Slovak Academy of Sciences Awarded Prof. Galusek the Prize for Building Infrastructure for Science

On Thursday, January 11, 2024, the traditional New Year’s concert of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) was held in the Hall of Mirrors of the Primate’s Palace in Bratislava. The evening also included the award ceremony of the SAS Award for building infrastructure for science. We are pleased to announce that it was won by the director of our FunGlass center, Prof. Dušan Galusek. The prize was handed over with the following citation:

Prof. Dušan Galusek has achieved success as the only applicant in the Slovak Republic within the Teaming grant initiative of the Horizon 2020 program, amounting to €15 million, for the establishment of the “Centre for functional and surface functionalized glass (FunGlass).” As part of the project, he also secured a grant from the Operational Program Val for the development of the center’s infrastructure, totaling €10 million (CEGLASS project). By obtaining this project, Prof. Galusek significantly contributed to building the scientific and technical infrastructure of the Joint laboratory of the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SAS, v. v. i. (IIC SAS, v. v. i.), and the Alexander Dubček University in Trenčín, the Joint Glass Centre Vitrum Laugaricio, which is part of the FunGlass center. The CEGLASS project primarily involved acquiring modern research infrastructure, ensuring highly qualified scientific activity for independent research and development at the center.

The Joint laboratory of the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SAS, v. v. i., and the Alexander Dubček University in Trenčín (TnUAD) has thus become an internationally recognized center for collaboration with both the academic and industrial sectors. It is equipped with unique, modern, and comprehensive infrastructure and highly qualified research capacities.

Professor Galusek received the award directly from the chairman of the SAS, Prof. Pavel Šajgalík. In his thank-you speech, he emphasized that this award belongs to the entire team that contributed to establishing the workplace and the success of the project.

Photo: Martin Bystriansky, www.sav.sk