We present an interview with Robert lzzard whose doctorate is from Cambridge University and who has been awarded an Intra-European Fellowship for Career Development which is a part of Marie Curie Actions. His research at l'Universite Libre de Bruxelles is focused on the evolution of binary stars. and Andrea Khudhurová.
We feature an interview with Professor Eva Za2imalova, a member of the Academy Council and the head of the Laboratory of Hormonal Regulation in Plants at the Institute of Experimental Botany of the ASCR. From 2007 to 2012 she was director of this institute. Her research is in the fields of auxin and cytokinins (mode of action of auxin. auxin binding site(s), regulation of levels of auxins and cytokinins in relation to cell division and elongation and themechanism of polar transport of auxin). and Marina Hužvárová.
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.
We feature an interview with Prof. Zdeněk Herman, a renowned Czech chemist. In his research he focuses on the dynamics of chemical reactions or the collisions of ions that he calls "billiards with particles." Professor Herman studied chemistry at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University specializing in physical chemistry and radiochemistry. After completing his studies in 1957, he joined the Institute of Physical Chemistry (now J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the ASCR). He was Head of the Department of Chemical Physics, and Deputy Director and Head of the Scientific Council of the Institute. Only after the fall of the communist regime was he allowed to complete his habilitation and become a Professor of Chemistry in 1996 at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague. Since 1989, he has served on many ASCR committees and in the Czech Government. In 2003, he was awarded the Czech Head National Prize. Professor Herman is also a sculptor and painter. For the 50th anniversary of the Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the ASCR, he crafted a bronze bust of the Institute's founder, Professor Vladimír Bažant. and Marina Hužvárová.
Professor Pavel Zemanek and his colleagues at the Institute of Scientific Instruments (1St) of the ASCR built a laser that moves tiny spheres of polystyrene floating in water While in science fiction programs such as "Star Trek," tractor beams are used to move massive objects, the unique research published in Nature Photonics (2013, 7, 123-127) is limited to moving microscopic particles. Changing the way the light is polarized changes the direction the spheres move. The ISI scientists also found that at certain sizes, the spheres arrange themselves into neat rows as they move, bound by the light itself. The practical applications could be diverse. The tractor beam is very selective in the properties of the particles it acts upon, so one could pick up specific particles in a mixture. For example, this laser could be used to separate white blood cells. and Luděk Svoboda.
This comment was made by Professor Jiří Drahoš a renowned physical chemist, interviewed for a feature article in this issue. The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ASCR) has been observing this year the 20th anniversary of its inception, this one being another in the series. Professor Drahoš has been president of the ASCR since 2009. Since then, Professor Drahoš has been facing the government's decisions to cut the Academy's budget every year. He has worked at the Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the ASCR since 1977, holding various positions, including research scientist, senior research scientist, Department Head, Deputy Director (1992-1995) and Director (1996-2003). His principal research interest is multiphase chemical reactors. He has published more than 60 original papers in impacted international journals and is a co-inventor of four international and holds 10 Czech patents. According to Science Citation Index and other sources, his scientific papers have been cited more than 700 times. In 1977 he was awarded the Medal of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (CSAS). and Marina Hužvárová.