Excellence in Science and Arts: BUT Opens Nominations for Rector’s Awards for Outstanding Achievements
The presentation of gold and silver medals and awards to the best teachers is a traditional part of the annual Academic Assembly of Brno University of Technology (BUT). These honours recognize individuals who make exceptional contributions to the development of the university. Many of the achievements accomplished by BUT staff, however, do not fit neatly into the traditional categories. That is why, since 2023, the BUT Rector’s Awards for Outstanding Scientific Results and Artistic Outputs have been presented. Ahead of the upcoming nomination round, let us look back at last year’s laureates.
“I am convinced that excellence should be sought above all in our people – both employees and students,” said Rector Ladislav Janíček during the 26th Academic Assembly in September 2025.
It was precisely the exceptional results and accomplishments achieved by representatives of BUT during the previous academic year that the Rector recognized not only through the presentation of traditional honours, but also through the Awards for Outstanding Scientific Results and Artistic Outputs. While the traditional awards often reflect long-term merit, the special awards focus on specific, current, and often highly dynamic achievements – whether a rapid response from the global scientific community, a practical impact on public safety, or outstanding architecture.
Technology in Practice: Saving Lives and Uncovering Crime
BUT places strong emphasis on ensuring that research results serve real-life needs. This is reflected in categories such as outstanding applied result and outstanding research or other creative result:
Swarm of Robots for First Responders: Petr Marcoň, Jiří Janoušek and Luděk Žalud built a unique system of drones and ground robots that cooperate as a coordinated swarm thanks to artificial intelligence. The system is intended for firefighters, military units and police forces, for example to explore hazardous areas without putting human lives at risk.
Safer Cars: A team led by Professor Pavel Václavek (also including Matúš Kozovský, Petr Blaha and Luděk Buchta) developed software capable of keeping an electric vehicle operational even in the event of a motor or sensor failure. This technology is crucial for future autonomous vehicles, where technical malfunctions must not lead to catastrophe. The quality of the solution is evidenced by the fact that the license was purchased by the German giant ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
Crackdown on the Dark Web: A truly “detective-style” achievement was delivered by a team from the Faculty of Information Technology consisting of Vladimír Veselý, Daniel Dolejška and Matěj Grégr. As part of the BAZAR project, they developed tools to monitor the illegal Monopoly Market marketplace. The data obtained by the researchers were provided to Europol and contributed to a successful international operation against drug dealers.
Publication Successes: From Nanorobots to 3D Printing
The award for an exceptionally rapid response from the scientific community was presented last year to Martin Pumera. His paper on intelligent micro- and nanorobots for water purification received more than one hundred citations in just two years. The article can be described as a scientific “hit” that researchers around the world began citing and applying almost immediately after publication.
In materials research, the team consisting of František Ondreáš, Petr Lepcio, Josef Jančář and Juraj Svatík received the Rector’s Award for a publication with an exceptional impact on the scientific community. The team published an article in the prestigious journal Polymer Testing, which became a cornerstone for optimizing the 3D printing of polymers. Their methods make it possible to produce stronger and more durable components, a key prerequisite for the industrial use of this modern technology.
The construction industry, often criticized for its high carbon footprint, was not left behind. Vlastimil Bílek, Radoslav Novotný, Jan Koplík, Martin Kadlec and Lukáš Kalina introduced a revolutionary “chemical approach” to designing materials that can replace conventional cement. Their article in the prestigious journal Cement and Concrete Research presents a more environmentally friendly concrete made from waste materials. Ranked among the top 1.5% of the most influential Czech publications in its field in 2023, the work rightfully earned the Award for a Publication with an Exceptional Contribution by a BUT Team to the Scientific Community.
The award for an outstanding conference paper was presented to a team from the Department of Intelligent Systems at the Faculty of Information Technology, led by Milan Češka, with doctoral students Filip Macák and Roman Andriushchenko as co-authors. At the prestigious AAMAS 2025 conference in Detroit, they won the Best Student Paper Award (only CZ) for their study “Decentralized Planning Using Probabilistic Hyperproperties.”
Medicine of the Future, Artistic Reflection and Outstanding Architecture
The research of Jiří Jaroš, published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, has also had significant practical impact and attracted exceptional media attention both in the Czech Republic and abroad. Together with international partners, he developed a 3D scanner that can see “beneath the skin” of the human vascular system in real time without the use of contrast agents. The achievement was covered by 155 media outlets worldwide, including the BBC and The Independent, because the technology could significantly accelerate the diagnosis of diabetes and inflammatory diseases.
The university does not recognize only technical accomplishments. Artistic creation is also an important part of BUT’s identity. Jan Šrámek received the Award for an Outstanding Work of Art for an exhibition in Marseille, where his illustrations drew attention to the endangered architectural heritage of the 1960s to 1980s. In architecture, Michal Palaščak excelled with his design for new studios for the Faculty of Education at Masaryk University in Brno, which was nominated for the Czech Architecture Award 2025.
The achievements of last year’s laureates clearly demonstrate that world-class research and artistic creation are taking place at BUT. The Rector’s Awards are an opportunity to give these accomplishments the recognition they deserve and to highlight the work of scientists, artists and architects.
Nominations are submitted by faculty deans and directors of university institutes. The 2026 awards will be presented at the September Academic Assembly marking the anniversary of the founding of BUT.
This article was prepared in cooperation with the BUT Research Support Department.
source: vut.cz
| Responsible person | Bc. Adéla Wachtarzová |
|---|---|
| Date of publication |