Events
Annual General Assembly of the Members of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
17 04 2026
On 14 April 2026, the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences held its annual general assembly, which, along with the Academy’s members, was attended by the winners of the Vilnius City Scholar Prize, of various competitions organised by the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, and of other awards, also by Simona Bieliūnė, a deputy mayor of Vilnius, Dr Violeta Meiliūnaitė, chair of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language and Dr Vilija Ragaišienė, head of the Programme Division of this commission, the leadership of the Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, the staff of the Academy, and other guests.
After the opening addresses and preliminaries, awards were presented to the outstanding scientists of Vilnius. Simona Bieliūnė, deputy mayor of the city, said she was delighted that a new and meaningful tradition was established over the past three years. She emphasized that we live in a developed age where science is part of everyday life, and numerous scientific partners assist us in making decisions.. The deputy mayor congratulated the winners of this year’s awards.
Left to right, Simona Bieliūnė, deputy mayor of Vilnius, Dr Algė Andriulytė, a winner of the Vilnius City Scholar Prize, and Prof. Vytautas Nekrošius, president of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
Prof. Vytautas Nekrošius, president of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, announced that Dr Algė Andriulytė, a senior researcher at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, won the Vilnius City Scholar Prize for achievements in the field of the humanities and the social sciences. The winner focuses on nineteenth-century art and devotes considerable attention to the work of Ferdynand Ruszczyc, an artist and educator who had devoted a great deal of effort to making the city more beautiful, was the most influential personality in the artistic life of Vilnius in the early twentieth century, and himself received arts prizes of the city of Vilnius. Dr Andriulytė explores the work of Vilnius-based artists and the historical context of Vilnius, viewing the city as an organic whole. Her studies also focus on the achievements of female artists. For example, it is interesting to note that between 1915 and 1929, their activities in Vilnius were more prominent than ever before.
Simona Bieliūnė, deputy mayor of Vilnius, and Prof. Vytautas Nekrošius congratulate Prof. Valentina Dagienė, a winner of the Vilnius City Scholar Prize
The second diploma of the Vilnius City Scholar Prize was presented to Dr Valentina Dagienė, a professor at Vilnius University, in recognition of her contributions to the fields of natural sciences, technology, medicine, and health sciences. The professor was delighted that the field of computer science education is gaining visibility and recognition, that she, too, had contributed her share to the ranks of European computer science educators.
The annual assembly continued with the presentation of the Kazimieras Būga, Juozas Matulis, Adolfas Jucys, and Kazimieras Baršauskas prizes, all of them established by the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.
Prof. Vytautas Nekrošius, president of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, and Prof. Aušra Maslauskaitė, head of the Division of the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Arts, congratulate Dr Aldonas Juozapas Pupkis on winning the 2025 Kazimieras Būga Prize
Dr Aldonas Juozapas Pupkis was awarded the 2025 Kazimieras Būga Prize (linguistics) for his monograph Lietuvių kalbos draugija: bendrinės kalbos tobulinimas ir ugdymas XX a. 4-ame dešimtmetyje (The Lithuanian Language Society: The Perfection and Nurturing of Standard Lithuanian in the 1930s).
Academician Rimantas Ramanauskas, the winner of the 2025 Juozas Matulis Prize, is congratulated by Ramūnas Skaudžius, director of the Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology
The Juozas Matulis Prize (chemistry) went to Academician Rimantas Ramanauskas for his cycle of studies ‘The Role of Metal Structures in Electrochemistry and the Synthesis of New Inorganic Compounds’. It should be noted that Dr Ramanauskas is a successor to and a promoter of Juozas Matulis’s work.
Left to right, Prof. Ričardas Makuška, chair of the Division of Mathematical, Physical, and Chemical Sciences, Academician Darius Abramavičius, the winner of the 2025 Adolfas Jucys Prize, and Prof. Vytautas Nekrošius, president of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
The Adolfas Jucys Prize (theoretical physics) was awarded to Academician Darius Abramavičius for his series of works ‘Theory and Modeling of Relaxation Processes in Molecules’. His work strengthens the national school of theoretical physics.
Left to right, Prof. Gintautas Dzemyda, chair of the Division of Technical Sciences of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Valerija Paškauskienė, chief coordinator, Dr Renaldas Raišutis, the winner of the 2025 Kazimieras Baršauskas Prize, and Prof. Vytautas Nekrošius
Dr Renaldas Raišutis, director of Prof. Kazimieras Baršauskas Ultrasound Research Institute at Kaunas University of Technology and a holder of ten foreign patents, was awarded the Kazimieras Baršauskas Prize (electronics and electrical engineering). The theme of his work is ‘Integration of ultrasonic electronic measurement systems, signal and multimodal image processing, machine learning, and modeling methods in the development of advanced non-destructive testing and medical diagnostic technologies’.
Winners of the Young Scientist and Doctoral Student Research Competition were invited to the stage next. Based on the results of the competition, Prof. Vytautas Nekrošius, president of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, presented awards and certificates of commendation to fourteen young researchers and doctoral students for their scientific work. The laureates represent such institutions of higher learning and research as the Lithuanian Institute of History, Vytautas Magnus University, Vilnius University, the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, the Nature Research Centre, Kaunas University of Technology, and the Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology.
Academician Aivaras Kareiva, chair of the Theodor von Grotthuss Foundation, presented the certificate of the scholarship, awarded by the foundation to outstanding young chemistry scientists, to Sonata Pleskytė, a doctoral student at the Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology.
The State Commission of the Lithuanian Language also presented its award. Dr Violeta Meiliūnaitė, the chair of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language, announced the commission’s award to the author of the research paper submitted for the 2025 competitions of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences for the most correct Lithuanian language use and style. It went to Dr Jovita Janavičiūtė-Pužauskė (Vytautas Magnus University and Abromiškės Rehabilitation Hospital) for the correct and fluent language of her paper ‘Cognitive Neurorehabilitation of Stroke Patients: The Importance of Allocentric and Egocentric Perspectives for Effectiveness’.
Prize- and award-winning scholars with Simona Bieliūnė, deputy mayor of Vilnius, Dr Violeta Meiliūnaitė, chair of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language, and the leadership of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
Following the awards ceremony, Prof. Vytautas Nekrošius presented the 2025 annual report of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. He noted that five general assemblies of the Academy were held in 2025. A new president of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences was elected at the general assembly in October. The Presidium of the Academy adopted almost 60 different resolutions. Academician Jūras Banys devoted considerable attention to international cooperation, was actively involved in expert activities, and represented Lithuania in European scientific organisations. Other academics also contributed to this work. Members of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences support Ukraine and its National Academy of Sciences and participate in international forums. Members of the Young Academy of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences attended the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. The leadership of the Academy met with the representatives of foreign embassies and academies of sciences. The cooperation agreement between the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and the Polish Academy of Sciences was renewed. The Publishing Department of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences produced three popular science books and published several dozen issues of scientific journals. Thus, the activities of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences in 2025 were diverse and dynamic.
Following the annual report of the president of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. First left, Academician Vladas Algirdas Bumelis
The annual general assembly ended with a vote and approval of the 2025 Activity Report of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and the 2026 budget expenditure estimate.
In his concluding remarks, Prof. Vytautas Nekrošius informed the assembly about the forthcoming book ‘Lietuvos žemės gelmių turtai’ (The Underground Resources of Lithuania; executive editor Academician Algimantas Grigelis) and invited academicians, prize and award winners, and guests for a group photo.
Dr Rolandas Maskoliūnas, chief specialist for public relations
Translatedby Diana Barnard
Photography Virginija Valuckienė
