Winners of this Year’s Ányos Jedlik Prize Announced

Recipients of the 2025 Ányos Jedlik Prize

This year, five people have been awarded the prestigious Ányos Jedlik Prize, one of the most prestigious awards of the National Intellectual Property Office (SZTNH), which is intended to recognize successful inventive activity and outstandingly effective work in the field of industrial property protection. Among this year’s recipients was Prof. E. Sylvester Vizi, co-founder of the Friends of Hungary Foundation, publishers of Hungary Today.

The award was presented to Anikó Grad-Gyenge, lawyer and associate professor, Tibor Soós, chemist, E Sylvester Vizi, doctor, pharmacologist, academic, Zoltán Zábori, mechanical engineer, and Henrik Zsiborács, agricultural engineer, environmental management and rural development, on Thursday in Budapest, at the ELTE University Library.

At the award ceremony, Szabolcs Farkas, President of the SZTNH, stressed that Ányos Jedlik’s legacy sends the message that knowledge is not for its own sake, it becomes truly valuable when it creates new solutions and drives society and the economy forward. He said that the prize recognises not only excellence in invention, but also a commitment to the protection of intellectual property, high standards of intellectual property management and the promotion of this. Since its inception, a total of 142 people have received this prestigious award: inventors, researchers, developers, patent attorneys, lawyers, legal representatives and office staff with an outstanding IP portfolio,” he added. “I congratulate this year’s award winners, whose work serves as a role model for all of us, especially for the emerging young generation, the innovators and IP professionals of the future,” he said.

László Bódis, Deputy State Secretary for Innovation at the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, said: “The award recognises scientists and inventors who are the best examples of how science and innovation can be linked to bringing inventions to market. He added that the key factor in the competitiveness of the Hungarian economy is how knowledge can be used to produce innovative products and services and how these can be exported to domestic and foreign markets. He stressed that a very important element of this is the protection of inventions.

In 2025, Anikó Grad-Gyenge, lawyer and associate professor, was awarded the Ányos Jedlik Prize. The Vice Dean for Science and Innovation of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics has been committed to supporting the work of NGOs engaged in various copyright activities since 2010. Through his research and teaching activities in the field of intellectual property protection, he has inspired generations and helped them to navigate the world of copyright law, but he has also played an active role in Hungarian legislation and EU harmonisation,” the citation said. The Ányos Jedlik Prize was awarded to Tibor Soós, a chemist with a degree in chemistry, who has made outstanding achievements in the development of catalysts as head of the Organocatalysis Research Group of the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the HUN-REN Natural Sciences Research Centre. His patents and research have had a significant impact on both the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. One of his most outstanding inventions is a catalyst that supports chemical processes in an environmentally friendly way. His results have been recognised not only by the scientific community but also by industry.

The Ányos Jedlik Prize was awarded to Dr. Szilveszter E. Vizi, physician, pharmacologist, academician and former President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. As an eminent expert in neurosciences, his research focuses on understanding the brain’s neurotransmission. His scientific findings help in the treatment of neurological diseases and drug development. He holds a number of international patents that open up new possibilities in the field of medicine. Both his scientific life’s work and his innovation contribute to the development of modern medicine.

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