SCIENTIFIC WOMEN IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC (2009 – 2018) 1
MILADA PAULOVĂ AWARD The Award is named after the first Czech woman to lecture at a university (1925) and to receive a professorship (1939), historian Milada Paulova. In 2009 the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports initiated the Milada Paulova Award, for lifelong achievement in science for women researchers. We ensure the Milada Paulova Award organizationally for the Ministry. The Milada Paulova Award aims to publicly and financially appreciate achievements of prominent Czech women researchers, provide role models and inspire women researchers and students at the beginning of their research careers. The Milada Paulova Award is conferred for making a major contribution in a particular discipline, including pedagogical work, supervision, cooperation with civil society and the industrial sector. Eligible for nomination are women researchers active in the academic, civil society or private research sectors.
2
2018 The 2018 Milada Paulova Award was given in Education and Pedagogy. The 2018 Milada Paulova Award was given to Eliška Walterová of the Institute for Research and Development of Education at the Faculty of Education of Charles University in Prague. Professor Eliška Walterová is a former head of the Institute for Research and Development of Education at the Faculty of Education of Charles University in Prague. She serves as university professor, research coordination, advisor and member of scientific and editorial boards in international and national institutions. The main focus of her professional interests is comparative education, global and European studies, educational policy, management and school education. She is co-author of the Czech Dictionary of Education (7th edition 2013). She teaches general education, comparative education and higher education for doctoral students, comparative education and European studies for school managers.
3
2017 The 2017 Milada Paulova Award will be given in Clinical Medicine. The 2017 Milada Paulova Award was given in Clinical Medicine to Jiřina Bartůňková from the Second Faculty of Medicine of Charles University. Jiřina Bartůňková graduated from the Faculty of General Medicine of Charles University in Prague where she later worked in the clinical immunology unit. She received her postgraduate certification in internal medicine and her specialist certification in clinical immunology and allergology. She was appointed Professor of Immunology in 2003. She took several fellowships at leading immunology institutions outside the Czech Republic. In addition to practicing medicine, she is engaged in research and teaching in the field of clinical immunology. She is Head of the Department of Immunology of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in Prague.
4
2016 The 2016 Milada Paulova Award was given in Agricultural Sciences. Nominations: Ludmila Ohnoutková (PU in Olomouc), Jana Podhrázská (Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation / MENDELU), Jana Řepková (MUNI), Zdeňka Svobodová (UVPS Brno), Jiřina Száková (CULS Prague)
5
2015 The 2015 Milada Paulova Award was given in Astrophysics. On Dec 1, 2015 RNDr. Alice Valkárová of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University received the 2015 Milada Paulova Award from the Minister of Education, Kateřina Valachová. Alice Valkárová studies particle physics, focusing on factorization of diffraction. Apart from numerous achievements in the field of particle physics locally and abroad, Dr. Valkárová has a passion for painting. “Physics and painting have plenty on common. In both fields, you have to carefully consider what to highlight in order to achieve what is important and what is not,” she commented on her lifelong passions. 6
2014 The 2014 Milada Paulova Award was given in Civil Engineering and Architecture. On 22 October 2014 Prof. Alena Kohoutkovรก from the Czech Technical University in Prague received the 2014 Milada Paulova Award in the field of Civil Engineering and Architecture. Prof. Kohoutkovรก is the Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering Czech Technical University in Prague and head of the Department of Steel and Timber Structures. Her subject area of professorship was theory of building structures and materials, specializing on the development of concrete with reinforcement dispersed and its application in structures. She is an author of a number of books. 7
2013 The 2013 Milada Paulova Award was given in Pharmacology, Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology. On 5 December 2013 Prof. Alexandra Šulcová received the 2013 Milada Paulova Award from the Minister of Education Dalibor Štys and Chairman of the Evaluation Committee pharmacologist, Prof. Květina. Prof. Alexandra Šulcová focuses on experimental neuropsychopharmacology and etopharmacology. At the core of her professional interest are neuropsychological effects of substances contained in hemp and generally research into the neurobiology of drug addiction, and effects of drugs on motor abilities, emotionality and cognition. She is the head of the research group Experimental and Applied Neuropsychopharmacology at the Central European Technological Institute CEITEC at the Masaryk University in Brno.
8
2012 The 2012 Milada Paulova Award was given in Historical Sciences. On 18 October 2012 minister of education, youth and sports Prof. Petr Fiala presented the 2012 Milada Paulova Award in the historical sciences to Prof. Zdeňka Hledíková, professor emeritus at Charles University in Prague. The ceremony was attended by PhDr. Miroslava Kopicová, the 1st deputy chairwoman of the Council for Research, Development and Innovations (and an ex-minister of education who was the first minister to confer the Milada Paulová Award in 2009 in ecology and sustainable development), Prof. Eduard Maur, chairman of the evaluation committee, as well as other members of the evaluation committee, and Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, who was one of those who nominated Prof. Hledíková. 9
2011
The 2011 Milada Paulova Award was given in Chemistry. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in cooperation with the National Contact Centre for Women and Science and the Foreign Services House, published the 3rd Milada Paulova Award on 1 July 2011. With a reference to the Year of Chemistry the 2011 Milada Paulova Award was awarded in Chemistry, with the goal to underscore the importance of the field for society and environmental protection. Eight outstanding women researchers were nominated, and the Evaluation Committee selected Prof. Kateřina Demnerovå. The nominees cover various areas of chemistry from medical research and research into molecular genetics to material research, including nanotechnologies. 10
2010 The 2010 Milada Paulova Award was given in Economics. The Award was presented to Ing. RĹŻĹžena VintrovĂĄ from the Centre of Economic Studies and the University of Economics and Management. The goal was to underscore the importance of the discipline and the paradigmatic shifts which Economics is undergoing today. For more than two centuries economics has been a key scientific field with a strong impact on society, our relationship to reality and our values. It has entered people's lives very strongly since 2008 in relation to the global economic crisis. Discussions are under way about the necessity to regulater the banking sector and increase the supervision of investment products. Analyses have been published about the negative impact of the conduct of financial institutions on the economy as a whole and people's lives. The traditional motion of market economy is to many starting to seem untenable and new indicators are being developed of economic sustainability based on responsiblity towards people and the environment. 11
2009 The 2009 Milada Paulova Award was given in Ecology and Sustainable Development. The choice of discipline was due to its interdisciplinary nature, the absence of gendered connotations of a division into hard and soft sciences and the high political and social profile of the field, attributed also by the 2009-2015 National Research, Development and Innovations Policy. The Milada Paulova Award was awarded for the first time in 2009 and the laureate was Prof. Milena Rychnovskรก. The award ceremony took place on the occassion of the conference Changing Research Landscapes to Make the Most of Human Potential (14-15th May 2009) organised by the European Commission and the Czech Presidency of the EU. The Milada Paulova Award was conferred on Professor Milena Rychnovskรก by Minister Miroslava Kopicovรก together with the European Commissioner for Research Janezs Potoฤ nik. 12
The European Commission support for the production of this article does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
13