Thirty-five 35 participants from 13 countries gathered at Villa Lanna July 16-19, 2014 to hear and discuss presentations on the life and work of one of the foremost European philosophers of the 19th century, Bernard Bolzano. Most of the 30 talks given were on philosophy but mathematics and theology. More than a quarter of the participants were research students. Several news stories have drawn attention to recent developments in Bolzano studies. In May the complete English translation of Bolzano’s major work Wissenschaftslehre (Theory of Science) was published. This year nearly three-quarters of the129 volumes of the Bernard Bolzano Gesamtausgabe will appear in print. The program and other details of the meeting can be found at bolzano2014.wordpress.com. The meeting enjoyed generous sponsorship. Details on the dissemination of the papers will appear in due course. This meeting was co-organised by the Institute of Philosophy of ASCR and the International Bernard Bolzano Society, Salzburg. The Society met in Prague in April 2010 on the 200th anniversary of a book of his published in 1810. Dr. Balzano (1781-1848) was a Bohemian mathematician, logician, philosopher and theologian of Italian extraction and taught at the University of Prague (Charles). and Arianna Betti, Steve Russ.
January 21st marked the 150th anniversary of the death of one the most famous and influential Czech writers, Božena Němcová who was born in Vienna. When she was 17 years old, she married Josef Němec who a state customs officer and 15 years older than her. Although the marriage lasted nearly 25 years, it became an unhappy one since the married couple didn’t understand one another very well. Němcová died in poverty, estranged from her husband. Bohemian patriots arranged a dignified funeral for her. Her most popular work is the novel The Grandmother, considered a classic work of Czech literature. The book was inspired by Němcová‘s own childhood in the village of Ratibořice, where she lived with her parents, siblings and maternal grandmother, Magdalena Novotná. and Magdaléna Pokorná.
The Inauguration of Application Laboratories of Microtechnologies and Nanotechnologies (ALISI) took place May 30, 2013 at the Institute of Scientific Instruments in Brno. The aim of ALISI was to build a new research center with modern equipment achieving applicable R&D results and on a level with the world's highest ranking institutions. According to Professor Pavel Zemánek, scientific director of ALISI, the research activities are related to diagnostics and technologies using the methods of magnetic resonance, laser microtechnologies and nanotechnologies — especially interferometry and spectroscopy, measurement and processing signals in medicine, electron microscopy and lithography, electron and laser beam welding, thin film deposition by magnetron sputtering, cryogenics and construction of unique scientific instruments and systems. and Luděk Svoboda.
The European Union has allocated 31 million crowns for the professional enhancement of Czech scientists and international activities of research teams at the Institute of Scientific Instruments of the ASCR and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication of the University of Technology in Brno. The EU subsidy encompasses three years. Thanks to this financial support, Vladislav Krzyžánek, a leading Czech expert in electron microscopy, has returned to Brno after 12 years in Muenster, Germany. The EU subsidy will additionally fund training workshops, guest stays of foreign scientists, support for researchers’ mobility and the establishment of cooperation between universities and the industrial sector. and Luděk Svoboda.
The seventh annual Week of Science and Technology, organized by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, took place in five cities - Brno, České Budějovice, Olomouc, Ostrava and Prague. The program included speeches by top professionals, presentations of significant experiments, workshops, non-traditional exhibitions, science cafés, and visits to laboratories and academic workplaces. The Week of Science and Technology also featured the European itinerant exhibition focusing on optics and optical technologies, titled The Fascination of Light. The exhibition took place November 1 to 8 in Veletržní palác. and Marina Hužvárová, Luděk Svoboda.