Foto: Stanislava Kyselová, Akademický bulletin
During the Brain Awareness Week, held worldwide annually in March, the neuroscientists and other brain scientists inform the wide public on their research activities and their achievements to advance public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research. The Brain Awareness Week was created in USA by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives in 1996, the European activities are coordinated by the European Dana Alliance for the Brain (EDAB).
In 2011, the thirteenth year of the Brain Awareness Week in the Czech Republic is taking place from Mach 14, 2011. The main events are held in the main building of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The organizers are: Institute of Experimantal Medicine, v. v. i., ASCR, Czech Neuroscience Society and Media Communication Department, ASCR.
News
31 May 2013 Anniversary of the Bysantine Mission of Cyril and Methodius to Moravia
This year we commemorate the 1150th anniversary of the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius to Great Moravia. Various projects have been prepared for this international event. On the national level is a historically oriented exhibition project titled, Cyril and Methodius – their time, life and work. This presents the cultural and social phenomenon of the Cyrillo-Methodian mission stressing its crucial importance for the establishment of the Czech national community. The exhibition presents historical and archaeological items collected during research lasting more than 50 years by the Moravian Museum and partner organizations and connected to the history of Great Moravia before, during and after the apostles’ mission. (The saints’ day is observed in the Czech Republic and Slovakia July 5.)
29 May 2013 The long journey to the Higgs boson and beyond at the LHC
Institute of Physics of the AS CR invites you to the 5th Dvořák Lecture by Professor Peter Jenni from the University of Freiburg, Germany and CERN, Geneva, Switzerland on June 12, 2013 at 3:00 pm in the Lecture Hall of the Institute of Physics, Na Slovance 2, Prague 8. Since three years the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), in particular ATLAS, investigate particle physics at the highest collision energies ever achieved in a laboratory. Following a rich harvest of results for Standard Model (SM) Physics came in 2012 the first spectacular discovery of a new, heavy particle, most likely the long-awaited Higgs boson. The latest results with the full data set accumulated over the first three-years running period of the LHC will be presented.
27 May 2013 L’Oréal For women in science
Remarkable Czech women scientists have received the L’Oréal Award. The ceremonial act took place at the beautiful auditorium of National technical library in Prague May 23, 2013. Three laureates were chosen by special committee in front with Professor Blanka Říhová. First laureate of this year For Women in Science is Ing. Lubomíra Balková from Department of Mathematics Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering Czech Technical University. As second the committee has chosen PharmDr. Martina Čečková from Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hradec Králové and the third laureate is MUDr. Eva Froňková from the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in Prague.
Americans will deliver one of the four unique lasers to the sophisticated scientific centre ELI Beamlines, now being built in Dolní Břežany near Prague, ELI Beamlines management said at a press conference that took place on May 24, 2013 in the main building of ASCR. The ELI Beamlines scientific team started working on its development along with one of the best known laser laboratories in the world, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
10 May 2013 The gas explosion on Monday in Prague has severely affected the building of the Academy
The neo-Renaissance historical building of the Academy of Sciences of the CR was severely damaged on the morning of 29 April 2013 in connection with the gas explosion, which occurred in Divadelní Street on the ground floor of the building across from the side section of the Academy. A massive pressure wave shattered the window panes and damaged the interiors of not only the whole length of the building from the side of Divadelní Street but also broke the glass of the windows towards Krocínova Street, towards the courtyard and some towards Národní třída (National Avenue). The explosion inflicted the greatest damage, the amount of which is estimated at CZK 10 million, in the Library and Head Office of the ASCR.
Institute of Physics ASCR invites you to a seminar Intermediate valence in Pu and Pu-based superconductors by Alexander Shick (Institute of Physics ASCR) on May 15th, 2013 at 15:00 in the Lecture Hall of the Institute of Physics, Cukrovarnická 10, Prague 6. Actinide materials are the backbone of nuclear energy. In order to realize the full potential of nuclear power, and to avoid the risks for society and environment, there is a need in solid understanding of the physical and chemical properties of actinide materials.
2 May 2013 Czech microwave technology faiths flood demage at University in Buenos Aires
Prague’s program for the European Union of Science Journalists’ Associations (EUSJA) Study Trip in March for about 30 representatives from abroad met with favourable response. It was organised by the Academic Bulletin, an official magazine of Academy of the Sciences of the Czech Republic (ASCR).The very first result of the Study Trip at Lysolaje Campus came from the Swedish journalist, Kaianders Sempler, who published an article in the journal NyTeknik based on the address of Milan Hájek of the Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of ASCR. Professor Hájek spoke on the use of microwave technology to dry books damaged by the 2002 devastating floods in Prague.
This article with illustration came to the attention of the San Martín National University in Buenos Aires that suffered flash floods in early April. Its president Carlos Ruta asked for the assistance and cooperation of the Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals regarding the drastic consequences of the flooding which affected the University library and its many books. According to University representatives, the methods that exist in Argentina are still very craft-centered and traditional and so they sought expert help from abroad. Professor Hájek of the Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals confirmed the Institute is assisting in salvaging and restoring thousands of books of the Argentine university.
Prof. Eric Maskin, 2007 Nobel Laureate, will give a public lecture on “How to Make the Right Decisions without Knowing People's Preferences: An Introduction to Mechanism Design” at CERGE-EI in Prague. The lecture will take place on April 29 at 16:30 CEST. For online streaming, go to http://www.cerge-ei.cz/seminars/eric-maskin-live-at-cerge-ei.
22 Apr 2013 Increase in typhoon intensity in eastern Asia in last 130 years
Typhoons or hurricanes affect large areas of the World, which are often densely populated (eastern cost of USA or eastern Asia). New evidence about dramatic increase in occurrence of strong typhoons since the end of 19th century exists just for eastern Asia. These new findings brought study published in Global Change Biology. The changing trend of extremely strong typhoons from 1880 was confirmed by the mean of analysis more than 30,000 tree-rings and climatic data about typhoon frequency and intensity. “Meteorological measurements of typhoon occurrence and intensity are usually limited for short period in Eastern Asia. Such kind of information does not allow reconstruction of longterm changes. However, combination of climatic records with tree-ring data allowed us to find relationship between typhoons and tree-growth and reconstruct the typhoon intensity much more farer to the history,” says first author of study Jan Altman of Botanical institute, The Academy of Sciences of the CR.
Association Euroscience asks for help to stimulate the debate around research in Europe. Austerity has taken its toll and disturbed research cycles across Europe. Particularly affected are scientists from Southern Europe. Find out first-hand how scientists confronted to austerity deal with it in Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal, in a new Special Issue of the Euroscientist, the journal of Euroscience. This issue analyses the situation of how many of scientists were forced to emigrate, and there are also the stories of those who decided to stay. You will hear from researchers sharing their experience of navigating the troubled waters of recession, when it comes to maintaining a seemingly steady research career path.
11 Apr 2013 European science journalists in the Czech Academy
Academic bulletin headed by Editor-in-chief Marina Hužvárová (the Czech EUSJA representative) organized the EUSJA General Assembly, which was held in Prague on March 13–17, 2013. A group of journalists from 22 European countries visited the headquarters of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and also the Lysolaje Campus for two-day Study Trip. During the first day they were shown around the Academy of Sciences Library and were given a lecture of popularization activities in the Centre of Administration and Operations of ASCR. The tour was closed with an evening concert in the beautiful setting of the Czech Museum of Music. The next day journalists led by the President of the EUSJA Barbara Drillsma (Great Britain) were welcomed at the Institute of Geology (IG) by the President of the ASCR Jiří Drahoš and the IG director Pavel Bosák. After the opening session they visited the institute and also the Laboratory of Optical Fibers of the Institute of Photonics and Electronics. During the afternoon, the group continued to explore the Institute of Experimental Botany (IEB) and Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals (ICPF), where two guided tours were arranged. After the overview of the institute’s research activities by the director of ICPF Miroslav Punčochář, they visited laboratories of basic and applied research.
The European Commission has published 4 Calls for proposals for the year 2013 in the framework of Marie Curie research fellowships (Programme People of the FP7). These fellowships are aimed at post-doctoral researchers, to continue their research at an international level. The fellowships amount is attractive: €87 500 per year for researchers with more than 10 years of experience or €58 500 per year for researchers with a shorter experience. The deadline for the submission of applications is August 14th, 2013.
21 Mar 2013 Discovering the nano-world with bright laser beams of extreme ultraviolet light
Institute of Physics ASCR invites you to a seminar Discovering the nano-world with bright laser beams of extreme ultraviolet light by Carmen S. Menoni of Colorado State University on April 17th, 2013 at 15:00. Prof. Menoni is Fellow of the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the American Physical Society, and the Optical Society of America. She has served the IEEE Photonics Society as Member of the Board of Governors, Vice-President for Publications and presently is Editor-in-Chief for IEEE Photonics Journal.
20 Feb 2013 Sweeping the Dust from a Cosmic Lobster
A new image from ESO’s VISTA telescope captures a celestial landscape of glowing clouds of gas and tendrils of dust surrounding hot young stars. This infrared view reveals the stellar nursery known as NGC 6357 in a surprising new light. It was taken as part of a VISTA survey that is currently scanning the Milky Way in a bid to map our galaxy’s structure and explain how it formed.
19 Feb 2013 President Václav Klaus reappointed Jiří Drahoš as a head of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Physical chemist Jiří Drahoš has been heading the AS CR since 2009. Last December, the Academy Assembly – the highest body of the AS CR responsible for the foremost priority decisions related to the institution, re-elected Professor Jiří Drahoš by a secret ballot as the new candidate for the presidency for the period 2013–2017. Jiří Drahoš said he would like to change the funding of science and was planning to establish a forum for the cooperation of academics and industrialists.
18 Feb 2013 ERC Advanced Grant for Eduard Feireisl
Eduard Feireisl's ERC Advanced Grant proposal "MATHEF – Mathematical Thermodynamics of Fluids" has been selected for funding in the period 2013–2018. A great success of the Czech mathematics as this is the first ERC Advanced Grant for mathematics in the Czech Republic and the only one assigned to a Czech scientist this year. Eduard Feireisl was the chair of the Scientific Committee of the 6th European Congress of Mathematics in Kraków, 2012, and is also the chair of the Scientific Committee of Equadiff 13 in Praha, 2013. A call for a PhD. student to work in the grant is open; for details see the http://www.math.cas.cz/.
The recent initiative between the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and European Research Council (ERC) has been taken a step further since last summer. The agreement, which provides opportunities for early-career NSF researchers to join ERC-funded teams in Europe, seems to resonate with ERC grantees; just over 760 already showed great interest in hosting talent from the US.
14 Feb 2013 ERC funds 60 innovative projects to bring 'blue sky' research towards market
The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the outcome of the latest round of its top-up funding scheme 'Proof of Concept'. Worth up to €150,000 each, these grants provide funding for researchers, who are already ERC grantees, to bridge the gap between their research and marketable innovation. In this call, a total of 60 grants have now been awarded, of which the final 27 were made public today. The first 33 grants were announced in September 2012.
11 Feb 2013 The Application of Next Generation Sequencing
Biology Centre CAS, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology in České Budějovice, organizes the 2nd Workshop on the Application of Next Generation Sequencing to Repetitive DNA Analysis in Plants. It will take place on February 13–15, 2013. More information here.
6 Feb 2013 Euroscience Open Calls
Euroscience is a European non-profit grassroots association open to research professionals, teachers, students, science administrators, policy-makers, etc. and generally to any citizen interested in science and technology and its links with society. It represents not only European scientists of all ages, disciplines and nationalities but also the business sector and public institutions such as universities and research institutes. Euroscience announced the Call for the following events.
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