2025 SAS International Award for Dr. Christophe Marcenat

“Dr. Marcenat’s research focuses on new types of superconductors that play a key role in the development of modern technologies of the second quantum revolution. He has made significant contributions to the development of unique microcalorimetry methods, enabling the study of materials under extreme conditions — at ultra-low temperatures, high pressures and in strong magnetic fields,” said P. Hvizdoš.

Later, Prof. Peter Samuely from the Institute of Experimental Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (IEP SAS) in Košice, head of the group that collaborates with the laureate,  addressed the audience. He highlighted Ch. Marcenat’s extensive expertise in low-temperature physics and described the close cooperation with the Centre of Low Temperature Physics (CLTP) at the IEP SAS. As he noted, together with his colleagues in Košice, Dr. Marcenat has achieved several groundbreaking results.

“The cooperation of Dr. Christophe Marcenat with the Institute of Experimental Physics SAS has lasted for almost a quarter of a century. It began with research on the superconducting magnesium diboride (MgB₂), the results of which we published in 2001 in the leading physics journal Physical Review Letters. Today it has nearly 500 citations and has received several awards,” emphasized P. Samuely.

The close and extensive cooperation with the research team from the Slovak Academy of Sciences lead to the Horizon 2020 project titled the European Microkelvin Platform. Christophe Marcenat, together with Jozef Kačmarčík, developed a new generation of microcalorimeters operating at even lower temperatures, enabling the acquisition of absolute specific heat values of the measured substances with high resolution. Thanks to this, for example, within Slovak–French–Japanese cooperation, it was possible to investigate the fine structure of quantum oscillations in graphite. A joint publication presenting the results was published in Nature Communications in 2023.

Several Slovak PhD candidates and students also benefited from Ch. Marcenat’s expertise and knowledge, spending part of their PhD studies in renowned laboratories in Grenoble. Thanks to his involvement, Slovak low-temperature physics has established itself among the world leaders. The SAS International Prize is a symbolic recognition not only of his scientific work but also of his long-standing and intensive collaboration with Slovak scientists.

In his speech, Christophe Marcenat emphasized that he greatly values this award as well as his collaboration with colleagues from Slovakia. “I am proud that my collaborators from Košice considered our cooperation significant enough to nominate me. It is a great honor for me, and it is an award not only for myself but also for our entire group in Grenoble,” said the laureate of the SAS International Award.

The event was hosted by Dr. Tomáš Hromádka, Vice-President of the Slovak Academy of Sciences for Science, Research and Innovation. The program was complemented with musical works by M. Ravel, A. Dvořák and A. Vivaldi, performed by the string ensemble Mucha Quartet.