What can science change in our daily lives? UWB launches a new public lecture series

How much water does a zoo or stadium use? How can AI mimic the human voice? And what can objects found in Borský Park reveal about American soldiers? The new Science Live lecture series explores these and other questions through talks by UWB researchers. The wider public is cordially invited.

Three early evenings, three different topics and one common thread: research that connects with the world around us. The new Science Live lecture series at the University Library is for anyone who wants to find out what is being researched at the University of West Bohemia (UWB) and why it matters beyond university laboratories, classrooms and research facilities. Admission is free to all lectures.

“Science often takes place in places the public would not normally get to see. Yet we use research results every day, sometimes without even realizing it. We therefore want to introduce the people behind the research, what they are working on and, above all, where we encounter its results in everyday life,” said Jan Váně, UWB Vice-Rector for External Relations.

The first lecture will take listeners straight to something as ordinary as the water flowing from a tap. On Tuesday, 13 October at 5 pm, František Mach from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering will present technology for monitoring water consumption and detecting unusual changes. Together with the startup nextdrop, his team has developed a small device that is already being used to monitor consumption at places such as the Pilsen Zoo and FC Viktoria Plzeň's stadium. During the lecture, visitors will be able to see data from real-world operations online.

The November lecture will turn to a topic that has moved from specialist laboratories into everyday life in recent years. On 3 November at 5 pm, Jindřich Matoušek from the Faculty of Applied Sciences will talk about voice cloning and artificial intelligence. Computers can now turn text into speech that is virtually indistinguishable from a human voice. They can also create a convincing copy of a particular person's voice from a relatively short recording. One example is the Karel Gott navždy project, developed at UWB's Faculty of Applied Sciences. The lecture will also feature real audio examples.

On Tuesday, 8 December, archaeologists Pavel Vařeka and Tomáš Pancíř will take visitors on a journey into Borský Park. Their research into the remains of the 109th Evacuation Hospital of the US Army, which operated in Pilsen in 1945, shows that archaeology does not necessarily mean looking thousands of years into the past. Excavations in the park have uncovered personal belongings linked to the everyday lives of American soldiers, as well as other traces of what happened at the site over the following decades.

Science Live – winter semester 2026

13 October: Every Drop Counts: What Is Monitoring Water Consumption in Pilsen? – František Mach
3 November: When Computers Talk Like Humans: Voice Cloning in the Age of AI – Jindřich Matoušek
8 December: Archaeology of the Liberators: Research into the 109th Evacuation Hospital in Pilsen's Borský Park – Pavel Vařeka and Tomáš Pancíř