Michal Urbánek from CEITEC BUT received the Brno City Award

The city of Brno has once again honored outstanding personalities connected to Brno. In 2024, the City Hall received 93 proposals, of which 14 nominations were approved. Among the awardees is Michal Urbánek from the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC BUT) and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, who received the award in the field of technical sciences on January 28, 2025, from Mayor Markéta Vaňková in the Representative Hall of the New Town Hall.

The Brno City Awards, which express respect for prominent Brno personalities, have a tradition dating back to 1993. They are awarded for significant achievements or works that have enriched public life and contributed to the city's good name. Candidates are proposed to the Brno City Council by both experts and the general public. The nominations are then compiled and approved by the city council after deliberation.

Dr. Urbánek has been serving since 2016 as the head of the CEITEC Nano research infrastructure at CEITEC BUT and since 2020 as the coordinator of the large research infrastructure CzechNanoLab, with branches in Brno and Prague.

Since the opening of CEITEC Nano in 2016, Dr. Urbánek has built a top-tier facility for research in nanoscience and nanotechnology, accessible to researchers from both academia and the private sector. The mission of the infrastructure is to support scientists and engineers who aim to push the boundaries of knowledge in fields ranging from physics and chemistry to nanoelectronics, nanobiotechnology, and neuroscience. The infrastructure also collaborates with dozens of high-tech companies in fields such as electron and light microscopy, semiconductor chips, and the European Space Agency (ESA) space program. These companies utilize the cutting-edge equipment available in the infrastructure for their applied research and development. This unique approach connects fundamental academic research with practical industrial applications, where basic research ideas and experiments drive activities in the application sector, which in turn provide feedback and inspiration for fundamental research. CzechNanoLab is also a crucial part of the national and regional innovation ecosystem in the semiconductor chip sector. As the only facility of its kind in the Czech Republic, it provides access to a complete set of equipment and expertise necessary for semiconductor chip research and development for both industry and academia.

The success of CEITEC Nano and the CzechNanoLab research infrastructure is highlighted by both the high interest from users in the Czech Republic and abroad and the evaluation by an international review panel under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports (MŠMT). In 2020, CzechNanoLab received the highest possible rating in the national assessment of large research infrastructures. Another major achievement was last year’s success of the CzechNanoLab+ modernization project, which scored an impressive 78 out of 80 points in the OP JAK Research Infrastructures I funding call, making it the most successful project in the call. The project was fully funded with a budget of 361 million CZK for modernization and innovation of equipment. Thanks to this funding, CEITEC Nano will continue providing access to state-of-the-art technology in the years to come. Another sign of success is CEITEC’s key role in the EuroNanoLab consortium – a network of European research infrastructures for nanotechnology. Dr. Urbánek serves as Vice-Chair of the Steering Committee, while CEITEC handles financial affairs for the consortium. CEITEC Nano is also an active and sought-after partner in numerous Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects.

“I see this award not only as recognition of my work but above all as an acknowledgment of the efforts of the entire team I am fortunate to work with. So, most of all, I want to thank my colleagues, who not only constantly think about how to push CEITEC Nano forward but also turn all these ideas into reality,” commented Michal Urbánek on receiving the award.

In the previous year, three representatives from BUT received the award – mathematician Josef Diblík, physicist Ilona Müllerová, and architect Marek Štěpán.

---

Published	2025-01-30
Link	https://www.vut.cz/en/but/f19528/d279191