The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences distinguished Acad. Svetlanka Kuyumdzhieva and Acad. Vassya Bankova with the “Marin Drinov” honorary medal. The awarding ceremony was held today at BAS at a meeting of the Assembly of Academicians and Corresponding Members (AACM). The awards were presented by the President of BAS Corr. Memb. Evelina Slavcheva.

Acad. Svetlanka Kuyumdzhieva received the high award for her significant scientific, scientific – organizational and scientific – administrative activities. The main areas of her research are medieval studies – history, theory, palaeography, source studies, archaeography, liturgy, theology, general history, ethnomusicology, music iconography. Acad. Svetlanka Kuyumdzhieva is the chairperson of the “Arts and Art History” Division of AACM.

I accept this award as a prize for the field in which I work – musical Byzantine studies and musical Old Bulgarian studies, Acad. Kuyumdzhieva said. She thanked for the award and added that this scientific field had been established and developed at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and then it received recognition abroad.

The honorary medal is awarded to Acad. Vassya Bankova for her high scientific achievements and merits to BAS. Acad. Vassya Bankova is a world-renowned scientist in the field of chemistry of biologically active natural compounds. The particularly important achievements of Acad. Bankova are in the study of propolis. Her research represents a significant milestone in the development of modern ideas about the structure, properties and application of propolis.

Acad. Vassya Bankova thanked for the award and said that she accepted the award not as a personal award but for all the people she had worked with over the years. Chemistry is an interdisciplinary science, she added.

At the AACM meeting, the Rector of NATFA Corr. Memb. Miroslav Dachev presented to Acad. Ludmil Staykov the Rector’s Award for his overall activity, contribution to the prestige of NATFA in the society and strengthening the relations between NATFA and BAS.

During the meeting, diplomas on the occasion of jubilee anniversaries were awarded to academicians and corresponding members of the Academy.