Vigh Receives Halász Medal

Gyula Vigh, professor of chemistryand holder of the Gradipore Chair ofSeparation Science at Texas A&M University(College Station, Texas) will berecognized for his research excellencein the separation sciences with the2011 Halász Medal in June. The awardsceremony will take place during the36th International Symposium on HighPerformance Liquid Phase Separationsand Related Techniques, June 19–23, inBudapest, Hungary.

Created in 1997, the award is inmemory of István Halász, an expert ingas chromatography and pioneer inliquid chromatography. It was set upto commend researchers for outstandingachievements in or contributionsto the study of separation science, ortechniques used to separate differenttypes of substances and to purify,quantify, and identify the individualcomponents.

“I was very surprised, as I didn’teven know I had been nominated,”Vigh told the Texas A&M news service.“It’s very humbling and verypleasurable to receive the same awardas some of the guys who helpedestablish our science.”

Past recipients of the award includeYale University’s Csaba Horváth, theinaugural recipient and star pupil ofIstván Halász himself; the University ofTennessee’s Georges Guiochon; BarryKarger of Northeastern University;Uwe Neue of Waters Corporation; andWolfgang Lindner of the Universityof Vienna.

Vigh also is scheduled to present aplenary lecture entitled “A New Preparative-Scale Isoelectrophoretic TrappingDevice: Design, Construction, andFirst Characterization,” explaining atechnique developed in his laboratory.

Vigh has been a member of theTexas A&M faculty since 1985, and hisresearch focuses on analytical chemistry— specifically electrophoresis, themovement of charged particles in afluid or gel under the influence of anelectric field. His laboratory is currentlyinvestigating isoelectric trapping of ampholytic substances within a deviceto achieve separation — a vital tool inthe purification process for a wide varietyof substances, from medications toproteins, in a host of applications.