Draft:HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics

The Hun-Ren Wigner Research Centre for Physics (abbreviated Wigner FK) is a Hungarian research institute mainly study physics and its frontiers.

Formerly a research institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), it became a member of the Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH) and after the ELKH's reorganisation it became part of the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network. The Wigner Research Centre was established in 2012 by the merger of the MTA KFKI Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics and the MTA Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, and takes the name of the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Eugene Wigner. The research centre has two institutes, the Wigner Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics (RMI) and the Wigner Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics (SZFI).

History of the Research Centre
The predecessor of the research centre was the Central Institute of Physics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (KFKI), founded in 1950. Originally established with two departments, the institute was soon expanded by several departments under the leadership of researchers such as Károly Simonyi and Lajos Jánossy. The aim of the preparatory committee was, in its words, "to raise Hungarian physics research from its present state, which is far behind that of other disciplines, and to enable productive scientific research in all fields of physics which are of primary importance for the development and application of science." From the very beginning, the KFKI has been the home of a wide variety of research, and the Wigner FK is no different. The direct or indirect utilization of results has always been a feature. Physics was not the only field in the institute, but also various technical and even life sciences. After the change of regime, the KFKI was dissolved in 1992 and its scientific institutes were given full autonomy within the MTA.

Subsequently, the MTA Wigner Research Centre for Physics (MTA Wigner RCP) was established on 1 January 2012 by the merger of the former MTA KFKI Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics and the former MTA Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics. Since 2013, the world-class Wigner Data Centre has been part of the Research Centre. From 1 September 2019, the Wigner RCP has been under the management of the Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), and continues to operate as an MTA Institute of excellence, today one of the largest research institutes for physics at the ELKH. The main research areas are: quantum technology, experimental and theoretical particle physics, nuclear physics, general relativity and gravity, fusion plasma physics, space physics, nuclear materials science, experimental and theoretical solid-state physics, statistical physics, atomic physics, optics and materials science.

Researchers working in Wigner RCP or in its predecessors: Géza Györgyi, Lajos Jánossy, István Kovács, Vlagyimir Naumovics Gribov, Simonyi Károly, Dezső Kiss, Zoltán Perjés, József Zimányi, Péter Szépfalusy, György Vesztergombi, Lénárd Pál, Győző Farkas, Károly Szegő, László Gránásy, Gyula Bencze.

Organisational structure
The Wigner Research Centre for Physics has two institutes, which are further organised into departments and research groups:

Academicians
Full members

Péter Domokos (from 2019)

Katalin Kamarás (from 2016)

Péter Lévai (from 2016)

Imre Vincze (from 2010)(professor emeritus)

Gyula Faigel (from 2007)

Jenő Sólyom (from 1993)(professor emeritus)

Norbert Kroó (from 1990)

Corresponding member

Ferenc Siklér (from 2022)

Prizes donated by Wigner RCP
Géza Györgyi Prize (RMI)

Zimányi Medal (RMI)

Publication Award (SZFI)

Applied Research Prize (SZFI)

Gribov Medal (RMI)