CzechNanoLab User Meeting: “Jellyfish” Voted the Best Micrograph

12. Nov. 2024

The 8th CzechNanoLab User Meeting organized by CEITEC Nano in Brno was a day of innovation, collaboration, and community-building in the field of nanotechnology. On October 31, 2024, over 100 users gathered at CEITEC BUT to explore new developments, share research insights, and recognize exceptional contributions from the community. The event brought together researchers, technicians, and students dedicated to advancing nano research and technology.

CzechNanoLab is a research infrastructure that consists of two sites: CEITEC Nano located at CEITEC BUT in Brno, and the Laboratory of Nanostructures and Nanomaterials (LNSM) at the Institute of Physics (FZÚ) of the Czech Academy of Sciences, located in Prague. Researchers from both academic and industrial institutions from the Czech Republic and abroad may benefit from this infrastructure functioning in an open-access mode. Basic technologies and devices are available on both CzechNanoLab sites, while the sites complement each other in advanced and more demanding equipment.

The 8th CzechNanoLab User Meeting opened with presentations from five PhD students who use CzechNanoLab Infrastructure for their research. Attendees could thus enjoy presentations on various areas of research, from magnetically driven microrobotics to 3D-printed microscopy tools to hydrogen peroxide photoproduction, showing the scope and depth of research done at the CzechNanoLab infrastructure.

The main part consisted of presentations by Michal Urbánek, CzechNanoLab coordinator and the head of CEITEC Nano, and laboratory heads who presented news from their respective laboratories, introducing people in charge of instruments as well as new equipment and plans for future expansion and modernisation. Michal Urbánek highlighted the importance of keeping the infrastructure scientifically up-to-date, allowing for cutting-edge research. “In addition to providing modern equipment and expertise, we want to focus on modern approaches to teaching and training using our e-learning platform Moodle. We also want to designa new system of working with scientific data using newly developed lab journals and automatic storage of data in cloud repositories.”

To maintain the level of care and involvement of the user community, a new User Committee was elected during the meeting. The User Committee is an advisory body that represents the interests of CzechNanoLab users. They meet every three months in the presence of CzechNanoLab coordinator. Their suggestions and recommendations are commented on by the coordinator, and any inputs and realized adjustments are all documented and become part of both internal and external evaluations. The members are voted in for 1 year period.

Congratulations to the following individuals who will be steering the User Committee in the coming term: Jan Kunc, Institute of Physics at Charles University, and Anna Tvrdoňová, Marie Jakešová, Jon Ander Arregi Uribeetxebarria and Tomáš Molnár, all four from CEITEC BUT.

The gathering also celebrated achievements in research presentation and nano-imaging, with Best Poster and Best Micrograph awards given to recognize outstanding work, with Linda Supalová’s poster and Eliška Šiška Virágová’s micrograph entitled “Jellyfish” winning these contests, respectively. You can find’ Eliška’s unique image in the photogallery.

The meeting concluded with a BBQ gathering at the CEITEC BUT Gazebo and a networking session. The participants had the chance to discuss their scientific work, exchange feedback, and spark ideas for future research. The relaxed setting allowed for valuable networking, strengthening the user community.

We look forward to seeing the fruits of these collaborations. Congratulations to all award recipients, and we extend a warm welcome to the new User Committee.