Java Card Forum

The Java Card Forum is an industry association of companies from the smart card, secure operating system and secure silicon industry, working together to promote and develop Java as the preferred programming language for multi-application smart cards, secure devices and other execution environments.

Tag Archives: Bertrand Award


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Christian Kirchstaetter Honoured with the 2025 Bertrand Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Java Card Forum

JCF President Jean-Daniel Aussel presents Christian Kirchstaetter with his Award

Munich, 18th November 2025 – The Java Card Forum e.V. (JCF) is proud to announce that Christian Kirchstaetter, Chairman of the JCF Technical Committee, has been awarded the 2025 Bertrand Award in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the Java Card Forum and to the development and evolution of Java Card technology.

The Bertrand Award, named in honour of Bertrand du Castel, one of the founding figures of the Java Card Forum and a pioneer in the field of smart card technology (who sadly passed away in February 2019), is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding commitment, leadership, and technical excellence within the Java Card community. All JCF Members are eligible for nomination, and the winner is chosen through a vote of the entire membership.

A pioneer in the smart card industry, Bertrand du Castel played a crucial role in establishing the foundation of the Java Card Forum in the late 1990s. His work helped shape the standards and architecture that have made Java Card technology the trusted, interoperable platform for secure applications worldwide. The award bearing his name celebrates those who continue his legacy.

As Technical Committee Chairman, Christian Kirchstaetter has played a pivotal role in guiding the Forum’s technical work, fostering collaboration among members, and ensuring that Java Card technology continues to meet the evolving needs of the secure digital world. His leadership, expertise, and dedication have significantly contributed to the Forum’s mission to maintain and advance the interoperability, robustness, and innovation of the Java Card platform.

“I am deeply honored to highlight the outstanding contributions of Christian Kirchstatter, chair of our Technical Committee, who has been awarded this year’s prestigious Bertrand Award. Over many years, Christian has been a driving force in advancing the technical excellence and innovation of the Java Card ecosystem, leading with unwavering dedication, expertise, and leadership. His visionary work has not only shaped the Forum’s technical direction, but has profoundly influenced the broader industry standards and implementations that secure millions of devices worldwide. Congratulations, Christian, on this well-deserved recognition — your commitment inspires us all to push boundaries and innovate fearlessly.”

Upon receiving the award, Christian Kirchstaetter expressed his appreciation to his peers: “I’m deeply honoured to receive the Bertrand Award,” he said. “The Java Card Forum is built on collaboration and shared purpose, and this recognition reflects the collective effort of all our Members. I look forward to continuing our work together to advance Java Card technology.”

The JCF congratulates Christian on this achievement and thanks him for his ongoing contribution to the strength and success of the Java Card community.

About the Java Card Forum

Founded in 1997, the Java Card Forum is an industry association of leading companies involved in the development, manufacturing, and deployment of Java Card technology. Its mission is to promote the continued evolution and adoption of the Java Card platform, ensuring interoperability, security, and innovation across the smart card and secure element ecosystem.

For more information, visit www.javacardforum.org.

Media Contact:
Karen Brindley
Java Card Forum Secretariat
Email: karen.brindley@javacardforum.org
Website: www.javacardforum.org


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Nicolas Regnault is announced as the 2024 “Bertrand” Award Winner

Nicolas is recognised by his peers for his exceptional contribution to the Java Card Forum’s work

To celebrate the work of Bertrand du Castel (one of the Founder members of the JCF who sadly passed away in February 2019), the Java Card Forum (JCF) has worked with his family to initiate an Annual Award in his memory. The JCF has been keen to showcase the “Bertrand Award” as a visible recognition of the continued drive and dedication still shown by its Members, over 25 years since its inception.

Nicolas Regnault (left) receives his Award from Jean-Daniel Aussel (right), President of JCF

A new voting process has been introduced this year, where all members were listed and could be voted for (rather than just 4 members nominated by the Technical and Business Chairmen). The top 3 then went through to a second ballot to produce a Winner. 

This year’s top 3 were:
Alexandre Frey (NXP)
Nicolas Regnault (Thales)
Christian Kirchstaetter (NXP)

“It was a great pleasure in Munich during our Java Card Forum Fall meeting to present on behalf of the Java Card Forum the 2024 Bertrand Award to Nicolas Regnault of Thales,” declared Jean-Daniel Aussel, President of the Java Card Forum. “As the Java Card Forum is preparing for the great challenge to keep up with ever evolving security attacks and the upcoming of quantum computers, Nicolas has been fully dedicated to work on a Java Card based cryptographic framework for crypto agility and the support of post-quantum cryptographic algorithms with the other members of the Java Card Forum Technical Committee. This year’s award was based on an open vote without nomination, and truly reflects the peer recognition of Nicolas for his outstanding work on the topic.”

“I am really honoured to receive the 2024 Bertrand Award and the recognition of my peers,” responded Nicolas Regnault. “You can still count on me for my commitment in the Java Card Forum to make the technology as good and secure as possible.”

Congratulations to all 3 of the selected members and in particular, to Nicolas for his win.


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Calinel Pasteanu is announced as the 2023 “Bertrand” Award Winner

Calinel is recognised by his peers for his exceptional contribution to the Java Card Forum’s work

To celebrate the work of Bertrand du Castel (one of the Founder members of the JCF who sadly passed away in February 2019), the Java Card Forum (JCF) has worked with his family to initiate an Annual Award in his memory: The “Bertrand”. The JCF has been keen to showcase the “Bertrand Award” as a visible recognition of the continued drive and dedication still shown by its Members, over 25 years since its inception.

Each year the Business and Technical Committee Chairs nominate up to four Members who have made a significant contribution to the Forum and voting is then open to each individual JCF participant. This year’s nominees were:
Calinel Pasteanu (Oracle)
Nicolas Regnault (Thales)

Although Calinel could not be present at the Award ceremony held during the JCF Autumn Plenary in person, he participated via TEAMS and could be congratulated by his peers.

“Calinel is a well-deserved winner,” said Jean-Daniel Aussel, President of the Java Card Forum e.V. “In his position at Oracle, he gave unwavering support to the JCF. His long standing active participation in the steering and advancement of the Forum’s activities was instrumental in shaping and making a success of the successive Java Card releases.”

“The Java Card Forum has been designing the most advanced APIs to match up to date security requirements for billions of devices. Java Card technology has been and remains, the first choice for mass deployments in several markets, e.g. ID, Payment, Telco, and several IoT industrial profiles and fulfilling security requirements defined by different security schemes at different security levels (CC, FIPS, EMVCo, SESIP, etc.),” declared Calinel. “I am honoured to have been nominated for and to have received this Java Card Forum award. And I recommend joining the Java Card Forum to be part of designing the future – Java Card technology is getting more and more relevant as time goes on, due to the increasing importance of security requirements and the technology relevance reflected in setting standards organizations.”

Congratulations to both of the selected nominees and, in particular, Calinel for his win.


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Saqib Ahmad is announced as the 2022 “Bertrand” Award Winner during 25th Anniversary Year

Saqib is recognised by his peers for his exceptional contribution to the Java Card Forum’s work

To celebrate the work of Bertrand du Castel (one of the Founder members of the JCF who sadly passed away in February 2019), the Java Card Forum (JCF) has worked with his family to initiate an Annual Award in his memory: The “Bertrand”. The JCF was keen to showcase the “Bertrand” as a visible recognition of the continued drive and dedication still shown by its Members, 25 years since its inception.

Each year the Business and Technical Committee Chairs nominate up to four Members who have made a significant contribution to the Forum and voting is then open to each individual JCF participant. This year’s nominees were:

  • Saqib Ahmad (Oracle)
  • Nicolas Regnault (Thales)
  • Werner Ness (G+D)
  • Ettore Toscano (ST)

Although Saqib could not be at the Award ceremony held during the JCF Autumn Plenary meeting in person, he participated via Zoom and could be congratulated by his peers.

“Saqib is a well-deserved winner,” said Jean-Daniel Aussel, President of the Java Card Forum e.V. “In his position at Oracle, Saqib had a long history with Java Card technology, particularly in the areas of specification improvement, extension and protection profile maintenance and has significantly contributed to the specification extension with his considerable knowledge and experience. We are delighted to have this opportunity to formally recognize his hard work and expertise.”

“I’m honored to be chosen the recipient of the Bertrand Award for the year 2022 by my peers at Java Card Forum,” declared Saqib. “I was part of the Java Card Forum, on and off, for about 20 years. During this time I had the privilege to work with great professionals like Bertrand Du Castel himself, after whom this award is named. Java Card is marvelous technology and the Java Card Forum is doing an excellent job steering it in the right direction and driving its market adoption. While I’m not part of the Java Card family anymore, I still remain a strong proponent and evangelist for the technology and I see a great future for it.” 

Congratulations to all of the selected nominees and in particular Saqib Ahmad for his win.


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Luca Di Cosmo is announced as the third Annual “Bertrand” Award Winner during Java Card Forum’s Autumn Plenary

Luca Di Cosmo is recognised by his peers for his exceptional contribution to Forum’s work

To celebrate the work of Bertrand du Castel (one of the Founder members of the JCF who sadly passed away in February 2019), the Java Card Forum (JCF) has worked with his family to initiate an Annual Award in his memory: The “Bertrand”. The JCF was keen to showcase the “Bertrand” as a visible recognition of the continued drive and dedication still shown by its Members, more than 24 years since its inception.

Each year the Business and Technical Committee Chairs nominate up to four Members who have made a significant contribution to the Forum and voting is then open to each individual JCF participant. This year’s nominees were Luca Di Cosmo (Technical Committee) from ST, Alexandre Frey (Technical Com-mittee) from NXP, Werner Ness (Business Committee) from G+D and Michele Scarlatella (Business Committee) from ST – all strong candidates for the Award. Although the Autumn Plenary was held virtually, Members were present online to congratulate Luca Di Cosmo on his win and Ettore Toscano, ST’s Business Committee representative, presented Luca with the Award in person.

Luca Di Cosmo (right) receiving the Award from Ettore Toscano (left)

“Luca is a well-deserved winner,” said Jean-Daniel Aussel, President of the JCF. “Luca is a long-standing contributor to the Java Card Forum’s Technical Committee, demonstrating extensive industry experience and specification knowledge. Thanks to his background, dedication, and common-sense approach to feasibility, the discussions within the Technical Committee are both lively and fruitful. We are delighted to finally have the opportunity to thank him more formally for all of his hard work and dedication.”

“I’m surprised and delighted to win this Award,” declared Luca Di Cosmo. “I’ve been part of the JCF for over 15 years, which has helped to strengthen my knowledge and expertise in the field of Java Card technology and has allowed me to actively contribute to the evolution of the specification. It’s wonderful to know that the effort I’ve put into the JCF has been recognised in this way and I feel honoured that JCF colleagues have voted for me.”