Laureate
prof. Ing. František Švec, DrSc.
Neuron Award 2023 in chemistry
Neuron Award for the development of advanced porous polymers and their application in analytical chemistry and separation science
Frantisek Svec is a Czech chemist with an international reputation who developed a unique material for separating and analyzing chemical substances, which has countless practical uses, for example, in water pollution control or the production of medicines and vaccines. The research led him to develop an entirely new format of advanced polymer materials that combine large permeable pores for easy mass transfer and small pores for significant interactions, for example, in separations. The result was a breakthrough invention that transformed chemical analysis worldwide. Today, he works as a teacher and scientist at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Charles University.
The life story of Neuron 2023 Award laureate Frantisek Svec is, without exaggeration, the embodiment of the American scientific dream. At fifty, he decided to completely change his life and take advantage of a job offer at Cornell University in the USA. He later received a professorship at the prestigious University of California at Berkley. After 30 years in the States, he returned to the Czech Republic and worked at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Charles University in Hradec Králové.
I fell in love with chemistry in the mid-1950s. That love has lasted me to this day. It lasted me and was very fruitful and led me to receive the Neuron Award. Thank you to the Neuron Foundation for choosing me to receive the award. It's an appreciation of what I've done in the past, but it's also a move into the future for me to keep going.