2001 - SCIENCE AND PEACE GOLD MEDAL:
Prof. Dr. Ilya Prigogine
The
presentation
of
the
2001
Science
and
Peace
Gold
Medal
to
Dr.
Prigogine
took
place
on
Friday
16th
November
at
19:30
in
the
Grand
Assembly
Hall
of
the
Official
Medical
College
of
Madrid.
Representatives
of
several
Spanish
official
bodies
attended
and
so
too
numerous
Embassies
accredited
in
Madrid.
Dr.
Prigogine
delivered
an
address
titled:
“The
Origin
of
Complexity”
The
Gold
Medal
of
our
Institution
was
awarded
to
Dr.
Prigogine
to
mark
the
dedicated
commitment
of
one
of
the
leading
20th
century
scientists
to
the
principles
of
Peace
and
Human
Rights.
Short Biography
Ilya
Prigogine
was
awarded
the
Nobel
Prize
in
chemistry
in
1977
for
his
contributions
to
nonequilibrium
thermodynamics,
particularly
the
theory
of
irreversible
and
dissipative
processes.
He
was
born
in
Moscow,
Russia
on
January
25,
1917.
He
obtained
both
his
undergraduate
and
graduate
education
in
chemistry
at
the
Universite
Libre
de
Bruxelles.
He
is
Regental
Professor
and
Ashbel
Smith
Professor
of
Physics
and
Chemical
Engineering
at
the
University
of
Texas
at
Austin.
In
1967,
he
founded
the
Center
for
Statistical
Mechanics,
later
renamed
the
Ilya
Prigogine
Center
for
Studies
in
Statistical
Mechanics
and
Complex
Systems.
Since
1959,
he
has
been
the
director
of
the
International
Solvay
Institutes
in
Brussels,
Belgium.
In
1989,
Prigogine
was
awarded
the
title
of
Viscount
by
the
King
of
Belgium.
He
is
a
member
of
63
national
and
professional
organizations,
among
which
are
the
National
Academy
of
Sciences
and
the
American
Academy
of
Arts
and
Sciences.
The
most
recent
of
Prigogine's
many
international
activities
are
Special
Advisor
to
the
European
Community
in
Brussels,
Belgium
and
Honorary
Member
of
the
World
Commission
of
Culture
and
Development
of
UNESCO,
chaired
by
Perez
de
Cuellar.
The
main
theme
of
the
scientific
work
of
Ilya
Prigogine
has
been
a
better
understanding
of
the
role
of
time
in
the
physical
sciences
and
in
biology.
He
has
contributed
significantly
to
the
understanding
of
irreversible
processes,
particularly
in
systems
far
from
equilibrium.
The
results
of
his
work
on
dissipative
structures
have
stimulated
many
scientists
throughout
the
world
and
may
have
profound
consequences
for
our
understanding
of
biological
systems.
Prigogine
has
received
numerous
national
awards
and
prizes,
including
the
Golden
Medal
of
the
Swante
Arrhenius,
Swedish
Academy;
Rumford
Gold
Medal,
Royal
Society
of
London;
the
Descartes
Medal,
Paris;
Commander
of
the
Legion
of
Honor,
France;
Imperial
Order
of
the
Rising
Sun
(Gold
&
Silver
Medals),
Japan;
Medaille
d'Or,
France;
Russian
International
Scientific
Award,
First
"N.
N.
Bogolyubov
Prize,"
Joint
Institute
for
Nuclear
Research,
Dubna;
Medal
of
the
President
of
the
Italian
Senate,
awarded
by
Pio
Manzu
International
Research
Center,
Italy;
Norbert
Wiener
Gold
Medal
of
Ukbridge;
Medal
of
Member
of
the
European
Academy
of
Yuste;
Silver
Medal
of
V.I.
Vernadskiy,
the
Academy
of
Natural
Sciences
of
Russia.
He
has
received
52
honorary
degrees.