Norbert Kroo, Vice-President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, founding director of the Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics of HAS. He first used nuclear methods in condensed matter studies and later turned to laser physics and quantum optics. Surface plasmon optics is a typical field of this type. He published about 300 scientific papers and is the owner of 40 patents. He worked in several countries, and with outstanding scientist like Herbert Walter and Alexander Prokhorov.

He is the former president of the European Physical Society and member or honorary doctor of several distinguished scientific institutions including the Scientific Council of the European Research Council, and has received awards from many states and their academies. His latest decorations are: the Wallis E. Lamb Award for Laser Physics and Quantum Electronics (USA), and the Commander of the Order of the Lion (Finland).