On Wednesday, December 11, 2019, at Prague Castle, the President of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, appointed Professor Pavel Matějka Rector of the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague.

Professor Matějka will become leader of the university on January 1, 2020, with a four-year term of office.

Joining Professor Matějka at the event were Radek Cibulka, Chair of the UCT Prague Academic Senate, and outgoing Rector, Karel Melzoch.

Prof. Dr. RNDr. Pavel MATĚJKA studied physical chemistry at the Faculty of Science, Charles University, joining UCT Prague in 1993. In 2003, he became associate professor and since 2008 he has been a full UCT Prague professor. From 2010 to 2013, he was Vice-Dean for External Relations at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering. Since 2013, he has been Head of the Department of Physical Chemistry. In 2016, he became UCT Prague‘s Vice-Rector for External Relations and Communication. He is interested in the development of vibrational spectroscopy techniques using nanoparticles and nanostructures, resulting in approximately 150 publications in high-quality journals, more than 2,100 citations (without self-citations), and h-index 23.

The University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (UCT Prague) is a natural hub for top-class education and research in the field of chemistry in the Czech Republic. It is one of the largest Czech educational and research institutions focused on technical chemistry, chemical and biochemical technologies, material and chemical engineering, food sciences and the environment. There are over 4,000 students studying at the university, with an extraordinary proportion of doctoral students (on average, 700). Some of the educational programmes are unique and crucial for the future of the entire Czech Republic. UCT Prague cooperates with more than 100 academic institutions mainly in Europe, but also in the USA, Canada, Japan, Vietnam, and beyond.

Photography: fotoarchiv KPR, Hana Brožková

Prague, October 15, 2019 – On Tuesday, October 15, the Academic Senate of the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, elected its candidate for Rector for the period 2020-2023, Professor Pavel Matějka from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering. He will be taking on leadership from outgoing Rector Professor Karel Melzoch, whose second (final) term expires on December 31, 2019.

The decision that the Senate reached in the second secret ballot round, will now go to the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic and then to the Czech President. The latter should appoint the candidate as Rector.

In addition to Professor Matějka, two other candidates, Professor Milan Pospíšil from the Faculty of Environmental Technology and Professor David Sedmidubský from the Faculty of Chemical Technology, ran for the Rector's position. Professors Matějka and Pospíšil advanced from the first round. In the second round, 13 of a total 24 votes were given to candidate Professor Matějka.

Prof. Dr. RNDr. Pavel MATĚJKA studied physical chemistry at the Faculty of Science, Charles University, joining UCT Prague in 1993. In 2003, he became associate professor and since 2008 he has been a full UCT Prague professor. From 2010 to 2013, he was Vice-Dean for External Relations at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering. Since 2013, he has been Head of the Department of Physical Chemistry. In 2016, he became UCT Prague‘s Vice-Rector for External Relations and Communication. He is interested in the development of vibrational spectroscopy techniques using nanoparticles and nanostructures, resulting in approximately 150 publications in high-quality journals, more than 2,100 citations (without self-citations), and h-index 23.

The University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (UCT Prague) is a natural hub for top-class education and research in the field of chemistry in the Czech Republic. It is one of the largest Czech educational and research institutions focused on technical chemistry, chemical and biochemical technologies, material and chemical engineering, food sciences and the environment. There are over 4,000 students studying at the university, with an extraordinary proportion of doctoral students (on average, 700). Some of the educational programmes are unique and crucial for the future of the entire Czech Republic. UCT Prague cooperates with more than 100 academic institutions mainly in Europe, but also in the USA, Canada, Japan, Vietnam, and beyond.

Everyone is welcome on Friday and Saturday, November 22-23, 2019

• • University tour in English on Friday, November 22, at 10:00 a.m.
• Friday and Saturday, November 24-25, 2020

Martin Pumera is the first person to be named to this position.

At its meeting on October24 , the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague’s Scientific Council approved the establishment of the position of visiting professor at the Department of Inorganic Chemistry in the field of Chemistry Education and subsequently appointed associate professor Martin Pumera to the position effective for the period November 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022.

Professor Pumera is a world-renowned expert in the field of inorganic chemistry and his rankings in prestigious databases confirm that he belongs to the top percent of most cited chemists in the world. Before joining UCT, he worked for many years at the prestigious Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, an institution with which UCT Prague has been developing closer ties. Since 2017 he has been the head of the UCT Prague Center for Advanced Functional Nanorobots.

“The establishment of the position of visiting professor and the appointment of Professor Pumera will further strengthen the scientific activities at our faculty and the whole university,” said Professor Karel Bouzek, Dean of the Faculty of Chemical Technology.

The privilege of appointing visiting professors was granted to UCT Prague in June 2019, within its institutional accreditation in the fields of Chemistry and Food Technology Education. The post is given only to the scholars who have achieved academic rank abroad comparable to Czech professors and associate professors or who were prominent professionals practising in their fields for at least twenty years.

At the UCT Prague, visiting professors are appointed by the Scientific Council based on the Rector’s submission upon a proposal by the Dean of the respective faculty.

He will replace the incumbent Dean, Professor Tomáš Ruml, whose second term of office will expire on December 31, 2019.

On Tuesday, November 19, the Dean of the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague‘s Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology was elected. The Academic Senate chose from three candidates: Professor Karel Melzoch, outgoing Rector of UCT Prague; Professor Pavel Kotrba, currently holding the position of Vice-Rector for Research and Development; and Professor Jan Masák, Head of the UCT Prague Department of Biotechnology.

The Academic Senate of the Faculty elected Professor Jan Masák as its candidate for the new Dean already in the first round by a majority of six votes. The proposal for appointment will now be submitted to the Rector of UCT Prague. The new Dean's term of office will start on January 1, 2020.

Professor Masák graduated from the Secondary School of Food Technology in Podskalská, Prague, and subsequently studied fermentation technology at the UCT Prague Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology. As a doctoral student, he studied brewing technology and was awarded the title of Candidate of Science in 1989. The same year, he was appointed as an assistant professor, devoting himself first to brewing and later to environmental biotechnology. He is currently engaged in biotechnologies focused on the elimination of microbial infections. In 2003, Jan Masák became an associate professor and in 2009 he was appointed full professor in the field of biotechnology.

He has held the position of Head of the Department of Biotechnology since 2012. In the management of the Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, he first served as Vice-Dean for External Relations from 2010 to 2012. At the end of the same year, he accepted the position of Vice-Dean for Education, a position he currently holds. At present he is also a member of the Board for Internal Evaluation of UCT Prague. In 2012–2013, he was a member of the Czech Council of Universities and chair of its committee for educational activities. Since 2015, he has been a member of the expert team developing the National Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation of the Czech Republic (National RIS3 Strategy). He also takes part in several scientific boards of universities and research institutes. From 2016 to 2018, he was UCT Prague‘s principal investigator for Central Development Projects focused on the creation of procedures for internal evaluation of the quality of higher education institutions.

His long-time research activities include applied biology and the development of biotechnological processes. He is the co-author of 78 publications listed in Web of Science (number of citations 502, h-index 14) and several patents and monographs. He is also the co-author of two industrial implementations for in situ decontamination of soil for an area of 35 hectares and decontamination of industrial wastewater in bioreactors measuring almost 500 m3.

More information about the elections (in Czech) can be found on the Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology Academic Senate website.