PRESS RELEASE, Ostrava 20. 11. 2025
The Rectors’ Prize of the VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava and the University of Ostrava was awarded to a team of scientists from both universities, who dealt with landscape changes influenced by industry. The rectors presented the award for inter-university cooperation to the academics today at the VŠB-TUO’s Scientific Council Ceremony.
The Rectors’ Prize is awarded for a specific creative output or accomplishment achieved by an activity in an academic year that is the joint work of authors from both universities. This year’s award went to a team led by Jan Lenart from the University of Ostrava, together with Martin Kašing and Kristýna Schuchová from VŠB-TUO and Radek Tichavský from the University of Ostrava.
“The award-winning result is an example of interdisciplinary work produced across Ostrava universities, which has a real impact on urban renewal and planning in industrial areas and at the same time represents a high level of science developed directly in the region,” said Igor Ivan, Rector of VŠB-TUO.
Petr Kopecký, Rector of the University of Ostrava, added: ” The joint teams deserve attention and recognition for combining expertise and experience from both universities and producing results that have an international reach. At the same time, they bring new knowledge important for regional development.”
The team of academics focused on the long-term evolution of landscapes that have been affected by industry, showing how natural processes and industrial activity have together shaped the landscape as it is today. They published their findings in the prestigious scientific journal Geomorphology under the title “200 Years of Coupled Relief Disturbance in the Heart of a Former Industrial City”.
The study traces the transformation of the landscape in the heart of the former industrial city and how natural processes and industrial activity have intertwined over time. Researchers have used historical data, geological records and modern analytical methods to reconstruct the development of the area with a high degree of accuracy. The team also describes how the historical burdens of industry are further reflected in the current environment and how these findings can be used to plan future interventions in urbanised areas.
The Rectors’ Prize of Ostrava Universities for joint creative achievements of authors from VŠB-TUO and OU was awarded for the second time. Submitted projects and outputs are evaluated by an expert committee according to innovation, uniqueness, social impact, global significance and interdisciplinarity. In addition to a symbolic award, the winning team receives a financial prize of CZK 100,000.
The University Awards for Young Scientists and the Best Applied Research Result were also presented at the Scientific Council of VŠB-TUO. Zuzana Vilamová and Vojtěch Blažek from the Centre for Energy and Environmental Technologies were named the best publishing young scientists. The award for the best result of applied research went to the patented Measuring Assembly for Continuous Evaluation of Weld Quality in Robotic Welding by the team of David Fojtík, Miroslav Mahdal, Milan Mihola, Jan Gebauer, Petr Podešva from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of VŠB-TUO.
Media contact: Ing. Jana Dronská, MBA, M: 606728882, e-mail: jana.dronska@vsb.cz
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