Agnieszka Monika Kornas receives prestigious Otto Wichterle Award

Our researcher Agnieszka Monika Kornas has joined the ranks of honored young scientists who received the Otto Wichterle Award for 2025. The award was presented to her by the President of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Radomír Pánek, on Wednesday, June 11, at a ceremonial event. We heartily congratulate on receiving this prestigious award!

Dr. Kornas focuses her research on the highly topical issue of converting methane and carbon dioxide into value-added chemicals. This research direction is of fundamental importance for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and developing sustainable chemical technologies.

She obtained her education at the prestigious Jagiellonian University in Krakow, where she studied chemistry, and subsequently defended her doctorate at the Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In her scientific work, she successfully combines experimental approaches with applications in environmental catalysis, thus linking basic research with practical solutions that have the potential to genuinely improve industrial processes and reduce their environmental impact.

Tradition of Supporting Young Talent

The award bears the name of Professor Otto Wichterle, an outstanding chemist of world significance, inventor of soft contact lenses, and the first post-November president of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. The Czech Academy of Sciences has thus been systematically supporting promising early-career researchers since 2002 with the aim of strengthening the future of Czech science.

"Talented young scientists need more significant support at the threshold of their scientific careers. Many of those whom the Academy of Sciences honored with the Wichterle Award ten or twelve years ago now stand at the forefront of their fields. Today's laureates are also the future of Czech science," emphasized the President of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Radomír Pánek, during the award ceremony.

Significant Financial Support

The award brings not only prestigious recognition but also practical support in the form of a financial reward of 330,000 Czech crowns, distributed over three years. This support enables young scientists to focus on their research and develop their scientific projects.

Since the program's establishment in 2002, approximately 540 laureates have received the Otto Wichterle Award, demonstrating the Czech Academy of Sciences' long-term commitment to investing in the future of Czech research and education.