News

Renowned physicist Luca Volpe recently gave a lecture at FZU, discussing the latest breakthroughs in nuclear fusion with lasers and related science. The lecture, entitled “From the recent breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to a new European Pathway for Laser-Fusion in EU,” covered two main topics.

Developing new sensors for industrial applications, particularly in the fields of water management, foundry and materials engineering is the goal of the NCC for MATCA's next project, Senzorika pro 21. století (Sensing for the 21st century).

Active substances of drugs, alone or in combination with each other, herbs and herbal supplements are metabolized by the human liver. This metabolization can be associated with irreversible damage or even death of the patient. There is no effective prevention against this problem. Additionally, there is no simple drug testing preclinical system to decipher hepatotoxicity issues undoubtfully at early stages of the drug development.

Savings in material and operating costs, less waste, added product value, greener operation. The positive results achieved by Czech manufacturing companies thanks to the collaboration with the Brain4Industry (B4I) consortium, the main coordinator of which is the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, became the main theme of the Společná cesta k digitalizaci českých výrobců (Joint Journey of Czech Manufacturers towards Digitization) conference, which was organized on Wednesday, March 1, by B4I in partnership with the Czech Management Association.

There are pieces of news that are hard to believe. This applies also to the one about the decease of Vláďa Cháb, who was known for his immeasurable vitality and sporting spirit. Unfortunately, his great scientific and sporting heart stopped on the night of March 5, 2023, at the age of 76. When I heard about a month ago that he was not in good health, I did not pay much attention to the news. I believed that there was no illness or obstacle that Vláďa’s spirit could not handle. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

In HiLASE Centre, a new generation of diode-pumped lasers with high average power and high repetition frequency has been developed for a long time. We talked to Jan Brajer, a leading expert from the HiLASE Centre, about colours of the laser as well as success in laser shock peening.

On February 11, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated. On this occasion, we decided to find out what status women in research have. Facts will be revealed, but in addition to graphs, we also offer interviews with female scientists working at the Institute of Physics. We wanted to find out why they chose physics and whether there are equal opportunities in physics.

Basic research in physics often consumes a great deal of energy, but there are visionaries who have been pushing through plans for how to save energy in the largest experiments for years. The chairman of the FZU's International Advisory Board, particle physicist Eckhard Elsen, is one of them. The former research director at CERN is also behind the upgrade plans for the particle accelerator - the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider.