On 13 February 2026, the Presidium of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences (LMA), acting on the recommendations of the evaluation committees of the Young Scientists and Doctoral Students Research Competition and the nominations submitted by the LMA scientific divisions, awarded the 2025 prizes to the competition winners and letters of commendation to its participants. Among those recognised are four researchers from Vilnius University (VU) Faculty of Physics.
In the Division of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, an LMA letter of commendation was awarded to Dr Jonas Banys (Faculty of Physics) for his research work “Microlaser-BasedParametric Light Sources: Towards Tunable Subnanosecond Pulses.”
In the Division of Biology, Medicine and Geosciences, prizes were awarded to two VU researchers – Dr Andrius Žučenka (Faculty of Medicine) for his research work “Innovative Biomarker-Based Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in Lithuania” and Dr Andrius Sakalauskas (Life Sciences Center) for his research work “Formation of Distinct Alpha-Synuclein Aggregate Structures in Artificial Cerebrospinal Fluid.” A letter of commendation was also presented to Dr Justina Račaitė (Faculty of Medicine) for her research work “Assessment of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Adolescents Experiencing Parental Emigration Using the ASEBA Methodology.”
The LMA Named Adolfas Jucys Prize in Theoretical Physics was awarded to Prof. Darius Abramavičius (Faculty of Physics) for his research work “Theory and Modelling of Relaxation Processes in Molecules.”
LMA, together with the Young Academy, also announced the winners of the 2025 Higher Education Students’ Research Competition.
In the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, prizes were awarded to VU students: Master’s student Vidas Krušinskas (Faculty of Law) for his research on juvenile criminal justice in Lithuania; Master’s student Viltė Stukaitė (Faculty of Philology) for her study on the cult of the - Zhirovichi Mother of God icon in the Uniate Church of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; Master’s student Eglė Navickaitė (Faculty of Philology) for her research on the interaction between orality and written structures; and integrated studies student Gabija Beglecovaitė (Faculty of Law) for her research on the relationship between European Union sanctions and investor protection.
In the Division of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, prizes were awarded to Master’s student Domantas Burba (Faculty of Physics) for his work on two-dimensional topological dark-state lattices and to Master’s student Rokas Lemežis (Faculty of Physics) for his research on the application of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance in the study of functional materials.
In the Division of Biology, Medicine and Geosciences, a prize was awarded to Master’s student Elzė Buslavičiūtė (Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences) for her research on optimising peatland water level monitoring using SAR satellite data.
In the Division of Technological Sciences, a letter of commendation was awarded to Master’s student Aristidas Lukas Končius (Kaunas Faculty) for his research on prototype of zero-knowledge proofs for authenticity verification of financial document transformations.
The prize diplomas and letters of commendation will be presented at the General Assembly of Members of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences in April 2026.