News

Mirrors from the Joint Laboratory of Optics of Palacký University in Olomouc and the Institute of Physics (SLO) are a key part of several cosmic ray detectors located around the world. Petr Schovánek was at the very beginning of a number of important international projects in this field and continues to look for ways to improve, simplify and cheapen the production of mirror systems while maintaining their parameters.

Professor Chien-Cheng Kuo and a group of 14 talented students from the National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan recently embarked on an unforgettable journey to the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Their mission was to delve into the world of cutting-edge research and gain invaluable real-world insights.

The NCC for MATCA (National Centre of Competence for Materials, Advanced Technologies, Coatings and their Applications) co-financed with the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic’s (TA CR) state support within the National Centres of Competence Programme, has received the highest possible rating from the TA CR panel for the first phase of its existence lasting from 2019 to the end of 2022.

In the quest for a sustainable and decarbonized future, renewable energy sources have emerged as the key pillars of modern energy systems. Solar photovoltaic offers a vision of a world powered by 100% renewable electricity, where access to electricity is universal. It plays a vital role in meeting various energy demands, from communication and transportation to heating and synthetic fuels. Marko Topič's lecture covered several topics related to solar cells and photovoltaics.

Our friend and colleague, Miloš Lokajíček, PhD, CSc., long-standing staff member of the Division of Elementary Particle Physics at the Institute of Physics of the CAS, passed away at the age of 70 on Wednesday, June 14th. Miloš was involved in almost all the key experiments in which we participated and contributed significantly to them, especially in the field of acquisition and processing of experimental data.

Solid state physicist Helena Reichlová will establish the Dioscuri Centre for Spin Caloritronics and Magnonics at the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences from 1 October 2023. She will look for ways to reduce the exponentially increasing energy consumption in the information technology sector of the future.

On the night of June 19-20, 2021, visible light from a source 10 billion light-years away from Earth was captured by three telescopes. Two of them – robotic telescopes – are operated by Czech institutions – the D50, located in Ondřejov, is managed by the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, while the other, FRAM-ORM, is located on the Spanish island of La Palma. The third telescope, Mini-MegaTORTORA, is installed in Nizhny Arkhyz, Russia. An international team has published a study of this extraordinary source in the May issue of Nature Astronomy.

The whole professional life of Zdeněk Šimša was connected with the Institute of Physics (formerly Institute of Technical Physics of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences), where he started working after the graduation from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University. In the then Department of Ferrites he was involved in experimental research on the structural, electrical and magnetic properties of magnetic oxides. In this way, he contributed significantly to a better understanding of the properties of magnetic materials, especially ferrites and garnets. He also developed a methodology for studying the optical and magneto-optical properties of films suitable for magneto-optical recording of information.