ICTP-IBM AI Prize to Danish Olsson

Simon Olsson, Associate Professor of data science and AI at Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden is the first winner of the ICTP-IBM Brahmagupta Prize for Artificial Intelligence for Early Career Scientists, established by the Abdus International Centre for Theoretical Physics Salam (ICTP) and IBM. He was awarded for the work pioneer in the application of AI to simulations molecular, an innovative approach that helps to address long-standing computational problems in mechanics statistics, with implications for new drugs and vaccines. "Olsson's work is particularly noteworthy given the his findings on the fundamental aspects of simulations molecular, obtained with generative AI methods, and on applications to pharmacology, for the design of new drugs and vaccines", explained Marc Mézard, professor. of Bocconi University, who chaired the committee selection. Alessandro Curioni, IBM Fellow, Vice President of IBM Europe and Africa, and Director of IBM Research Lab in Zurich, stressed that "IBM is committed to supporting a model open to innovation and to make it available to the next generation of scientists the tools to face the challenges more urgent through emerging technologies." Olsson's research focuses on AI and learning automatic applied to the natural sciences and in particular to study of molecular systems. The prize, consisting of 10 thousand euro, was established by ICTP and IBM in 2024 to reward young leading scholars working on AI for science and AI science as long as it is work that can bring benefits to society. The award honors the mathematician and Indian astronomer Brahmagupta, the first to consider zero as a number and to introduce negative numbers. The award ceremony will be held at ICTP on Thursday 10th July 2025. The "AI Alliance Meetup" will be held immediately after, event that brings together AI researchers and enthusiasts for explore the transformative role this can have in science and society: it is the first event of its kind of the AI ​​Alliance organized in Italy.