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During the Ceremonial Session of the Scientific Council of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Prof. Dushan Boroyevich from Virginia Tech received the doctor honoris causa title, and newly appointed professors and associate professors were introduced. Rector Miroslav Lávička also awarded commemorative medals and honorary recognitions.

On Wednesday, November 8, the Ceremonial Session of the Scientific Council of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (UWB) took place. At this most significant academic event, the University awarded the honorary title of doctor honoris causa to Prof. Dushan Boroyevich from Virginia Tech (USA), who is a leading global expert in power electronics. Fourteen personalities received the UWB commemorative medal, and two received honorary recognitions. University also awarded the honorary title of emeritus professor for the first time.

"We are meeting in the year when our university celebrates three quarters of a century since the founding of its oldest part, the Faculty of Education," reminded Rector Miroslav Lávička in his opening speech. "Investing in higher education is a key investment in the future of our country. Of course, every investment carries some risk. I have the impression that, in the case of higher education institutions, only short-term results and immediate profits are too often emphasized recently, and that some investors in higher education forget the importance of the long-term view and are subject to the well-known psychological pressures that if the profit is not manifested in the shortest possible time period, it is necessary to readjust the portfolio. However, we should avoid impulsive decisions and carefully consider how our investments in higher education will bring long-term benefits in particular," said the Rector.

He also mentioned the campaign 'Formujeme Plzeň' (Shaping Pilsen), which presents the University as a respectable organism, in which a huge cooperation of people takes place, from teachers to scientific-research capacities, students, and support staff, who all together form a whole, significantly affecting the life of Pilsen.

The ceremonial meeting of the Scientific Council of the University of West Bohemia, which is held annually on the occasion of the Day of the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy, is associated with the awarding of the honorary title of doctor honoris causa.

On the proposal of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of UWB, this year the honorary doctorate was received by Prof. Dushan Boroyevich from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (USA), a leading global expert in power electronics, who has 25 patents and more than a thousand professional publications to his credit. The University honored him with an honorary doctorate for his exceptional contribution to research in power electronics, significant cooperation with the University of West Bohemia, and the development of its Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

In 1998, Prof. Dushan Boroyevich, together with Prof. Fred Lee, founded the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES), which currently represents the largest group for research and development in power electronics in the USA and is one of the most successful in the world in its field. Prof. Boroyevich has significantly contributed to the development of new technologies enabling increased integration of power electronic systems and the production of custom power semiconductor modules. In his professional activity, he also intensively focused on multiphase systems for energy conversion, technologies for electrical energy distribution, modeling, control, and interdisciplinary optimizations of power semiconductor systems. His works, for example, in the field of semiconductor converters working with high switching frequency, are very well-known and cited. More than twenty years ago, when the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of UWB began to make a significant impact on the international scene in the field of power electronics and electrical drives, it established cooperation with Prof. Boroyevich, who significantly helped it to integrate into the global professional community. "CPES was one of our inspirations when we were thinking about how the RICE research center should function in 2006-2009," said Dean of FEE Zdeněk Peroutka in his speech. Since 2010, Prof. Boroyevich has been serving as an external expert advisor to the director of RICE and has been involved in promoting its activities in the global professional community. RICE has gradually developed into one of the largest research groups in Europe in the field of power electronics, electrical machines, and drives. The intensive cooperation between CPES and RICE resulted in negotiations about a contract for their long-term strategic cooperation.

During the ceremonial session, the University awarded the honorary title of emeritus professor for the first time in its history. It was received by Czech philosopher, religious scholar, and university educator Prof. ThDr. Otakar Funda, Dr. theol., professor emeritus, who began teaching courses in the field of ethics, philosophy of religion, and theological anthropology at UWB in 1995.

The newly appointed professors of University of West Bohemia were also introduced:

prof. Ing. Petr Girg, Ph.D., from the Faculty of Applied Sciences, appointed in the field of Applied Mathematics
prof. Ing. Ludmila Kučerová, Ph.D., from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, appointed in the field of Mechanical Engineering
prof. Ing. Radek Polanský, Ph.D., from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, appointed in the field of Electrical Engineering
prof. Ing. Jan Vimmr, Ph.D., from the Faculty of Applied Sciences, appointed in the field of Mechanics 

The Rector also congratulated the associate professors who completed their habilitation at UWB:

doc. Ing. Petr Beneš, Ph.D., Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, in the field of Mechanical Engineering
doc. Ing. František Mach, Ph.D., Faculty of Electrical Engineering, in the field of Electrical Engineering
doc. Ing. Josef Odehnal, Ph.D., Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, in the field of Mechanical Engineering
doc. Ing. Josef Pihera, Ph.D., Faculty of Electrical Engineering, in the field of Electrical Engineering
doc. Ing. Pavel Raška, Ph.D., Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, in the field of Mechanical Engineering
doc. M.Sc. Ing. Miroslav Vacura, Ph.D., Faculty of Economics, University of Economics in Prague, majoring in Philosophy and History of Science and Technology

UWB associate professors appointed at other universities were also introduced:

doc. M.Sc. Vít Aschenbrenner, Ph.D., Faculty of Pedagogy - at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, in the field of in Music with a specialization in Music Theory
doc. Ing. Dita Hommerová, Ph.D., MBA, Faculty of Economics - at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, in the field of Management
doc. Ing. Petr Janeček, Ph.D., Faculty of Economics - at the University of Economics in Prague in the field of International Economic Relations
doc. RNDr. Jan Kopp, Ph.D., Faculty of Economics - at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague in the field of Regional and Social Development
doc. M.Sc. et Mgr. Radka Mudrochová, Ph.D., Faculty of Philosophy - at Charles University in the field of Roman Languages
doc. PhDr. Vladimír Naxera, Ph.D., Faculty of Philosophy - at Charles University in the field of Political Science
doc. PhDr. ThLic. Drahomír Suchánek, Ph.D., Th.D., Faculty of Philosophy - at Charles University in the field of World History and General History

Rector Miroslav Lávička also presented commemorative medals and honorable mentions to personalities who contributed significantly to the development of the University of West Bohemia.

The memorial medal for excellent scientific works in the field of computational problems of electromagnetism and theoretical electrical engineering was awarded to Prof. Ing. Ivo Doležel, CSc., from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Modeling of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

The commemorative medal for many years of significant activity for the University, its development, and cooperation with the external environment, including abroad, was received by doc. RNDr. Dagmar Jandová, Ph.D., who is a recognized expert in the field of transmission microscopy and collaborates with the Department of Materials and Engineering Metallurgy of the Faculty of Engineering, prof. Dr. Miroslav Novák, who lobbied for establishing political science as a field of study at UWB, prof. PhDr. Aleš Skřivan, CSc., who significantly contributed to the introduction and development of the field of modern history at the Faculty of Philosophy, and RNDr. Ondřej Šipr, CSc., from the NTC research center, who is an internationally recognized scientific personality in the field of theoretical research of the electronic structure of solids.

The commemorative medal for significant pedagogical activity, for a long-term significant activity for UWB, its development, cooperation with the external environment, including abroad, and for substantial social actions was received by Mgr. Vlasta Klausová from the Institute of Applied Languages.

The commemorative medal for significant pedagogical activity was received by Prof. RNDr. Michal Mergl, CSc. from the Center for Biology, Geosciences, and Envigogy of the Faculty of Education, prof. JUDr. Václav Pavlíček, CSc., dr.h.c., from the Department of Constitutional and European Law of the Faculty of Law, doc. PaedDr. Jan Slavík, CSc., doc., from the Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Pedagogy, PaedDr. Jaromír Votík, CSc., from the Physical Education and Sports Center of the Faculty of Education, and doc. Ing. Václav Vrbik, CSc., from the Department of Computing and Didactic Technology, Faculty of Pedagogy.

Dr. Ing. Jan Rychlík was awarded commemorative medal in memoriam for many years of significant activity for UWB, its development, cooperation with the external environment, including abroad, and for the promotion and popularization of the University. Jan Rychlík worked at the University for many years as vice-rector for informatics and later as director of the Center for Informatization and Computing.

The commemorative medal for significant pedagogical activity, long-term significant activity for UWB, its development, cooperation with the external environment, including abroad, and for the promotion and popularization of the University was received by Mgr. Václav Trejbal, CSc., long-time teacher and deputy director of the Institute of Language Training, and doc. Ing. Jiří Vacek, Ph.D., from the Department of Business Economics and Management of the Faculty of Economics, former vice-dean and head of the department, who has been dealing with the issues of project, innovation, and knowledge management for a long time.

Two pedagogues of the Faculty of Design and Art of Ladislav Sutnar were awarded with honorable mentions for their extraordinary achievements – doc. MgA. Vojtěch Domlátil, an important artist focusing mainly on animated film, who, among other things, took the leadership of the audiovisual department in an exemplary manner, and academician he had Vladivoj Kotyza, a prominent artist who has connected a large part of his life with Sutnarka, where he develops the talent of young artists in the field of drawing.