News
Šimon Libřický, a student from the Prague Music Computing Group, has merged music with computer science to create a model for the difficulty of saxophone scores. His bachelor's thesis, which addresses a previously unsolved problem, was evaluated by the committee as being at the master's thesis level. Šimon is also a co-author of an article on this research that has been accepted to the prestigious international conference ISMIR 2025. What led him to such an achievement? “I wanted to make life easier for wind players,” he explains.
Researchers from Matfyz, in collaboration with scientists from the Université de Lausanne and Harvard University, describe a mechanism of cell division in gram-negative bacteria. Several species of these bacteria exist and some are responsible for difficult-to-treat diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, sepsis, or plague. The new mathematical model, published in the prestigious journal PNAS, gives unique insight into their division process and may thereby facilitate the development of antibiotics in the future.
Almost a hundred experts gathered in Prague in the second half of June for the 19th International Conference on Learning and Intelligent Optimization (LION).
Dominika Hájková from the Department of Atmospheric Physics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, has received a prestigious award presented annually by the French Embassy in the Czech Republic. Her doctoral research on atmospheric gravity waves earned second place in the category focused on environmental issues.
In June, the prestigious journal Science Advances published a new study offering insights into the ice cycle on Jupiter’s moon Europa. The study’s first author is Martin Kihoulou, a PhD student at Matfyz (Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University) and Nantes Université.
The Embassy of France in the Czech Republic and the French company Eviden awarded, for the fifteenth time, young researchers working in the field of computer science. Second place in the Joseph Fourier Prize competition was awarded to Dr Zdeněk Kasner from the Institute of Formal and Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics.
In the first week of June, the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics hosted the international conference called Programming 2025 under the subtitle The Art, Science, and Technology of Programming. The ninth season was attended by 104 researchers and students from 19 countries around the world.
In the second half of March this year, the optical instruments aboard the interplanetary probe Solar Orbiter captured the very first and globally unique images of the solar disc in the region of the Sun’s southern pole. Electronic equipment developed at Matfyz is also operating successfully on board the probe.
From 28 to 30 May, an international conference was held in Prague to honour the memory of theoretical physicist Jiří Bičák. Among the distinguished guests was also the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Kip Thorne, whose public lecture crowded the Blue Lecture Hall at the Carolinum.
The honorary lecture in computer science commemorated Jiří Matoušek for the second time. Jan Černocký addressed the topic of speech recognition.
Professor Roman Barták from the Department of Theoretical Computer Science and Mathematical Logic received The Douglas D. Dankel II Award last week in Florida. He is the first European recipient of this award, which is presented annually by the Florida Artificial Intelligence Research Society.
The German Centre for Astrophysics (DZA) in Görlitz has been gradually developing since 2021. Its ambitious scientific programme aims to support the development of Saxony and the entire region following the end of coal mining. In mid-May, Matfyz also became one of DZA’s partners.
The “afterglow” of the universe is an important piece of evidence for the Big Bang. This background radiation also provides important answers to the question of how the first galaxies were able to form. Researchers at the Universities of Bonn, Prague and Nanjing calculate that the strength of this radiation has probably been overestimated up to now. If the results prove to be accurate, it would call into question the theoretical foundation of the standard model of cosmology. The results have now been published in the journal “Nuclear Physics B.”
The award was given to four titles, accompanied by a financial prize from the Dean’s fund. Two of the awarded books were published in English.
Gold has fascinated humanity since time immemorial and has made its mark on history in many ways. Until recently, however, we knew nothing about the cosmic “alchemists” capable of creating gold. These are highly magnetised neutron stars known as magnetars.
Distinguished members of Charles University were awarded memorial medals by the Charles University Scientific Council. Among the three recipients was also Associate Professor Erin Carson, recognized for her outstanding scientific work.
The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics was awarded to CERN collaborations during a ceremonial event on 5 April in Los Angeles. The prize was received by the ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb experiments, which bring together scientists from more than 70 countries.
