This year we commemorate the 1150th anniversary of the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius to Great Moravia to expand Christianity. On this occasion various projects have been prepared including two international conferences organized in spring 2013. The second symposium, The Cyril and Methodius mission and Europe — 1150 Years since the arrival of the Thessaloniki brothers in Great Moravia, was held at the Velehrad on June 13-17, 2013. and František Čajka a Martina Chromá.
The Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists celebrated the 150th anniversary of its foundation. On the occasion of this anniversary on March 28, 2012, the Union at Karolinum, the seat of the Charles University, a festive ceremony, attended by outstanding personalities headed by the President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Klaus. The Union was founded in 1862 as the Association for Free Lectures in Mathematics and Physics. From the beginning, its goal was the improvement of the teaching physics and mathematics at schools on all levels and of all types and further, to support and promote the development of those sciences. As a consequence of patriotic efforts, the Association was enlarged in 1869 into the Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists. In the early 1950s, the Union had to transfer its property to the newly established Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (CSAV) and it became a learned society affiliated with CSAV. The mathematical part of its library became the basis of the library of the Mathematical Institute of CSAV, and is located there at present. Today, the Union has about 2,800 members. The Union itself, or in collaboration with universities and research institutes, organizes national as well as international conferences, symposia, seminars, and Summer or Winter schools. The Union follows the teaching of mathematics and physics in schools and proposes improvements. It encourages talented students and participates in the organization of the Mathematical and Physical Olympiad and other student competitions. Czech Post has issued a stamp commemorating the 150"i Anniversary of the Foundation of the Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists. and Martina Bečvárová.
The neo-renaissance historical building of the Academy of Sciences was severely shattered on the morning of April 29, 2013 by a gas explosion, which occurred in the building two blocks from the side section of the Academy. A massive pressure wave smashed window panes and defaced parts of the interior not only the whole length of the building facing the explosion but also broke the glass of the windows toward the courtyard and some towards Narodni trida (National Avenue). The greatest damage occurred in the Library and Head Office of the ASCR. and Marina Hužvárová.
The Academy Assembly, the highest body of the ASCR responsible for the uppermost priority decisions related to the ASCR, held its XXXV Meeting on December 15, 2007. President of ASCR Jiří Drahoš censured the Government Council for Research, Development and Innovation for changes it made in the method of support for science. The Academy expressed objections to the new scheme as unbalanced in its decreased subsidies for the ASCR. Czech president Václav Klaus told the Academic Assembly that state financial support of science must be perceived within the whole economic situation and is obliged to be part of a society-wide discussion. and Marina Hužvárová.
The Academy Assembly, the highest body of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic responsible for the foremost priority decisions related to the ASCR, held its XLI Meeting in the Municipal House in Vinohrady December 13. 2012. By a secret ballot. Professor Jill Drahoa was reelected by the Academy Assembly as the new candidate for the presidency of ASCR for the period 2013-2017. The president of Czech Republic will ratify this election and the nominee will be inducted as the new head of Academy at the XLII Meeting of Academy Assembly on March 19. 2013. and Jiří Drahoš.
The Academic bulletin and its Editor-in-chief Marina Hužvárová (the Czech EUSJA representative) organized the European Union of Science Journalists' Associations (EUSJA) General Assembly, held in Prague on March 13-17, 2013. On a two-day Study Trip, journalists from 22 European countries visited the headquarters of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic including its Lysolaje Campus. During the first day they were taken on a tour of the Academy of Sciences Library and heard a lecture on popularization activities in the Centre of Administration and Operations of ASCR. The day ended with an evening concert in the beautiful setting of the Czech Museum of Music. Led by EUSJA President Barbara Drillsma (Great Britain), the journalists were welcomed at the Institute of Geology (IC) by the ASCR PresidentJiří Drahoš, IG director Pavel Bosák, IEB director Martin Vágner and Ivan Kašík on behalf of IPE director. Following that they were given an overview of that institute's work and that of the Laboratory of Optical Fibers of the Institute of Photonics and Electronics. During the afternoon, the group explored the Institute of Experimental Botany (IEB) and the Institute of Chemical Processes Fundamentals (ICPF), where two guidesd tours were arranged. A description of the institute's research activities by the director of ICPF Miroslav Punčochář was followed by a visit to the Institute's laboratories of basic and applied research. and Marina Hužvárová.
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.
The Tiebori Department of Phototrophic Microorganisms of the Institute of Microbiology received a donation from the Operational Programme, Research and Innovation for Development, for construction and operation of a new scientific research Centre of algal biotechnologies. The implementation phase (begun January 1, 2011) aims to develop new cultivation equipment and algal biomass processing practices for the production of biofuel, animal feeding, food supplements and for the isolation of valuable substances. The project will also focus on research in the area of photosynthesis, developing new measuring devices and educating students in these areas. and Ondřej Prášil a Petra Pfeiferová.