Young scientists from the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic received the Otto Wichterle Prize
They have been awarded since 2002 and are associated with a financial reward of 330 thousand crowns spread over three years. The prestigious Otto Wichterle Prize has already been awarded to 565 laureates in the past.
On Wednesday, June 24, 2026, another twenty-three were added to them. The awards were received
by experts in exoplanets, photovoltaic materials, concrete and plasma, as well as diabetes, drought
in the countryside or social psychology and literature in exile.
Among the awardees was Mgr. Petr Bílek, Ph.D. from the Plasmachemistry and Materials
division, who studies the behavior of electrical discharges in gases and liquids. Using computer
models and simulations, he observes how microscopic processes arise and develop in a few billionths
of a second. He contributes to a more accurate description of events in plasma and opens the way to
new applications in energy, medicine or ecological technologies. He participated in the development
of models that improve the accuracy of measurements of electric fields in plasma – a key step for
controlling modern plasma technologies.
26 Jun 2026
