Albert-László Barabási, a world-renowned Hungarian physicist and network researcher, has been elected as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Building on the latest findings in network science and graph theory, he is currently studying large networks in collaboration with László Lovász, a Széchenyi Prize-winning mathematician from the HUN-REN Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics, as part of a winning ERC Synergy Grant proposal.
"Network theory is a new field of science that has only found its place in the academic canon in the past decade. Therefore, these recognitions are for a field that has radically rewritten the way we think about complex systems," said the physicist, who has been successively admitted as a member by the world's leading scientific academies.
Keep the ability to think differently!
Albert-László Barabási, well-acquainted with the Hungarian scientific scene, was asked what direction the Hungarian research and scientific community should take. He emphasised: "Hungarian science cannot receive greater international recognition than the two Nobel Prizes won last year. However, it is crucial that we maintain the ability to think differently. Most Hungarian breakthroughs and discoveries have not been defined by solving existing problems but by asking new questions and opening up new areas. This is what we must continue to do," summarised the new member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Between Budapest and Boston
Albert-László Barabási currently splits his time between Boston and Budapest. In Boston, he is the Robert Gray Dodge Professor of Network Science at Northeastern University and holds an appointment in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. In Budapest, he leads a six-year research project that is part of the European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant program, in collaboration with mathematician László Lovász at HUN-REN Rényi Institute. Building on the latest findings in network science and graph theory, the project aims to promote a better understanding of the functioning of large networks through collaboration between scientists from both disciplines.
Famous for the theory of scale-free networks
Albert-László Barabási was born in Transylvania in 1967. He earned his master's degree in theoretical physics and fractal theory from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest and obtained his Ph.D. three years later at Boston University. While working for IBM, he became more closely acquainted with network theory, which later became his area of expertise. His work significantly contributed to establishing network theory as a widely used analytical tool across various scientific disciplines. He introduced the concept of scale-free networks, which posits that the structures of large, complex networks are very similar, whether they are social networks, protein interactions, or transportation networks. According to this theory, large networks always include both elements with few connections and those with many connections that form the backbone of the network.
NAS membership: one of the highest scientific honours
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences was founded through an Act of Congress signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Only academy members can nominate new candidates, and attaining this status is one of the highest honours a scientist can receive. Following a nomination, an extensive and thorough vetting process begins, culminating in a vote during the academy's late-April meeting. The current membership of the NAS comprises approximately 2,400 U.S. citizens and 500 international researchers, of whom about 190 have received the Nobel Prize.
- Awards and recognitions
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Albert-László Barabási has been a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences since 2004 and of Academia Europaea since 2007. In 2005, he won the FEBS Anniversary Prize for Systems Biology, and in 2006, he was awarded the Neumann Plaque by the John von Neumann Computer Society of Hungary. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences honoured him with the Cozzarelli Prize in 2009, and in 2019, he received the Bolyai Prize.