Washington, D.C. – The Hungarian American Coalition has received a $90,000 grant to extend the operation of theKároly Simonyi Prize until 2008 to support the development of scientific endeavors of Hungarians living in Hungary and beyond the borders.

The annual monetary award was first established in 2002 by Dr. Charles Simonyi in honor of his late father, Professor Károly Simonyi, who was an internationally known electrical engineer and author of Physics: A Cultural History. This year, the Hungarian American Coalition received the grant from the Charles Simonyi Fund for the Arts and Sciences. The agreement to provide funding for the operation of the Károly Simonyi Board of Trustees was made between the Hungarian American Coalition and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest. Two $15,000 awards will be granted annually for three years.

On November 7, 2006 two outstanding Hungarian academics received the Károly Simonyi Prize in Szeged, on Hungarian Science Day.

The prize for excellence in physics was granted to Dr. Győző Farkas, academic consultant of the Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, for his innovative results in the field of interaction of laser light and substance, his crucial role in generating extreme short laser impulses, and the development of new pilot methods with laser.

The prize for excellence in technical education and research was presented to Dr. Gábor Stépán, professor and head of department of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics for his achievements in nonlinear dynamics that can be used in mechanical engineering and which received outstanding international recognition.

The awards were presented by Dr. Lajos Keszthelyi, president of the Károly Simonyi Board of Trustees at the University of Szeged.