At the meeting with the President of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Eva Zažímalová, and the Director of the Institute of Plasma Physics, Radomír Pánek, which took place on 17 February, the Governor of the Liberec Region, Martin Půta, supported the retention of the TOPTEC Centre in Turnov. The Toptec Centre which is one of the scientific sections of IPP, has a strong application potential and its operation in the region is linked to a lot of jobs and also the presence of employees with a university education. IPP plans to build the new building for TOPTEC, which should have been ready to move to the end of 2025.
Since its establishment in 2011,
the TOPTEC Centre has built an excellent
name not only in the region, but also on the international level. It specializes in ultra-precise
and special optics and cooperates with many partners from the industrial sphere. Radomír Pánek,
Director of IPP, emphasizes in particular the fact that: “The TOPTEC Centre has developed and
produced two main telescope-coronograph mirrors METIS for the Solar Orbiter probe, which the
European Space Agency launched to the Sun in February 2020.”
Eva Zažímalová, President of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, who has visited
the TOPTEC Centre several times during her workplace trips, adds: “It is a top regional centre,
which also promotes itself abroad with its innovations. Its location in Turnov is not random and
has the historical context.” Centuries ago, precious stones were machined in the region, later
generations of opticians grew up here, the first spectacle glass factory was established in
the Austro-Hungarian Empire and then the Development Optical Workshop of the CAS was
founded there.
The laboratories of the TOPTEC Centre are located in the area of the former DIOPTRA company.
However, the area will be partially demolished and some buildings will be changed into apartment
buildings. Radomír Pánek explains that it was necessary to solve how the employees could relocate
to the new premises by the end of 2025. The construction of their own building proved to be the
best solution. The new clean laboratories would also ensure a higher quality of its research.
Photo: The Czech Academy of Sciences.
27 Feb 2023
