The ESI Medal 2025 goes to Michele Parrinello

The Medal of the Erwin Schrödinger Institute for Mathematics and Physics for the year 2025 is awarded to Michele Parrinello, Professor Emeritus at the Eidgenössiche Technische Hochschule Zürich and Senior Researcher at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genova.

Prof. Michele Parrinello is honored for his seminal contributions to computational science, particularly through the development of groundbreaking algorithms that have opened new frontiers in soft matter, biological, and condensed matter physics, as well as for applying these methods to solve important open problems. Among his most recent achievements are the advancement of metadynamics sampling techniques, which have revolutionized the study of complex free-energy landscapes—including those associated with protein conformational changes—and the pioneering integration of machine learning with molecular dynamics, a transformative leap that is redefining the frontiers of numerical simulations. He is also recognized for his efforts in promoting transparency and reproducibility in computational science.

The Award Ceremony will take place on November 7, 2025, at the Erwin Schrödinger Institute for Mathematics and Physics in Vienna.

Michele Parrinello

Michele Parrinello, born on September 7, 1945, in Messina, Italy, is a renowned physicist celebrated for his numerous pioneering contributions to computational physics, chemistry and materials science. After earning his Laurea degree in physics from the University of Bologna in 1968, he held prominent positions at institutions such as the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, IBM Research in Zurich, and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart. In 2001, he became a professor of computational science at ETH Zurich and the Università della Svizzera italiana in Lugano.

Parrinello is best known for co-developing the Car–Parrinello method, which integrates molecular dynamics with density functional theory, revolutionizing the simulation of atomic and molecular systems. His other notable contributions include the Parrinello–Rahman method for studying phase transitions and the development of metadynamics for exploring complex free energy landscapes. His groundbreaking work has earned him numerous accolades, including the Rahman Prize (1995), the Dirac Medal (2009), Berni J. Alder CECAM Prize (2010), the Enrico Fermi Prize (2012) and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry (2020).

https://www.iit.it/it/people-details/-/people/michele-parrinello
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michele_Parrinello

The ESI Medal

The Medal of the Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics, or ESI Medal, awarded in 2020 for the first time, has been created to recognize outstanding achievements in any area of mathematics or physics, including contributions at the interface of the two fields. The previous recipients of the ESI Medal are Anton Alekseev (2020), Elliott Lieb (2021), Martin Hairer (2022), Isabelle Gallagher (2023), and Piotr T. Chruściel (2024).

The ESI Medal is awarded annually and emphasis is generally given to recent achievements not older than ten years. There is no age limitation for the recipient and ordinarily the ESI Medal is awarded to one person.

The recipient of the ESI Medal receives a medal, a certificate and a monetary award of 4,000 Euro.

Nominations for the ESI Medal can be made by organizers of current and previous ESI Thematic Programmes, current and former ESI Senior Research Fellows, former members of the Scientific Advisory Board of the ESI, former recipients of the ESI Medal, former Directors of the ESI and the President of the ESI Association. The recipient is selected by the Scientific Advisory Board of the ESI.