A student involved in the TECHSCALE project is among this year's winners of the Czech Young Head competition. Yuliia Husak, a graduate of Roudnice nad Labem Grammar School and now a chemistry student at the Faculty of Science, Charles University, received the INTENTIO Award, presented by Charles University for outstanding research in sustainable development. She was recognised for her project entitled Sustainability Begins with Stability: Design and In Situ Study of Zeolite-Stabilised Nanocatalysts for Biomass Valorisation.
Yuliia first became involved in research during a summer internship at the Faculty of Science, Charles University. She carried out her secondary school research project in Professor Jiří Čejka’s research group under the supervision of Michal Mazur and Samuel Kolesár. She has since continued her research with the same team as part of the TECHSCALE project alongside her university studies.
Her research focuses on materials that could enable the more sustainable conversion of plant biomass into biofuels and other valuable products. Her goal is to reduce energy consumption and waste generation, making chemical production more environmentally friendly. If successful, the research could also help reduce the chemical industry’s dependence on fossil-based raw materials.
At the heart of her work are catalysts – materials that accelerate chemical reactions. Yuliia works with extremely small metal particles, particularly nickel and ruthenium, which she incorporates into a porous material known as a zeolite. Porous materials and the catalysts based on them play a crucial role not only in chemical production but also in applications such as water and air purification and carbon dioxide capture.
The Czech Young Head competition (Česká hlavička) is an initiative linked to the Czech Head (Česká hlava) project, which promotes science in the Czech Republic and helps raise the public profile and recognition of scientists and engineers. The Czech Head project culminates each year in the presentation of the Czech Head National Government Award, alongside other prizes recognising achievements in science and technology.
In early October, the jury of the 20th anniversary edition of the Czech Young Head competition presented seven awards to talented young students for outstanding projects spanning the natural sciences, engineering and the humanities.
