Professor Erio Tosatti is one of the two recipients of the 2020 Spirit of Abdus Salam Award. Announced annually by the family of ICTP Founder and Nobel Laureate on 29 January, Abdus Salam’s birthday, the award recognizes those who, like Salam himself, have worked tirelessly to promote the development of science and technology in disadvantaged parts of the world. Tosatti has been awarded “For his leading role in the establishment of high-level training and research activities in Condensed Matter Physics at ICTP, and for mentoring many capable young scientists from developing countries, working with them to elevate their research to international standards”.
Erio Tosatti is a co-founder and senior member of ICTP's Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics section. From 2002 to 2003, he served as ICTP Director ad interim. He also founded SISSA's Condensed Matter Theory research group and directed it for more than 30 years. He has received several prestigious awards, including the Tate Medal for International Leadership in Physics from the American Institute of Physics (2005). In 2019, he was inducted into Italy's Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, and was appointed as foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The other recipient of 2020 Spirit of Abdus Salam Award is M.S. Narasimhan. M.S. Narasimhan is an eminent mathematician with a long and distinguished career. He was the head of ICTP's mathematics section from 1993 to 1999, mentoring many mathematicians from the developing world.