Ana Erceg has a Master's Degree in Physics and is employed in the Laboratory for Astroparticle Physics and Astrophysics at the Ruđer Bošković Institute. She was awarded for her article, "Faraday Tomography of Interstellar Matter in the Northern Sky."
Petra Radić, M.D. from the Clinic for Cardiovascular Diseases at the Clinical Hospital Centre was awarded for her article "Analysis of selected laboratory and echocardiographic indicators of microtrauma of the heart before and after rugby matches."
Maja Šetinc, who has a Master's Degree in Molecular Biology and works at the Institute of Anthropology in Zagreb, was awarded for her article "Biological determinants of longevity in the Croatian population of people of advanced age."
Valentina Štimac, who has a Master's Degree in Biotechnology in Medicine, works in the Cell Biophysics Laboratory at the Ruđer Bošković Institute. She was awarded for her article "The Role of Augmin and Actin within the Dividing Spindle in Chromosome Congression, Spindle Architecture and Fidelity of Mitosis."
Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs said that the promotion of science in society is very important, especially in moments of crisis when a solution needs to be found, and the ministry maximally supports such events and does what it can in this area.
"Promoting scientific effort that serves as a role model for younger generations is extremely important. We are also faced with the benefits of artificial intelligence, but this opens up an entire area of abuse, so we are trying to see what is correct and what is not," he noted.
The Scholarship Selection Committee chiarman Zvonko Kusić said 60 applicants had applied for the award.
"In Croatia today, women enroll in over 50% of PhD courses, over two-thirds of them graduate from college, so they are leading the way in higher education, but they are still not in high decision-making positions in projects," he underscored.
President Zoran Milanović's envoy Jadranka Žarković also congratulated the award winners, stressing the importance of breaking stereotypes when it comes to women in science.
These scholarships have been awarded in Croatia since 2006, organized by L'Oréal Adria and the Croatian Commission for UNESCO at the Ministry of Culture and Media. So far, 70 young scientists have received these scholarships.