The Česká hlava (Czech Head) National Government Award has been presented by the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation to Tomáš Jungwirth from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He received the most prestigious scientific award for his contribution to spintronics research. The ceremony of the 23rd edition of the competition brought recognition also to David Vojna, who received the Doctorandus Award for Technical Sciences.
Minister for Science, Research and Innovation Marek Ženíšek highly praised Jungwirth's contribution to the international scientific community and stated that the award is also a recognition of the renowned physicist’s career in science. "Today's ceremony shows that we can be proud of those to whom the awards were presented. Czech science has the potential to be another pillar of the Czech Republic brand in the world. Jungwirth's discoveries, especially in the field of altermagnetism, and fundamental scientific publications push the boundaries of current knowledge and open new paths for future technologies," said Ženíšek.
Spintronic memories are becoming a key component in processor chips, because conventional magnets limit progress in chip speed and energy efficiency. Current magnetic materials are classic magnets, the same as those we have on our fridges at home. However, their excitation by an external field limits further component scalability needed for increased capacity of memory chips. In order to be able to place the bits closer together, Professor Jungwirth is now studying spintronic components on new materials that do not involve any external field excitation.
Twenty-year-old trick of quantum physics adopted by the most important manufacturers of the most advanced chips
What got the award-winning physicist into the textbooks of solid-state physics was the discovery of the physical nature of the anomalous Hall effect, which was at the birth of the field of topological magnetism. In 2004, Professor Jungwirth and his collaborators predicted the spin Hall effect in a non-magnetic conductor. This allows the most time- and energy-efficient writing in a new type of bit. After twenty years, the phenomenon is being accepted by the most important players who develop and manufacture the most advanced chips. Their development towards commercialization is currently underway at global semiconductor companies such as Taiwan's TSMC and South Korea's Samsung. "In the most advanced chips, magnetic fields are no longer used at all; on the contrary, they are now the biggest obstacle," Jungwirth revealed.
Confirming the existence of altermagnetism
Subsequent discoveries of electrical reading and writing in antiferromagnets have made it possible to remove the physical limits of the previously used ferromagnetic components. The recent discovery of altermagnets has opened the way to combine the advantageous properties of ferromagnets and antiferromagnets, which physicists had previously considered mutually incompatible. The experimental confirmation of the existence of altermagnetism, magnets that do not have magnetic poles but can be used to do quantum tricks like conventional magnets in the most advanced chips, has attracted extraordinary attention this year. The discovery was covered by the Science, Nature, Science News, and The Economist journals.
Professor Jungwirth is renowned for his ability to create a multidisciplinary team and to connect experimental and theoretical physics research with detailed knowledge of information technology. “It is the collective brain and collective hands that lead to the result, and it would not be possible without them. In the Czech Republic and around the world, we have a lot of laboratories collaborating in basic research, and we also cooperate with organizations that are dedicated to technology transfer," says the award-winning physicist. His innovative approach is also evidenced by him recently being awarded a second ERC Advanced Grant.
My path to physics led through the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics because my brother, who was a genius from a young age, studied there, and it was easy for me to follow in his footsteps.
During his career, Tomáš Jungwirth has published 260 articles in professional journals, 40 of which were in the Science/Nature family of journals. The works have over 40,000 citations (over 4,000 in 2024) with an h-index of 91 on Google Scholar, 21 articles are currently Highly Cited Papers and 5 articles are also Hot Papers on the Web of Science, and Tomáš Jungwirth is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher.
Jungwirth left a significant mark on science policy during his membership in the Research, Development and Innovation Council (2011–2018), the Scientific Advisory Board of the Czech Science Foundation, and the Scientific Council of the European Research Council. As part of the national expert group, Tomáš Jungwirth helps prepare applications for young scientists for ERC grant competitions. “In my opinion, Czech science is halfway to the most advanced scientific countries, and after thirty-five years, the question may be why we still remain halfway. In the Czech Republic, there are a number of groups that are completely comparable to the best in the world, so it is clear that we can do it,” Jungwirth assessed the situation in science at the end of the ceremony and added his recommendation for addressing the problem: “We could improvise a little less and be inspired a little more by how it is done where the top science is today.”
The Idea StatiCa company award, Doctorandus Award for Technical Sciences, went to David Vojna from HiLASE for the development of new materials and methods that allow for the effective minimization of thermal phenomena when using optical isolators, which are part of high-power laser systems. Doctor Vojna was unable to attend the ceremony due to health reasons, so his supervisor Ondřej Slezák accepted the award on his behalf. "He originally studied something a little different, but he is a very capable, hard-working person who never complains about anything," praised his student the head of the Advanced Laser Development Department.
The most prestigious Czech award for science and research has been awarded by the Česká hlava company together with the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic since 2002. The aim of the project is to popularize science, research and education among the general public and support the creation of conditions for the effective connection of research with production. The laureates are selected by an expert jury consisting of representatives of universities, the Czech Academy of Sciences and research institutions. In the past, the Česká hlava awards have been awarded to, for example, Antonín Holý, Josef Koutecký, Václav Hořejší and Martina Benešová Schafer.
The Doctorandus Award, an award by IDEA StatiCa company, is awarded for an innovative approach, the most outstanding achievement, professional or research activity of a doctoral student, especially in the fields of engineering, biotechnology, systems engineering and cybernetics, taking into account the prospects of its practical application.