John von Neumann Professors
The prestigious ”John von Neumann” Professor title is awarded jointly by the Budapest University of Technology and Economincs (BME) and the John von Neumann Computer Society to an internationally well-known and acknowledged professor of a Hungarian or foreign university whose field of expertise and activities are related to the scientific achievements of John von Neumann and whose activities are connected to BME.
Roska Botond was born in 1969 in Hungary, a neurologist and neurobiologist. In 1997, he became a professor at Basel and director of the Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Research Center. His research focuses on treating genetically caused vision loss and developing artificial retinas. His work has gained international recognition in vision research. In 2025, he was named a Neumann János Professor at BME. His achievements demonstrate the connection between molecular biology and clinical applications and exemplarily fit the scientific traditions of BME.
Ferenc Krausz was born in 1962 in Mór, Hungary; he earned an electrical engineering degree at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) and studied theoretical physics at Eötvös Loránd University. In 1991, he earned his PhD in laser physics at Vienna University of Technology. Between 2001–2004, his research group generated and measured the first attosecond (10⁻¹⁸ s) light pulse, enabling real-time observation of electron motion within atoms. This achievement, founding attosecond physics, was recognized with the 2023 Nobel Prize, shared with Pierre Agostini and Anne L'Huillier. He is currently director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and a professor at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU).
Katalin Karikó was born in 1955 in Szolnok, Hungary, and earned a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Szeged. She conducted postdoctoral research in Hungary and the United States, including at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania. She achieved breakthroughs in mRNA technology: by using modified nucleosides, she reduced immune response, enabling the development of mRNA-based vaccines. This contributed to the creation of COVID-19 vaccines. In 2023, she received the Nobel Prize jointly with Drew Weissman. Her results have global impact and illustrate how theoretical research can become practical medical innovation.
Sir Konstantin Novoselov was born in 1974 in Russia, a physicist. He earned his degree in 1994 at Saint Petersburg University and his PhD in 1997. His best-known work is the discovery of graphene, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 2010. His research brought fundamental innovations in nanotechnology and materials science. He is currently a professor at the University of Manchester. In 2022, he was named a Neumann János Professor at BME. His scientific work pushes the boundaries of experimental physics and materials science, creating globally impactful innovation.
Endre Szemerédi, an Abel Prize-winning Hungarian-American mathematician, was awarded the Neumann Professorship in 2021. He has published over 200 papers in combinatorics, theoretical computer science, and discrete mathematics. His most famous result, the 1975 theorem, states that in any set of natural numbers with positive density, there are infinitely long arithmetic progressions—known today as Szemerédi’s theorem. His results laid the foundation for modern combinatorial theory and, through their international impact, embody the Neumann principle: theory affecting computer science and theoretical research.
László Székelyhidi Jr. (born 1977) is a Hungarian mathematician, an outstanding researcher in partial differential equations and fluid mechanics. He studied at Oxford and Princeton University and worked at leading institutions, including the Max Planck Institute and Universität Leipzig. His results contributed to the development of mathematical models of turbulence and the theory of weak solutions. In 2018, he received the Leibniz Prize, Germany’s highest scientific award. He is a member of numerous international academies and is particularly known for his research on the stability of nonlinear PDEs.
Dan Shechtman was born in 1941 in Israel, a chemist. He earned his PhD in 1969. In 1982, he discovered quasicrystals, creating a new class of materials, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 2011. His research was pioneering in crystal structures and materials science. He is currently a professor at Technion. In 2019, he was named a Neumann János Professor at BME. His discoveries have had a fundamental impact on chemistry, physics, and engineering applications, exemplifying the connection between scientific innovation and practical utilization.
János Sztipanovits is a Hungarian-born electrical engineer and computer scientist, a pioneer in cyber-physical systems (CPS) and model-based design. He is a professor at Vanderbilt University and founding director of the Institute for Software Integrated Systems. His work focuses on formal design of engineering systems, modeling complex networks, and embedded systems. He played a key role in shaping the U.S. cyber-physical research strategy. In 2018, he received the Neumann Professorship.
László Lovász was born in 1948, a Hungarian mathematician and one of the leading researchers in graph theory, combinatorics, and algorithm theory. Formerly president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, he was also a professor at Microsoft Research and Yale University. His contributions include the Lovász theta function and results on mixing times of finite Markov chains. He has received numerous international awards, including the 2021 Abel Prize, the highest recognition in mathematics. His work underpins modern combinatorial optimization and algorithms. In 2017, he became the first Neumann János Professor.