19/01/2018

ABC awards Jacob Palis with the Henrique Morize Medal.

IMPA's emeritus researcher Jacob Palis will be honored with yet another award for his brilliant career in Mathematics. The board of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) unanimously decided to award him the Henrique Morize Medal.

Created in 2014, the medal aims to honor individuals or institutions that have made significant contributions to the ABC (Brazilian Academy of Sciences), as well as to the development of Brazilian science.

Elected an academician of the ABC on December 23, 1969, Palis took office in January 1970, becoming a prominent academic. In 2004, he was elected vice-president of the ABC. Three years later, he was elected president of the institution.

During his highly praised term as president, Palis left his mark by creating regional vice-presidencies, with the goal of nationalizing the ABC; the category of Affiliate Members, made up of scientists aged 40 or younger who are part of the ABC's staff for five years; and the Fiscal Council, to make the ABC's finances more transparent.

Another highlight of his tenure as president of the ABC was his great personal commitment to bringing the World Science Forum (WSF) to Brazil. For the first time, the event was held outside of Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

The Henrique Morize Medal will be awarded to Jacob Palis during the Induction Ceremony of the New Academicians, on May 9th, in the auditorium of the Museum of Tomorrow, in Rio de Janeiro.

Origin of the Henrique Morize Medal

The Brazilian Academy of Sciences was created on May 3, 1916, by 43 scientists active in the early 20th century, among them Professor Henrique Charles Morize.

A founder of experimental physics in Brazil, Morize was director of the National Observatory, professor of physics at the Polytechnic School, founder and honorary president of the Radio Society of Rio de Janeiro, member of the Engineering Club and several other Brazilian, French, American and Italian societies.

Morize was the first president of the ABC. He held the position for ten years. Subsequently, he was elected honorary president and benefactor member. He was responsible for establishing the Academy and a great promoter of the ABC's journal, encouraging colleagues to publish the results of their experiments in the magazine.