Nuria De Diego and Lukáš Zdražil receive awards from the CATRIN conference
Presentations of research group findings, networking, and the presentation of traditional awards were all part of the annual CATRIN conference, which took place in Hrubá Voda. The award for outstanding scientific achievements went to Nuria De Diego, head of the Plant-Environment Interactions research group, and the winner of the second year of Jan Belza Award for Inspiring Spirit is Lukáš Zdražil from the Functional Materials for Energy Storage and Catalysis research group.
According to CATRIN Director Pavel Banáš, Nuria De Diego received the award for the tremendous progress made by the research group she leads, whose scientific output has grown significantly. “However, we also wanted to recognize her personal scientific achievements, whether it be co-authoring an article in Science or advancing to the second round of the ERC Consolidator Grant competition, in which she just fell short, but her efforts will pay off in the ERC CZ project,” said CATRIN Director Pavel Banáš.
“This award means a lot to me. It confirms that the management can appreciate that I enjoy my work and give it my best. At the same time, we are constantly striving to improve, so it gives me motivation to move forward,” said Nuria De Diego.
This is the second year that CATRIN’s management has presented the Jan Belza Award for Inspiring Spirit. The award is named after a late colleague whose love for science and enthusiasm for research were and continue to be an inspiration to many colleagues.
“Lukáš Zdražil received the award for his work on the development of materials that mimic the behavior of enzymes and can be used for the photochemical production of high-value-added chemicals. He has thus introduced a new class of materials in the literature, which we refer to as photozymes and which may have exceptionally broad applications. The significance of his discovery is evidenced not only by the publication in Nature Communications, but also by the journal’s editors ranking this work among the most significant results published last year,” explained Radek Zbořil, Scientific Director of CATRIN – RCPTM.
“I’m delighted by the award. The publication is one of the results of my year-long stay in Erlangen, Germany, and the award confirms to me that the work was meaningful and that we’re heading in the right direction. It’s a source of satisfaction and motivation for me,” said Zdražil.
The CATRIN conference is held every year. The event offers a platform not only for presenting scientific work and seeking potential collaborations, but also for the essential team building.
