Team of co-authors: Bruno de la Toree (middle), Benjamin Mallada Faes (right) and Aurelio Gallardo (left) have won the the most significant result in basic research award of the Werner von Siemens Awards.
One of the winners of the 24th annual Werner von Siemens Awards is the promising researcher Bruno de la Torre from the Institute of Physics and the Palacky University in Olomouc. The Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences is also home to the first place winner in the best dissertation category Petr Hauschwitz and the second place winner Ivana Víšová.
The award for the most significant result in basic research was awarded by a jury led by the president of the Czech Academy of Sciences Eva Zažímalová to Imaging of inhomogeneous distribution of electron charge on an atom: sigma-holes. The research published in Science was conceived as part of an extensive interdisciplinary cooperation of researchers from the Czech institute for research and advanced technologies (CATRIN) at the Palacky University, the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Organic Chemistry a Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the IT4Inovations Centre at VŠB-Technical University Ostrava. The winning team includes the following members Benjamin Mallada Faes and Aurelio Gallardo from the Institute of Physics, and Maximilián Lamanec from the Institute of Organic Chemistry a Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
I am still at the beginning of my research career, so I hope that this success will make my research group even stronger.
The researchers have made the first observation of an inhomogeneous electron charge distribution around a halogen atom. This subatomic structure known as a sigma-hole was theoretically predicted but had never been directly observed owing to poor resolution capabilities. A brand new method developed for making the observation might also help map out the spatial arrangement of the charge in molecules and atoms.
“We are convinced that our results will motivate other researchers to use our methodology when conducting their studies any time soon. Our result has provided a deeper insight into the use of halogen bonds for the development of new medicines or new macromolecular materials”, the members of the research team assume.
Petr Hauschwitz decided to take part in the Werner von Siemens Awards at the instigation of his supervisor Tomáš Mocek (right)
In a number of cases, the results of my research have already found application or are very close to it – such as when creating functional surfaces to improve friction and the efficiency of lubricant use in a German steel plant and when manufacturing a new type of batteries.
The first place in the best dissertation category of the Werner von Siemens Awards has been won by Petr Hauschwitz from the Faculty of Nuclear and Physical Engineering of the ČVUT in Prague. His dissertation titled Large scale surface functionalization of laser-induced micro and nano structures deals with micromachining methods that open up new possibilities for creating functional surfaces that are superhydrofobic, antibacterial, anti-icing, self-cleaning and anticorrosive. The supervisor of the dissertation is the top manager of the HiLASE Center Tomáš Mocek. Petr Hauschwitz has been listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
Ivana Víšová decided to take part in the Werner von Siemens Awards at the recommendation of the head of the examining committee prof. Vladimír Baumruk after defending her dissertation.”My supervisor Dr. Hana Lísalová agreed with the idea, that’s why I am here," Ivana Víšová said (left).
Ivana Víšová from the FZU has won the second place in the best dissertation category for the research titled The study on interactions of functional surfaces with biological systems supervised by Hana Lísalová from the Institute of Physics. With her dissertation she actively participated in an advanced research of specific cellular stress responses at the molecular level and in the research of bacteriophage-bacteria interactions. The research might help overcome the problem of the continually increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotic treatment.