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At the prestigious 18th International Conference on Plasma Surface Engineering hosted by the town of Erfurt in Germany in mid-September, the Pilsen scientist Prof. Jindřich Musil, until recently working in the Department of Physics of the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FAS) of the University of West Bohemia (UWB) in Pilsen, was awarded as a leading researcher in science and technology, in the field of plasma surface engineering, by the European Joint Committee for Plasma and Ion Surface Engineering. 

"This is one of the most important European international conferences, where more than five hundred scientists from all over the world and representatives of hi-tech companies from Europe, the USA and Asia gathered this year," says Pavel Baroch, Head of the FAS UWB Department of Physics, adding: "I consider Professor Musil's award at such an important conference a completely extraordinary personal success, but also a success for the entire workplace, because current top science in the area of experimental physics cannot do without teamwork and state-of-the-art equipment."

Prof. Jindřich Musil, who received the award as a prominent scientist in the area of plasma technologies, thus became the first Czech researcher to be so honoured by the European Committee for Plasma and Ion Surface Engineering. This renowned expert in the areas of plasma physics, plasma chemistry, electromagnetic fields, radar engineering and thermonuclear fusion is also the holder of a national award for the development of technology for thin-layer formation. In the past, he also received three awards for physics from the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and an award for a significant contribution to the development of advanced nanocomposite materials from the American Vacuum Society. In recent years, his research has focused primarily on high-speed reactive magnetron sputtering of thin-layer materials and the development of new advanced nanocomposite materials with unique properties. He recently developed a new generation of nanocomposite coatings that are characterized by high hardness and toughness, but also high elasticity and resistance to cracking.

"For this year, Prof. Jaroslav Vlček from the FAS UWB Department of Physics was elected chair of the conference; in addition, the Czech Republic became a partner country of the conference. This also corresponded with the extensive participation of Czech scientists, who presented the second highest number of contributions. This is a very high number compared with top universities from Europe and the whole world," points out Dr. Baroch, Head of the Physics Department, whose members contributed to this number with eight oral presentations, which were well received by both the scientific community and participating companies.

"Since its beginning, the conference has focused on modern trends in plasma technology research for the preparation of new thin-film materials and surface treatments. This year, special attention was also paid to new plasma technologies for the decomposition of CO₂, research into fuel cells and electrolysers, which are the basis of the hydrogen economy, and innovations in the area of solid-state batteries. These are essential technologies, without which Europe has no chance to go down the carbon-free path," emphasizes Dr. Baroch.