prof. RNDr. Bedřich Velický, CSc.

Professor Velický studied theoretical physics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University during 1955–1960. In 1966, he submitted and defended a doctoral thesis (supervisor E. Antončík) and received the scientific degree CSc. (eq. to PhD) from the Scientific Committee on Physics of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (CSAS). In 1998, he was promoted to Associate Professor of general physics at Masaryk University in Brno; in 2000, he was appointed Professor of physics (theoretical physics) at Charles University; in 2001, he took up an appointment as Professor of theoretical and general physics at Masaryk University in Brno. In 1960, Velický entered the Institute of Solid State Physics of the CSAS in Prague (later renamed the Institute of Physics of the CSAS) where he became successively Head of the Theoretical Group and Head of the Optical Group in the Department of Semiconductors and the Department of Theoretical Physics. Since 1992, he has been working as the senior research scientist at the Department of Semiconductors of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University. From 1966 he has also been working in the Department of Theoretical Physics of Masaryk University in Brno and since 1999 he began working as a research scientist of the Centre for Theoretical Studies of Charles University (CTS UK) specialising in the philosophy and history of natural science. Since 2001, he has been Head of the Department of Theory of the Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University (KFKL UK).

B. Velický devotes himself to condensed matter physics. He has published more than 120 papers published in refereed journals of high citation counts (over 2000). He has supervised numerous post-graduate students. As for his study stays abroad, he studied at the Moscow State University during 1964–1965, Harvard University 1967–1969, at Lund University and Lund University (Sweden), Trondheim/Oersted Institute (Norway) 1991–1992 (Nordita Fellow), Université Paris VI et VII/GPS CNRS 1995–1997 (Prof. Past).

B. Velický was Vice-President of the Grant Agency of the ASCR (1991–1992); since 1993 he has been a member of the Council for Sciences of the ASCR, having been its President from 1993–1997. In 1998–2000, he was a member of the Accreditation Commission of the Czech Republic and in 2003–2004, he was Chairman of the Evaluation Commission for the First Section of Sciences. He has received numerous awards and honours for his work, including the State Prize, the Silver Medal of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, "De optime scientiae et humanitate meritis" Medal from the ASCR, Distinguished Member of the Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists, and the Josef Hlávka Medal).