On Wednesday 18 May 2016 we presented the Neuron Award for Young Scientists to six young Czech talents. We introduced the leaders of two exotic Neuron Expeditions. We announced the winner of the best science video and handed little Marek a cheque to make his scientific dream come true. At the gala evening held on Thursday 24 November, nine young talented scientists also received Neuron Impuls grants totalling CZK 6,500,000 for research projects.
Social sciences
Neuron Award for Contribution to World Science 2016 – social sciences His research into the legal systems of indigenous peoples in Alaska and New Guinea made Leopold Pospíšil a world-renowned anthropologist.
Medicine
Neuron Award for Contribution to World Science 2016 – medicine He contributed very substantially to founding the Children's Heart Centre in Prague in 1977.
Mathematics
Neuron Award for Contribution to World Science 2016 – mathematics As one of the most respected Czech researchers, he took part in founding the European Research Council (ERC)
Chemistry
Neuron Award for Contribution to World Science 2016 – chemistry He led the team that created a chemical construction kit out of molecules and developed materials for more efficient and cheaper solar panels.
Physics
Neuron Award for Contribution to World Science 2016 – physics He gained international renown for his publications on quantum, statistical and nonlinear optics and on the theory of the coherence of light.
Biology
Neuron Award for Contribution to World Science 2016 – biology He formed the hypothesis that cancer can be caused by retroviruses when they transfer their genetic information into a healthy cell and turn it malignant. American scientists eventually confirmed his idea and received the Nobel Prize for it.
Social sciences
Neuron Impuls holder 2016 – social sciences Among other things, he studies Alexander the Great, in whose life many circumstances remain unexplained.
Medicine
Neuron Impuls holder 2016 – medicine She was the first in the world to reveal what happens in the human egg before fertilisation.
Mathematics
Neuron Impuls holder 2016 – mathematics Besides partial differential equations, numerical methods also solve other complex and practically useful problems, such as eigenvalue problems.
Mathematics
Neuron Impuls holder 2016 – mathematics He works on combinatorics, graph theory and theoretical computer science; among other things, he solved the well-known Havel problem.
Chemistry
Neuron Impuls holder 2016 – chemistry He is developing a material that could make producing hydrogen considerably cheaper.
Physics
Neuron Impuls holder 2016 – physics He is looking for a way to determine the precise mechanical properties of graphene.
Biology
Neuron Impuls holder 2016 – biology He wants to prove his hypothesis that one type of protein, called Wnt, can influence the behaviour not only of cells that are close neighbours but also of those at the opposite end of the body.
Mathematics
Neuron Impuls holder 2016 – mathematics Euler's equations have many so-called weak solutions. Extending what we know about these weak solutions is the aim of the mathematician Ondřej Kreml's project.
Chemistry
Neuron Impuls holder 2016 – chemistry She is developing new materials for computers based on spintronics.
Social sciences
Neuron Award for Young Scientists 2016 – social sciences He uses economic theory to explain the behaviour of people and of the state.
Medicine
Neuron Award for Young Scientists 2016 – medicine She was the first person in Czechia to clone a mouse, which helped to reveal the mechanism of reproduction and of cell reprogramming.
Mathematics
Neuron Award for Young Scientists 2016 – mathematics He works on mathematical logic, the foundation of mathematics and computer science, and admits that he sometimes relies on intuition too.
Chemistry
Neuron Award for Young Scientists 2016 – chemistry He gains a detailed view of ultrafast processes in molecules.
Physics
Neuron Award for Young Scientists 2016 – physics He works on computer simulations that make it possible to determine the behaviour of substances and materials from a knowledge of the basic physical laws alone.
Biology
Neuron Award for Young Scientists 2016 – biology He reveals the weak points of the picornaviruses that cause common colds but also dangerous inflammations of the brain.
Discoveries lie waiting all around, do not let them slip by! Every month we will send you a fresh batch of information about the world of science and Neuron.