At the conference NWO ICT.OPEN2024, on 11 April in the Jaarbeurs Utrecht, the Dutch Prize for ICT research 2024 is awarded to Dr. Ivano Malavolta. Malavolta is associate professor in the Software and Sustainability Research group at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Professor Ad Ijzerman, representing the Royal Dutch Science Association (KHMW) and Professor Han La Poutré, representing the ICT-research platform Nederland (IPN) presented the prestigious prize.

Malavolta is at the helm of research into energy-efficient robotics software. In an era in which robotization is flourishing in the high-tech industry and autonomous robots, such as self-driving cars and drones, are on the rise, energy consumption in these systems is becoming a crucial design consideration, including for the software that controls these systems. The development of ‘green robotics software’ is growing at a rapid pace. Malavolta has undeniably made substantial progress in this innovative field of computer science.

Attached to the prize is a cash prize of € 50,000, which may be freely used by the winner to strengthen his research. The prestigious Dutch Prize for ICT research is awarded annually to a senior academic scientific researcher who has carried out innovative research or who has been responsible for a scientific breakthrough in ICT. The prize is funded by members of the ICT research platform Nederland (IPN)* with a grant from COMMIT\, through the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW). In addition to the above-mentioned prize money for the winner, Dr. Malavolta will record a video to explain his award-winning work and its significance. This will be distributed to schools and other knowledge institutes. In addition to the prize money, a video is produced explaining the award-winning work of Dr. Ivano Malavolta .

Please click here for more information on ICT.OPEN.

The previous winners of the Dutch Prize for ICT research are:

• Dr Cristiano Giuffrida – VU University (2023)
• Dr Jasmin Blanchette – VU University (2022)
• Dr Felienne Hermans – Leiden University (2021)
• Dr Pablo Cesar – Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) (2020)
• Professor Elmar Eisemann – Delft University of Technology (2019)
• Professor Joost Batenburg – CWI / Leiden University (2018)
• Dr Peter Schwabe – Nijmegen University (2017)
• Professor Alexandru Iosup – Delft University of Technology/ VU Amsterdam (2016)
• Dr Birna van Riemsdijk – Delft University of Technology (2015)
• Professor Marieke Huisman – University of Twente (2013)
• Dr Cees Snoek – University of Amsterdam (2012)
• Professor Bettina Speckmann – Eindhoven University of Technology (2011)

About KHMW

The Royal Holland Society for Sciences and Humanities was founded in 1752. Its goal is to promote science and to build bridges between science and society. It does so by holding competitions, presenting awards for scientific achievements, organizing lectures and staging scientific conferences. The Royal Holland Society for Sciences and Humanities has been based at Hodshon House in Haarlem since 1841. www.khmw.nl

*Except WUR