Cuban president congratulates Sofia Kovalevskaya Award winners

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 17 (ACN) Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, president of the Republic of Cuba, today congratulated the winners of the Sofia Kovalevskaya Award bestowed by the Cuban Society of Mathematics and Computer Science for the original and creative use of these subjects to solve problems in society.

In his Twitter account, the president especially congratulated the head researcher of the Center for Molecular Immunology, Lizet Sanchez, who is currently working as consultant in the fight against COVID-19.

Sponsored by the Kovalevskaya Foundation, the award is named after the Russian mathematician, socialist and feminist Sofia Vasilievna Kovalevskaya (1850-1891), the first woman appointed to a full professorship in Europe.

Since 2005, this award has been granted in Cuba every two years, organized by the Commission of Women Scientists of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, and so far 29 women have received the distinction.

On this occasion, the Lifetime Achievement category of the Sofia Kovalevskaya Award went to Doctor of Mathematical Sciences Sira Maria Allende, while the Teaching category went to Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences Isabel Alonso.

The most outstanding Master's Thesis was that of Nigreisy Montalvo Zulueta, Master in Mathematical Sciences, and in the Research category, Doctor in Health Sciences Lizet Sánchez Valdés and Doctor in Technical Sciences Yailé Caballero Mota received the award.