Professor Tomáš Šikola, Director of the Institute of Physical Engineering, has been awarded the Brno City Prize in the field of technical sciences. The award for outstanding personalities of the city for the past year was presented to the laureates on Monday 23 January by Mayor Markéta Vaňková.

Tomáš Šikola graduated in physics at Masaryk University, then joined Tesla Brno as an independent development worker and since 1986 has been working at the Brno University of Technology. In 2005 he received a professorship in applied physics.

He was a founding member of the team of scientists that led to the birth of the Central European Institute of Technology CEITEC. At CEITEC BUT he is the head of the research group Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructures. Since 2006, he has also been the Director of the Institute of Physical Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

He has completed a number of internships and stays abroad, especially in the UK and the USA. In 2006 he was a visiting scholar at Stanford University. In addition to cooperation with other research institutes, Tomáš Šikola also cooperates with important industrial partners, especially in the field of electron microscopy. Together, they are mainly involved in the development of technological and analytical equipment for research on surfaces, thin films and nanostructures.

The Brno City Prize is awarded annually by the city council for significant activities or works that have enriched some area of public life and have contributed to the enhancement of the reputation of the city of Brno. A total of 68 proposals were submitted for the Brno City Prize for 2022. The award was finally given to 14 personalities.