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Petr Bláha, Zdeněk Frank, and Tereza Matasová from the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen received the Student Award in the Czech Transport Construction and Technology of the Year 2025 competition. The jury recognized their final theses, which focused on vehicle propulsion, control, and performance. This year, six universities took part in the competition, with each awarding prizes to its own students. The awards were presented in the penultimate week of June in Fantova Hall at Prague’s main railway station. On behalf of UWB, the awards were presented by Jiří Hammerbauer, Vice-Rector for Creative Activities and Doctoral Studies.

In his master’s thesis at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of West Bohemia, Petr Bláha focused on designing the body shell structure of a low-floor rail vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells. He also addressed the selection of materials and the verification of strength using computational analyses, which he consulted with experts from Škoda Transportation in Pilsen. “I have long been interested in the field of design, and I consider hydrogen propulsion to be one of the promising ways to reduce emissions in rail transport. Hydrogen trains are already used today, for example, in Germany, the USA, and Italy, and with the growing emphasis on environmentally friendly transport, we can expect their further expansion in the future,” said Bláha, who received the Dean’s Award of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

Tereza Matasová from the Department of Power Electronics and Machines at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering focused in her thesis on the autonomous control of a student formula car. For her work, she received the Rector’s Award of the University of West Bohemia. She designed a complete algorithm that uses camera footage to recognize traffic cones marking the track, determine their distance, and plan a safe trajectory. “Electromobility and autonomous control systems are rapidly growing fields. When designing such systems, the accuracy and speed of detecting the vehicle’s surroundings are crucial for safety reasons, which makes this a technically interesting and practical problem,” Matasová explained. She will continue her work at the faculty as a doctoral student.

Zdeněk Frank works in the same department as Tereza Matasová. He won the competition with his design for a new generation of electric motors. While conventional drives typically use three phases, Frank opted for a higher number, such as five, seven, or nine phases. This allows the machines to distribute the magnetic field much more effectively. As a result, the motors can safely deliver extreme power during peak load. Frank verified his calculations on two prototypes: a traction motor for a lightweight electric motorcycle and a robust industrial machine. According to his supervisor, Karel Hruška from RICE, Frank fully deserved the Dean’s Award of the UWB Faculty of Electrical Engineering: “From the very beginning, he made sure that his work always led to a meaningful result, which has already earned him several awards, including the Pilsen Region Award.”

The Czech Transport Construction competition is organized annually by the Association of Building Entrepreneurs. One of its aims is to support and present modern transport construction and engineering. The Student Award has long been a traditional part of the competition. It is held under the auspices of the rectors of Czech universities and aims to encourage young people’s interest in studying technical fields.