The European Geosciences Union Honored Professor Šafránková and Professor Němeček
On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, Professor Jana Šafránková and Professor Zdeněk Němeček from the Department of Surface and Plasma Physics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, received the prestigious Hannes Alfvén Medal from the European Geosciences Union for their pioneering contributions to space physics and dusty plasma research. They were awarded for more than fifty years of joint scientific work, which has significantly advanced our understanding of the solar wind, magnetospheric boundaries, plasma turbulence and the role of dust in the heliosphere.
Their collaboration began with the development of instruments for measuring space plasma parameters within the Interkosmos programs. This work culminated in the development of instruments for the first coordinated multi-satellite project, Interball, dedicated to studying the interaction between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere, which also included two small Czech MAGION satellites. Their research influenced the scientific goals of later major space missions, such as Cluster, THEMIS or the Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission. As early as 1998, they identified plasma structures in the transition region between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere. This discovery became the basis of a new research direction, which is now being pursued by dozens of scientific groups.
In recent years, their work has focused primarily on measuring plasma parameters with a high-temporal resolution, which enabled the first determination of solar wind properties in ion kinetic scales on the Spektr-R spacecraft. These results fundamentally changed the view of space plasma turbulence by revealing that plasma density, velocity, and thermal properties behave similarly at large scales but differ significantly at ion kinetic scales. This finding enabled a deeper understanding of energy transfer and evolution of turbulence in the solar wind and in interplanetary shocks.
In addition to space plasma, Professor Šafránková and Professor Němeček also studied the behavior of dust grains in plasma. Together with their students, they developed a unique laboratory apparatus capable of studying the electrostatic charge of individual dust grains. The experiments clarified the influence of secondary electron emission, photoemission and field emission on the dust charging in the space environment, which is important for the processes on the surface of the Moon or Mars.
By awarding the medal, the Union recognized not only their outstanding scientific contributions and instrumental innovation, open data sharing and international cooperation, but also their long-standing commitment to education. Their students today hold leading positions in international scientific institutions or participate in NASA and ESA missions.
You can read an interview with Jana Šafránková and Zdeněk Němeček on the EGU website
