12/1999

Academic bulletin 12/1999

Resume

Kaleidoscope - Photo Gallery
Days of Science '99 - serial of reportage snapshots

Research and Development Council of the Government of the Czech Republic
Information from the 124^th session of the Czech Government's Research and Development Council

News from the Academic Council
The 36^th session of the Academic Council of the ASCR took place on November 11^th 1999.

Portraits from the Archives
František Vejdovský
Observing the 150^th Anniversary of His Birth and the 60 Years since His Death
František Vejdovský was an expert in embryology, who in 1886 he discovered the major centre of cell division - the centrosome. The centrosome represents a crucial element in the transfer of genetic information of every organism and therefore this discovery had a considerable impact on developing genetics. The scientist focused his attention on the research of cell nuclei. He published the results of his research in his works On the Problem of Hereditary Transfer and Structure and Development of the Living Substance.

Science - Research -- Society
Citation Data: the Wrong Impact?
An article published in the journal Nature Neuroscience (Vol. 1, No. 8, pp. 641-2, December 1998) was translated by Doctor Jan Ševčík of the Institute of Pharmacology of the ASCR.

Speleotherapy - the Prospects for Children Suffering of Asthma Disease
In September 1999, the Permanent International Commission of Speleotherapy of the International Union of Speleology (UIS) in co-operation with the Medical Faculty of the Palacký University Olomouc and the Sanatorium for Children EDEL organised the 11^th International Symposium of Speleotherapy in Zlaté Hory (near the Jeseníky Mountains). The symposium was held on the occasion of the celebration of the 200^th anniversary of the birth of Vincenc Priessnitz, a famous Moravian healer. Academic Bulletin interviewed the organisers - Doctor Vladimír Svozil, the director of EDEL, and Professor Zdeněk Jirka of the University of Olomouc - to find out more about the symposium program as it relates to the tradition and perspectives of the usage of speleotherapy methods in the Czech Republic.

Days of Science '99
The Association for Youth, Science and Technology (AMAVET) and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic on October 21^st - 24^th 1999 jointly hosted the second year of the event called Days of Science.
This popular event since its beginning has sought to introduce to the broader public -- but especially the young generation - the current role of science and research in the many spheres of every day life of modern society. This year it is organised under auspices of Pavel Mertlík, vice-president of the current Czech Government and president of the Czech Government's Research and Development Council.
The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic prepared a program of presentations and scientific experiments for the "open-door days" at its institutes.

The Media Fair Creative '99

The 8^th Meeting of the Members of Cytoskeleton Club
The Department of Biology of Cytoskeleton of the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the ASCR and the Section of Cell Biology of the Czechoslovak Biological Society will organise the traditional meeting of cytoskeleton experts on March 15^th - 17^th, 2000 in Vranovská Ves near Znojmo.
President Awards Notable Scientists
On the occasion of an official national holiday in celebration of the 81st anniversary of founding of Czechoslovakia on October 28^th, 1999, the President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel honored 26 persons for their outstanding achievements. Among them were two well-known scientists - Professor Antonín Svoboda (posthumously) and Professor Miroslav Brdička.

Awards
The Institute of Contemporary History of the ASCR together with the Warsaw College for Interdisciplinary Studies recently were awarded the Hannah Arendt Award for their achievements. The awarding ceremony took place October 21^st, 1999 at Schwarzenberg Palace in Vienna. The director of ICH ASCR Oldřich Tůma and the director of WCIS Jerzy Alex delivered official speeches on behalf of the awarded institutions. Academic Bulletin publishes part of the complimentary address to the prize winners given by the jury chairman Sir Ralf Dahrendorf.

Introducing the Institutes
Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics of the ASCR
The Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics was founded on January 1^st, 1958 as the Institute of Mining and was mandated to solve problems connected with mining, such as the stability of collieries, hydro-geological changes, mineral sources transformation, coal chemistry and system of ventilation. In the early '90s, after preferences for heavy industry were ended in the Czech Republic, research at the institute began focusing more on global matters - stability of the Earth's surface, development of composite materials on the carbon-carbon base, optical qualities of fossil natural materials and estimation of seismological exposure of specific locations.

Obituary
Professor Otakar Poupa

Polemic
New Way of Scientometrical Evaluation of the Results of Scientists' Work Acceptable to Scientometrics Opponents

Events
ESCO Conference in Maastricht
The Institute of Archeology Celebrates the 80^th Anniversary of its Foundation
Presentation of the New Historical Book of Essays Czechoslovakia 1918 - 1938: the Destiny of Democracy in Central Europe
Third Czech-German Academy in Prague 1999
Meteor Shower Leonids

News - Announcements

Topical Supplement
Royal Vyšehrad 2000: the Strength of Holy Places
In this article Dr. Bořivoj Nechvátal from the Institute of Archeology of the ASCR, and head of archeological research at Vyšehrad in 1966 - 1999, introduces readers to this noteworthy cultural point of interest. He considers Vyšehrad a holy and "magical" place, which could be important for understanding the roots of the Czech state, especially now at the end of the Millennium.