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Prof. László Miklós.

SAS Rewards Prominent Ecologists

10. 7. 2019 | 1585 visits
As the years go by, more and more things become memorable to us. The more these are enriched, the more frequently they occur. This sometimes happens through nostalgia, if a memory and the joy of life bring a person to smile. Two prominent Slovak ecologists, whose academic jubilee took place on Wednesday 10 July in Bratislava, were awarded this joy in full with the SAS Gold Medal and the Medal for the Support of SAS Science.
As the SAS President prof. Pavol Šajgalík emphasised, the SAS award is not only awarding and showing respect for the most prominent personalities whose lives have been with the academy, but also serves as a reminder to young scientists of what results can be achieved by hard work and enthusiasm with us in science. SAS Vice-President for scientific Section II, Prof. Karol Marhold, paid tribute to some of the achievements of both of these significant figures.
Dr.h.c. prof. László Miklós, DrSc., a native of Tornala, is an internationally recognized landscape ecologist. Most of his scientific activity has been linked to the Institute of Landscape Ecology where he began his scientific career. He expertly cooperated with former head of the department, Prof. RNDr. Milan Ružička, DrSc. and jointly developed the world-renowned landscape ecology planning methodology LANDEP, which was anchored in Agenda 21 of the Rio Summit as one of the recommended methods for integrated management of natural resources. It has been applied in 8 countries worldwide. His contribution to the creation of atlas works is also significant.
He later worked as a teacher and is the founder and long-time head of the UNESCO Department for Ecological Consciousness and Sustainable Development of the FEE TU Zvolen. His scientific and pedagogical activities have also been awarded by foreign universities when he was granted visiting professor status by Roskilde University Center, Denmark, Universität f. Bodenkultur and the Technische Universität in Vienna.
In 1990 he became Deputy Minister of the Environment (responsible for environmental policy in Slovakia). From 1998 to 2006 he was Minister of Environment of the Slovak Republic and from 2006 to 2010 served as Deputy Chairman of the National Council, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Nature Protection. The Academy has awarded him the SAS Gold Medal.
Ing. Július Oszlányi, CSc., was born in Trnava in 1944 and received the SAS Scientific Medal for his significant contribution to the development of science and research in the field of ecology and for the enhancement of SAS scientific credit in the European Research Area. There is a lot of work to his name, as well as a number of activities and functions he has performed or is performing.
He has been working at the Slovak Academy of Sciences since 1985. During this period, he devoted himself mainly to the issues of the anthropic impact on forest ecosystem stability. For sixteen years he was the director of the SAS Institute of Landscape Ecology. During this period, he significantly deepened and expanded the activities of the Institute in the areas of research, application, as well as science, organization, education and promotion. Perhaps the most significant is his contribution to international cooperation of the Institute and its position in the European Research Area. A breakthrough in this regard was the Phare Topic Link on Nature Conservation project which was aimed at promoting the conservation of nature in the twelve Central and Eastern European countries involved. Other projects followed, leading the Slovak team in more than 20 international projects, mostly of which were EU Framework Program projects.
While expressing their gratitude at having been awarded, both emphasised how thankful they were and mentioned the space and opportunities they received at SAS for their work, not forgetting to mention the good humour and heartfelt friendship they enjoyed, and which continue to enrich their lives.
Stano Ščepán
Photo: Tomáš Benedikovič