On June 29th, Milan Janata, a significant researcher of our Institute reached 80 years-of-age. Born in Teplice, Milan Janata graduated from a grammar school in Vrchlabí and, in 1958, from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at ČVUT in Prague. After graduation, he had a number of jobs in which he was mostly concerned with the design of measuring and automation devices. For the FZU he worked in years 1963-1967. He rejoined the FZU in 1970 where he has worked until today. Milan Janata has authored or co-authored six inventions, six patents, a number of articles published in Czech as well as international journals.
Starting his expert career at the Research and Development Institute for Timber Industry in Prague, he worked as a designer of control automation devices in wood drying facilities. It was here where he developed an electronic wood moisture meter which was applied as an invention. For a number of years, he worked for TESLA VÚST A. S. Popova working first on resolving issues associated with noise measurements. As part of this research, several types of noise and vibration meters and analysers and their monitoring system were developed and subsequently manufactured, such as the ZKM 3 sound meter to be used for equipping hygienic stations throughout the former Czechoslovakia (invention), HM2 noise monitor for Ore Mines branch in Kutná Hora or vibration spectrum and noise analyser for ball mills in cement plants. After that, he was engaged in the research and the development of pulse supply units for tape recorders in TESLA Přelouč or a microprocessor system in TESLA VÚST (3 inventions). Research of microprocessor applications for comfortable control of consumer electronics followed, particularly for cassette players and gramophones manufactured at TESLA Přelouč. These solutions were completely new achieving a qualitative level comparable to the then leading development in developed countries of the world.
During his first engagement at the Institute of Physics in the 1960‘s, Milan Janata joined the department of electronics to pursue the research of thermal properties of silicon and Zener diodes and the development of temperature compensated Zener reference diodes with stability below 10-6/°C, thus laying the foundations of the whole series of precise and stable voltage or current sources. This was an original solution protected by six Czechoslovak patents. At a later stage, the production documentation was officially transferred to METO Blansko and TESLA Piešťany. These companies produced the reference diodes for a number of years. In cooperation with SÚJV Dubna and together with the construction department of the Institute, Milan Janata worked on the development of a semiautomatic machine for measuring paths from images of elementary particles interaction in bubble chambers.
After returning to our Institute, he designed instruments for physical measurements such as digital meter of very lower temperatures with a capacitive sensor for cryogenic devices or a new generation of controllers for crystallizers. In years 1986-1992, he was the head of the electronic department at the Institute. In the first half of the 1990s, part of this department was included in the Division of Elementary Particle Physics and Milan Janata became the head of the electronic group of the division. Here he joined the H1 international project at the HERA accelerator in DESY Hamburg, Germany. Together they developed and produced several types of supply sources, digital electronics for nanosecond signals or signal distribution and amplifying boards from sub-detectors for the SPACL, BST and FST detectors for the electronic group. Currently, Milan Janata deals with the construction of calibration electronics for modern silicon photomultipliers as part of a detector project for the upcoming ILC international linear accelerator.
With his co-workers, Milan Janata is popular for a candid and kind nature and his sense of humour. He has been recognized for his expertise, diligence and responsibility. We are delighted to see he enjoys good health and wishes to continue to work with us. We wish him good health and well-being in the coming years.