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Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the ASCR, v.v.i. Prague |
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The Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals [original Czech name: "Ustav teoretickych zakladu chemicke techniky" - UTZCHT] was founded in 1960 from two well-established research groups (of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences), both already having long tradition. It was the Department of Organic Technology of the Chemical Institute headed by Professor Vladimir Bazant and the Laboratory of Chemical Engineering headed by Professor George Standart. The former introduced the research experience in the field of organosilicon compounds and heterogeneous catalysis, the latter continued research on distillation and extraction. In 1964, a group from the Institute of Physical Chemistry dealing with thermodynamics and phase equilibria joined the new Institute. The founder of the Institute and its first director was till his death in 1973 Professor Vladimir Bazant. The second personality who certainly gained recognition for creating the image of the Institute was Professor Eduard Hala.
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| Vladimir Bazant (1920-1973) |
| Eduard Hala (1919-1989) |
In 1964 the Institute moved to a new campus located on the northwest outskirt of Prague (on the border between the suburban districts of Suchdol and Lysolaje). The new premises had permitted growth of the staff which in the late sixties reached the number of 330. Also, new research programs in chemical engineering and chemical technology were initiated such as those on reactor engineering, homogeneous catalysis, non-Newtonian fluids, sublimation, separation processes, dynamics and control of chemical systems, and others. Most of these new programs has emerged as a result of research and development of complete technology for the production of terephthalic acid and polyesters.
Since 1989 some reorganizations took place resulting in substantial staff reduction (of about 50%). The heterogeneous and scattered multidisciplinary research has been rationally integrated, which is reflected in the contemporary structure of the Institute. The Czech name of the Institute was also changed for a more concise one ("Ustav chemickych procesu" - UCHP - see logo).
Since 2007 the status of the Institute was changed (according to Law No. 341/2005) to the "public research institution (v.v.i.)", and management and scientific bodies were changed accordingly.
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