Princesses, kittens, pigs… and science?
On the last Monday of September, the stage at the Prague Municipal Library belonged to the final evening of the FameLab science communication competition. A total of 12 finalists from various Czech universities and research institutions presented their work to both the expert jury and an enthusiastic audience — in an entertaining and engaging way. The event marked 15 years of FameLab on the Czech scene and celebrated 20 years on the international stage.
The evening opened with a contemporary dance performance titled From Void to Creation by Michal Mejvald, a dancer and student of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport at Charles University. To commemorate the 15th anniversary of Czech FameLab, visitors were shown a short documentary capturing the excitement surrounding the competition’s organization. This was followed by opening remarks from British Ambassador Matt Field, who spoke about the growing importance of good science communication. Charles University Rector Milena Králíčková expressed her delight at how FameLab is growing and connecting people into a community. Then it was time for the contestants themselves.
The first to take the stage was Adéla Olšovská from Charles University, who, appearing as the Palladium Princess, spoke about the need to create more reusable chemical reaction catalysts. Kateřina Koubová from Palacký University in Olomouc revealed the secrets of intestinal crypts and the cellular superheroes hiding within them. Jakub Štěpánek from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague captivated the audience with his presentation on new methods of obtaining hydrogen — the fuel of the future. Kateřina Mašková from Brno University of Technology gave a compelling talk about plasma and its potential use in disinfecting slow-healing wounds. Also from Brno was the next contestant, Kristýna Skoupá of Mendel University, who is developing new methods for detecting steroids in meat. Rounding out the first group of six was Benjamín Petržela from the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, who presented the potential uses of fungal mycelium — for example in building insulation.
The second princess of the night was Anna Mansfeldová from Charles University, who spoke about the use of salts in the fight against antibiotic-resistant microbes. Then Petr Čechvala from the Czech Academy of Sciences took the jury and audience on a journey into space, explaining how gamma photon detection can give us new insights about the universe. On a microscopic journey through a neuron, the audience was then led by Polina Belyaeva from the Czech Academy of Sciences, who presented research on synapses and its potential applications in healing damaged brains. Mark Terentyak, also from the Czech Academy of Sciences, discussed the use of bubbles in delivering oxygen to cells in biotechnological research. Back in time we travelled with Tomáš Lener from Charles University, who showed how analytical chemistry can help us better understand how medicinal plants were used in past eras — for example in the Baroque period. The final contestant was Pavel Haman from Charles University, who used squeaky toys to demonstrate how signals are transmitted between neurons and how the brain perceives them — in the context of research on restoring sight to the blind.
After a short break during which the jury voted for the winners, the award ceremony began. The first prize to be announced was the Audience Award, which went to Kateřina Mašková for her presentation Plasma Strikes Back!. The jury then revealed the top three finalists. Third place went to Pavel Haman with Vision in the Language of the Brain, second place to Benjamin Petržela with Fungi: From Waste to Wonder.
The winner of this year’s FameLab was Kristýna Skoupá with her presentation Steroids Don’t Belong on the Plate. She will represent the Czech Republic at the international final in Switzerland in November. Congratulations, and best of luck in the finals!
