An international, non-profit association founded in 1974 under Belgian law.
About the Anders Gustaf Ekeberg Tantalum Prize:The Prize is named after the discoverer of tantalum. It will be awarded to the lead author(s) of the published paper or patent judged by an independent panel of experts to have made the greatest contribution to understanding the processing, properties or applications of tantalum. It is open to any published paper or patent judged to advance knowledge and understanding of tantalum.
To be eligible for consideration, the publication must be in English between 24 and 6 months before the award ceremony at a T.I.C. General Assembly. Therefore, to be eligible for the 2026 Prize, a publication must be dated between September 2024 and March 2026.
The Prize is judged by an independent Panel of Experts. The Panel comprises five to seven internationally recognised experts drawn from around the world, appointed to provide an impartial assessment of the technical merit of the shortlisted papers.
Panel members are appointed for a term of up to three years, ensuring continuity and consistency in the evaluation process. To preserve the Panel’s independence, current members of the T.I.C. Executive Committee and T.I.C. staff are not eligible to serve.
Dr Philip Lessner – Consultant
Dr Philip Lessner is a seasoned consultant in the electronic components industry, bringing with him four decades of experience. He previously served as Chief Technology Officer at both the YAGEO Group and KEMET Electronics. Dr. Lessner holds a B.E. in Chemical Engineering from Cooper Union and a Ph.D. in Electrochemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Over the course of his career, he has been deeply involved in the development of tantalum capacitors, contributing nearly 30 years of technical expertise to this field
Peter J. Bonitatibus Jr., PhD – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – Chemistry
Peter J. Bonitatibus Jr., PhD is an Associate Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Joint winner of the 2024 Ekeberg
Medal for the paper “The clinical translation of a tantalum oxide nanoparticle-based contrast agent for improved diagnostic CT imaging capabilities and patient safety through extensive non-GLP and GLP preclinical development, safety tests, and efficacy tests”
Magnus Ericsson – Luleå University of Technology
Magnus Ericsson is adjunct professor of Mineral Economics at Luleå University of Technology in the mining heart of Sweden. He is a founding partner in the independent advisors RMG Consulting. He has for decades been closely involved in developing a global mining database. He has established a reputation for developing among the best overviews of the world’s mining industry. He has been involved in tantalum mining in Namibia and in an advisory capacity regarding social and community matters for a niobium project in Malawi. He is the deputy chair of the foundation establishing a museum at the site on Resarö outside Stockholm where tantalum was first isolated. He is a co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal Mineral Economics / Raw Materials Report, now in its 35th year.
Professor Toru H. Okabe – The Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
Dr Okabe’s doctorate examined the processing of reactive metals, such as titanium and niobium, and his subsequent career has included postdoctoral research with Professor Donald Sadoway at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. Dr Okabe specialises in materials science, environmental science, resource circulation engineering and rare metal process engineering. In addition to the research on the innovative production technology, he has worked on new recycling and environmental technology of rare metals, such as niobium, tantalum, scandium, tungsten, rhenium, and precious metals. Dr Okabe is Director General of the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo. In 2021 he received an honorary degree from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology for his groundbreaking work on “urban mining”.
Tomáš Zedníček Ph.D. – President of the European Passive Components Institute (EPCI)
Dr Zedníček’s doctorate examined tantalum capacitors and was awarded in 2000 from the Technical University of Brno in the Czech Republic. Prior to establishing EPCI in 2014, he worked for over 21 years at a major tantalum capacitor manufacturer, including 15 years as the worldwide technical marketing manager. He has authored over 60 technical papers and a US/international patent on tantalum and niobium capacitors. He regularly presented at the CARTS passive component conference and other leading events. Since 2017 he has organized the PCNS bi-annual passive components symposium hosted by a European University. Dr Zedníček is a regular contributor to the Bulletin.
To submit or recommend a publication for consideration for the 2026 Ekeberg Prize, please get in touch with the T.I.C. by email which is available on our Contact us page or any member of the T.I.C. Executive Committee by May 31st 2026. Papers may be submitted by e-mail attachment or by regular mail.
The 2026 Prize will be awarded at the 66th General Assembly, September 13th to 16th, 2026, Yinchuan, China. For further information, please get in touch with the T.I.C. office.
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