Students

Young Czech physicists in secondary schools are among the world's best at solving complex physics problems. The Czech team brought home a bronze medal from the finals of the International Young Physicists' Tournament in Lund, Sweden.

A team of students under the umbrella of the Christian Doppler grammar school is leading after the central round of the Young Physicists Tournament. However, none of the top competitors has won yet. There is still a selection camp left before the end of the competition, which will decide on the nomination of the five best representatives of the Czech Republic for the international round in Lund, Sweden.

"A scientific discovery has no merit unless it can be explained to a barmaid.” This quote by Nobel laureate Ernest Rutherford could be applied to the recent achievements of Libor Šmejkal. He was selected from hundreds of nominated scientists to be awarded the Breakthrough Scientific Discovery of the Year 2023 title in the Falling Walls competition for his theoretical work on altermagnetism and non-dissipative nanoelectronics. He was able to explain his discoveries to the general public by comparing a new form of magnetism to the dance of swans. His scientific career illustrates the importance of the role of teachers and mentors and symbolises a commitment to discovery and contribution to scientific knowledge.

In this year's VYDRA course, the organizers prepared open-solution tasks for students, focusing on general approaches used to solve research tasks. The final meeting took place in the premises of the Institute of Physics on November 1, when the students tried a presentation of the results, including a model scientific discussion.

Coilgun, observation and processing of miner planet occultation using CMOS cameras or determination of the atomic structure of surfaces using ion scattering - these are the winning works in the field of physics of the 44th year of the national showcase of high school scientific activities. The students were presented their awards by the FZU director Michael Prouza and his deputy Antonín Fejfar.

A team of secondary school students, representing the Czech Republic under the auspices of the Jaroslav Heyerovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry in Prague, has won the silver medal at the 35th year of the International Young Physicists’ Tournament held in Timisoara, Romania, earlier this year. In a tough international competition, they came second, losing only to the German team, following five demanding rounds.