This year’s prize will also be given to physicist and educator Yash Pal from India at the World Science Day in Budapest on November 5. 

Thuan, born in 1948 in Ha Noi, is well-known for his studies in astronomy in the US and around the world. His research has focused on the evolution of galaxies and the chemical composition of the universe. 

He has taught astronomy at the University of Virginia since 1976. He is also the author of several books including The Birth of the Universe in 1993 and Chaos and Harmony in 2000, best-seller in France. 

The UNESCO Kalinga Prize was created in 1952, following a donation from Bijoyanand Patnaik, founder and president of the Kalinga Foundation Trust in India.

It is given to a person who has had a distinguished career as a writer, lecture or film producer to help interpret science, research and technology to the public. Many of the awardees are scientists as well.