Secretariat of the Director

The Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences organizes the Physics Photography 2025 competition, which this year is thematically dedicated to "wealth".  The main goal of the competition is to popularize the beauty of physics and to break the stereotypes of the perception of this field of science. The photography competition ends with the announcement of winners and an exhibition of the awarded and selected photos during the Night of Scientists, which is organized by the institute in the Na Slovance facility on Friday, September 26, 2025.

In December, a new mural dedicated to the only Czech winner of the Nobel Prize in the field of natural sciences, Jaroslav Heyrovský, was ceremoniously unveiled at Ládví. In their work the authors, Josefína Jonášová and Štěpán Jílek, interconnected science, history and the local community.

In the presence of Her Excellency Ms Jarmila Povejšilová, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Argentina, her deputy Filip Kanda and the Head of Unit for Research Infrastructures of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic Marek Vyšinka, the Director of the Institute of Physics Michael Prouza signed an agreement to extend the operation of the Pierre Auger Observatory for another 10 years.

As part of the Week of the Academy of Sciences the staff of the Institute of Physics present groundbreaking research to students and the curious public. This year was no exception. The opportunity to get a glimpse into the world of scientific experiments and cutting-edge technologies that scientists work with on a daily basis has been taken by 1348 visitors. 

Where does science end and art begin, and vice versa? This is the question posed to visitors by the new exhibition Reflections, which brings together the works of four leading Czech and Polish artists, scientific perspectives on their artworks and new works inspired by these scientific analyses. Science turns its gaze to art, which returns it, and the cycle of inspiration unfolds.

This year's photo competition of the Institute of Physics surprised the jury not only by the number of images submitted, but also by the variety of topics chosen by the contestants. This year's main theme was physical phenomena.

This year's Researchers‘ Night at the Institute of Physics, although rainy and gloomy, attracted 494 visitors to the premises of the Institute of Physics, who overcame the bad weather to immerse themselves in the world of science. Participants were impressed by the beauties of the microworld, the starry sky in the mobile planetarium, scintillating crystals and followed the tracks of invisible particles in the fog chamber. Physics enthusiasts could attend a panel discussion with leading scientists. Yet the evening was not only about science. The program also featured the Sleeping Lion drama group with a two-act comedy from the period of the First Republic and a screening of photo contest images. The contest winner announcement ended the night's program.

On (not only) open questions in physics with David Hlaváček

In the "Open Questions in Physics" interview series we introduce you to different research areas and personalities of the Institute of Physics. At the Department of Astroparticle Physics, David Hlaváček is involved in the design of one of the control modules of the upcoming LISA space mission, which aims to capture gravitational waves possibly dating back to the very beginning of the universe. In addition, he is also involved in the outreach and philosophy of science. Where does he see physics going, what will LISA tell us about the cosmos and why is it important to inspire new generations of scientists?

On open questions in astroparticle physics with Jakub Vícha

Where do high-energy cosmic ray particles come from and how can we even learn what they are? Can they open up an opportunity for us to discover completely new physical processes? And can cosmic rays influence the weather? These questions have not been answered yet, but research by Jakub Vícha from the Department of Astroparticle Physics at FZU is bringing us closer to unravelling these mysteries.

Another traditional "Family Day", this time pirate themed, brought fun to our employees and their families. Although the weather made it clear that summer was definitely over, it did not prevent a large turnout of our colleagues and their family members. "Our events are not just about having fun, they strengthen the relationships between our employees, their families and support our organisational culture. It is important for us to create a friendly and supportive environment," says Simona Dačeva, HR Team Manager, on behalf of the organizational team.

We experienced another successful participation in career fairs. This year we started on 4th April at the FJFI CTU at the proven event "Ulov mě na Jaderce" and continued on 24th April at "Dny firem na Matfyzu". In both cases, a considerable number of students, especially students of physics and mathematics who are already looking for job opportunities during their studies, arrived at the FZU stand. Together we discussed the possibilities of professional employment and the offer of internships at FZU.

The Excellent Research call in the Johannes Amos Comenius Programme (P JAC) is one of the most important Czech grant calls with a total allocation of CZK 12.2 billion, which aims to enable Czech research to reach European and global excellence. The Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (FZU) has achieved a significant success in this competition and will participate in the investigation of six projects out of the total of 26 projects that received funding in an extremely demanding evaluation process.