This year, we mark the tenth anniversary of International Women and Girls in Science Day with the life story of our colleague Evgenia Chitrova, head of the Rare-Earth and Actinide Science Research Group in the Department of Magnetic Measurements and Materials. Her story is the perfect proof that encounters with science and an indomitable curiosity shape a lifelong commitment to scientific work.
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Evgenie has been destined for science since a young age. Physics came into her life even before she chose it – she was simply born into it. "I'm a scientist's daughter," she tells. "I grew up in my mother's lab, surrounded by big magnets and the hum of experiments. Since my mother not always have someone to look after me, I often accompanied her to lectures and presentations of experiments." For Eugenia, this unusual childhood was nothing less than a natural start into the world of science. "It was completely obvious to me that I would become a physicist," she explains, adding that her attraction to the world of magnetism was inevitable. Her biggest inspiration has always been her mother, whose professionalism and love of science have left a deep mark on her.
Evgenia's interest in magnetism was deepened when she came to Prague 20 years ago to study for her Ph.D. and became involved in a project focused on actinide materials – substances exhibiting extraordinary properties due to strong electron correlations and strong spin-orbit interactions. "These materials combine different interactions that compete with each other, leading to very sophisticated physics, such as unconventional superconductivity, heavy-fermion behaviour or giant magnetic anisotropy," she says.
The dual nature of science – problem solving and social interaction
According to Evgenia, physics is not just about routine experiments. She always explains to her students that physicists are like detectives who collect evidence and solve the mysteries that nature presents to us. At the same time, science is also a deeply social field – from participating in large teams in sophisticated experiments using synchrotron radiation or neutron scattering to presenting results at international conferences.
Working in science combines two key aspects – the ability to solve problems and the art of collaboration.
Harmonising science and family life
Despite her many successes, Evgenia Chitrova's path has not always been without obstacles – especially when it comes to science-motherhood balance. She is raising two children, which has at times presented her with challenges in balancing family life and science. Her younger daughter together with her nanny accompanied her on trips abroad so that her experiments could continue uninterrupted. However, these experiences have only made her stronger, and now that her children are growing up, she sees more opportunities to fully engage in her research, take on leadership roles, build larger teams and gain stable funding.
Evgenia's story is an inspiration to all women in science. Her journey from a childhood spent in the lab to successfully balancing family and science shows that courage, perseverance and collaboration can overcome even the biggest obstacles.
Evgenie Chitrová has been working at the Institute of Physics in the Department of Magnetic Measurements and Materials since 2005. After her Ph.D. studies at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, she worked for 18 months as a postdoctoral fellow at Tohoku University in Japan. (Her work in the laboratory was interrupted by a force majeure because Japan was hit by the largest earthquake with magnitude 9 and epicentre only 100 km from the laboratory.) Subsequently, she started collaborating with the Joint Research Centre Karlsruhe (JRC_Karlsruhe) of the European Commission to investigate the electronic properties of actinide-based thin films.
Thanks to the long-standing collaboration, she and her colleagues from the FZU and MFF UK managed to win a tender for a modular Surface Science Laboratory Station (SSLS) for thin film preparation and advanced surface studies, which will move to Prague this year. The device, worth millions of crowns, will serve the newly emerging consortium of academic departments from 2026.
Evgenie has authored and co-authored more than 120 papers and is the recipient of the Otto Wichterle Award, the Young Scientist Excellent Research Award and the L'Oréal UNESCO Award for Women in Science.
Traditionally, the Institute of Physics organises a popular staff meeting with a thematic programme on the occasion of the Women and Girls in Science Day. The main item on the agenda will be a lecture by the Director of the Department of Czech Literature and Comparative Literature at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, doc. Libuše Heczková on the topic "Careers of women in the new fields of physics, chemistry and technology in the first half of the 20th century. Experience and inspiration". The following informal discussion with HR representatives will allow to address issues of fair conditions for all male and female and to discuss prejudices and stereotypes that some women in science still face.