The European Committee officially started The 7th Framework Program at the beginning of 2007 and its newsflash is a program Ideas which is basically focused on "border research". The European Research Board announced and will evaluate Starting Independent Researcher Grant that was forwarded to independent research with an excellent research idea seeking to create or consolidte their research team. The call-up was very successful and the EC obtained totally 5,167 projects from which were chosen the best 250 (including two Czech candidates). Doc. František Štěpánek (Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague) was able to get financial support for the project. At present Dr. Štěpánek works in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Imperial College, London, UK. and Táňa Perglová.
The Czech Academy of the Sciences arranged on February 20 a Round Table that took place at the Academy´s Conference Center Liblice on the topic Framework association for state assistance in research, development and innovations. The European committee set the rules that define the schedule of public support, program notification and announcing public events in research and development, in evaluaation of research intension and in setting cooperation with research organizations and companies. and Jindřich Babický.
The seminar Recent Trends 2008 is the eleventh in a series of meetings held by Institute of Scientific Instruments ASCR. The first meeting was held in 1989, the second one, in 1990, was held there as well. The following seminars were organized biannually in Skalský dvůr near Brno. This conference is intended for discussion of questions connected with the intrumentation and methodology in charged particle optics and surface physics. Selected themes were introduced by top specialists with emphasis on questions already recognized but not as yet fully answered. and Filip Mika.