALPS’ Scientific Advisory Committee, and he has been occupying the post of managing director at ELI ALPS since 2020.
Since 1990, the Széchenyi Prize has been awarded to outstanding representatives of the Hungarian scientific, scholarly and technical community. The names of the proposed nominees are submitted to the President of the Republic, who presents the prize at a ceremony, usually on 15 March.