Three Matfyz Alumni Receive the Neuron Award
The Neuron Foundation honoured top Czech scientists and three of them are Matfyz graduates.
The Main Neuron Award 2024, granted for an outstanding contribution to science, was awarded to prof. Mgr. Pavel Jungwirth, CSc., DSc., a graduate of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics. His key contribution lies in understanding the solvation of ions and electrons in water and at water interfaces.
The rationale of Jungwirth’s nomination states: „Pavel Jungwirth has transformed the way we think about the solvation of ions and electrons in water and at water interfaces, which is crucial for understanding important processes in heterogeneous atmospheric chemistry, chemical technology, and intracellular biological interactions.“
The Neuron Award for Promising Scientists was given to two Matfyz alumni: Mgr. Jan Volec, Ph.D., in the field of mathematics, and Mgr. Tomáš Pluskal, Ph.D., in the field of chemistry.
Mgr. Jan Volec, Ph.D.
Jan Volec has authored numerous successful studies on complex problems in combinatorics. In collaboration with his colleagues, he has already solved several famous conjectures that had puzzled mathematicians worldwide for a long time. He currently works at the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering at CTU, where he lectures on graph theory, linear programming, coding theory, and game theory.
Mgr. Tomáš Pluskal, Ph.D.
Tomáš Pluskal finished his Ph.D. studies in computer science at Matfyz, but he also studied molecular biology at Hiroshima University in Japan. Pluskal excels in the field of metabolomics, which provides insights into small molecules in living organisms. His research is of fundamental importance for the discovery of new drugs. For the past four years, he has led an international research team at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (ÚOCHB) in Prague. He is also an external lecturer at the Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University.
The complete list of Neuron Award 2024 laureates, including profiles of the awarded scientists, is available on the Neuron Foundation’s website.
OPMK, RUK; photo: The Neuron Foundation
