Charles University Magazine 1 2020 — iforum.cuni.cz

John M. Coggeshall: An American anthropologist in Prague

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Panorama Panorama Interview Science lab Research Final Word Those who joined The volunteering Taking aim Ideas for restarting Boreholes in the The mask the fight spirit at the unexpected the country ice in Greenland maker / 10 / 16 / 24 / 38 / 48 / 64 Dear students and colleagues,

students from across five medical faculties volun- teered; researchers prepared test kits; colleagues tested and cared for patients; still other experts i conducted research into the novel coronavirus; and the university helped inform the broader pub- lic about both the success stories and the risks. Whether they were students or teachers, almost everyone did their utmost to help. Their contribution had a clear impact and I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of those who volunteered in hospitals, cared for chil- dren of medical professionals, taught courses or otherwise took part in numerous volunteer projects. Forum 8 Forum

CU Point The Carolinum – CU’s oldest historic building –

Photo by Vladimír Šigut Vladimír by Photo was itself the site of the Sousedská pomoc initiative that made a difference. Volunteering and a broader Information and The events of the recent weeks and months were sense of social responsibility came to the fore and both unexpected as well as difficult, forcing us to we learned a lot about ourselves.

re-examine and re-evaluate numerous issues and Although numerous challenges remain, this Editorial services in one place to focus on what is important. Much changed. The period proved one thing: together, we succeed. Covid−19 pandemic meant that suddenly we had Other challenges – from sustainable growth to cli- 1 to stay home to stay safe; schools closed their doors mate change to an aging population – should not Charles University and students were no longer allowed to gather; be overshadowed by the pandemic, and shall also even the country’s borders were shut. It was some- require the best from each of us. Now, as in key Celetná 13, Prague 1 thing quite unimaginable for most of us. moments in the past, universities will play a crucial Even as Charles University’s hallways and class- role. We share common values, among them, the rooms emptied, there was a remarkable lesson or desire to learn and discover, the desire to help, and takeaway: a university is more than buildings, lec- the desire to provide the best possible education to [email protected] ture halls, or science labs: it is about people. For our students. As both a teacher and as a medical that reason, university life and most important- doctor, the thing that I look forward to most now is ukpoint.cuni.cz ly learning, continued at a distance and did not our hallways and classrooms being full again – and “grind to a halt”. Classes continued remotely, as to seeing our students in person. +420 224 491 850 did meetings, consultations, and other communi- cation. Despite initially unfavourable circumstanc- Tomáš Zima es, the university continued to serve its students as Rector well as society as a whole. It is clear that science is what makes a difference when it comes to a task as daunting as slowing the curve of a rampant pandemic. It was – and is – up to us to capitalise on science and make use of our skills. At Charles University, more than 3‚000

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ContentsProfile

Forum 1/2020, Issue No. 8 John M. coggeshall – Forum 8 Forum 8 Forum

Charles University Magazine An American anthropologist in Prague / 4 Published by Interview Research Charles University Ovocný trh 5, 116 36 Prague 1 ruth tachezy – Taking aim marek stibal – Boreholes in

Contents Responsible for Content Panorama at the unexpected / 24 the ice in Greenland / 48 Contents Jan Velinger Those who joined the fight / 10 2 Editor-in-chief zdeněk dvořák – Theoretical 3 Martin Rychlík The volunteering spirit / 16 Science Lab Editorial Inquiries mathematics inspired by the +420 224 491 248 radek lučan – Bats’ remarkable real world / 50 E-mail immunity and Covid-19 / 30 [email protected] My CU Alessandro Testa – Enchantment Layout and Graphic Design BIOCEV – Testing for the Smart quarantines: and spirituality in Eastern Europe / 52 Filip Blažek, Eliška Kudrnovská, Ole Jann – Designiq coronavirus / 22 a “first step” back to normal life / 34 Cover Photo Martin Pinkas Ideas for restarting the country / 38 Spotlight ondřej pejcha – The secret of binary Forum is published twice a year and is star V1309 / 54 free. The opinions expressed in Forum Language are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Charles New “corona words” helped us laugh / 40 University. Reprinting of any articles Life at CU / 58 or images from Forum without Alumni the express permission of Charles 48 University is forbidden. anežka kuzmičová – Reading makes Final Word us who we are / 44 This issue was published The mask maker / 64 in July 2020 Registration MK ČR E 22422 ISSN 1211-1732 John M. Coggeshall: An American anthropologist Forum 8 Forum 8 Forum in Prague

Profile John M. Coggeshall is a professor of Profile

4 anthropology at Clemson University in 5 South Carolina. He has spent his career researching American regional ethnic and social groups. He is the author of a seminal paper examining gender roles behind bars, and an oral history called Liberia, South Carolina: An African American Appala- chian Community. Coggeshall was a visiting professor at Charles University last semester.

STORY BY Jan Velinger PHOTOS BY Martin Pinkas, Shutterstock John M. Coggeshall taught two courses at the Because his students were well-be- Traditionally, cultural anthropologists immerse new, the students generally well-behaved. There Department of Ethnology at the Faculty of Social haved, Coggeshall says he initially or embed themselves in foreign cultures, using was a guard in the facility but not in the classroom Sciences in the fall semester – a welcome addi- methods relying heavily on participant observa- itself and essentially Coggeshall was alone with 15 tion to the team at CU with extensive experi- thought most were in prison for white- tion. In the 1970s and ‘80s more and more field re- inmates at a time. He smiles when he tells the story ence in fieldwork in the US. But Coggeshall was collar crime or crimes like auto theft; searchers opted to study smaller groups “at home”. of one time the education building lost power and no stranger to the Czech capital: he first visited Coggeshall was fascinated by local communities in the lights went out. At the head of the class, he ex- Prague in the mid−1990s. In the interest of getting but soon he learned that there were different states in his homeland United States that claimed “Alright, nobody move!” Remembering the to know Czech colleagues in 1995, he walked into inmates in his classes also in prison for in the past had been largely overlooked or ignored. moment, he laughs: “They all thought that was the the Department of Ethnology off the street and by murder. “I have always studied ethnic and regional funniest thing they had ever heard”. chance met Dr. Leoš Šatava, a specialist in Europe- groups and what I always find is that there are very Such moments are humorous but in the context an ethnic groups; the two became friends and have interesting approaches to life in different American of prison using one’s authority to set clear bound- been in touch ever since. More than 20 years later, communities. How we can understand different aries and rules was important. Enforcing them was Coggeshall saw coming back to teach as an oppor- A single course can make a difference approaches to life, and present them in a way that something Coggeshall learned to do early on. tunity and challenge: first, arrangements had to be Coggeshall has been teaching for more than does them justice and also enhances connections “That is kind of the first thing you learn in pris- made for someone to look after his and his wife’s 30 years; he himself studied to be an anthropolo- between people, is what excites me as an anthro- on: to set boundaries and try not to back down. I house in the US. Then, he focussed on the needs gist in the 1970s and ‘80s, when new directions and pologist. did that fairly successfully. If I hadn’t, the inmates of students he would soon be teaching. focus in the field proved inspirational and even piv- “What is hugely important is finding the differ- themselves later admitted, they would have con- “I talked to professors here as well as a number otal. A course taught by Dr. Charlotte Frisbie, he ences that create identities among different groups tinued pressing and would have tried to manipu- of Czech students at Clemson University and they recalls, stood above the rest: the kind of course all of people yet at the same time link us together as late me. It’s not an uncommon behaviour but the suggested that students might be a little hesitant university students hope for and, when they luck human beings. The primary goal for cultural an- consequences are obviously greater in prison than about speaking English. Both courses I was going out, never forget. thropologists is to study ordinary people in ordi- elsewhere.” to teach were discussion-based and I wanted the “It was called Women in Cross-Cultural Perspec- nary times and places; but I found over 35 years as Because his students were well-behaved, Cogge- students to be comfortable. I made sure I wouldn’t tive. I think this was perhaps the single most impor- a field researcher that the stories that people have shall says he initially thought most were in pris- be correcting them all the time in writing and tant class I took, at either the graduate or under- to tell are extraordinary.” on for white-collar crime or crimes like auto theft; speaking. By-and-large, I think everything went graduate level. It opened me up to a lot of new but soon he learned that there were inmates in his very well. In my anthropological theories class, ideas, including feminism. Other classes, such as Life behind bars classes also in prison for murder. One of the most for example, students were very engaged and their introductory courses into anthropology were im- One of the groups Coggeshall studied in the 1980s diligent students was an African American who, it speaking ability was actually really good. I was very portant when I was beginning my studies, but this were inmates in medium-security prisons. Initially, turned out, was serving multiple back-to-back sen- happy with how they responded.” one was revolutionary. This was it for me.” he hadn’t set out to study them at all. It was some- tences for racially-motivated murder after coming Forum 8 Forum back from the Vietnam War. He had served but had 8 Forum

thing of a happy accident. “It was a coincidence. I was hitting the jobs mar- gotten involved in drugs and was thrown out of the ket and I needed teaching experience. I noticed an army. Back in America, he had gotten involved in ad asking for instructors who would be interested a gang and, Coggeshall learned from microfilm ar-

Profile in teaching university-level courses at men’s pris- chives, had attacked a white suburb in Chicago, re- Profile ons in Illinois where I was doing my dissertation. sulting in multiple killings. Despite having turned a 6 I thought I could try it. The idea was that prisons new page in prison, this was an inmate who would 7 would offer remedial high school courses, what never be getting out. they call a GED (General Education Develop- ment), and then university courses so that once in- Gender in prison mates would be released they could find better jobs The anthropologist spent three semesters teaching and hopefully start a better life. It was a popular inmates before he felt he had had enough of life program in the 1970s but later phased out by the behind bars. But the information he had gathered, government as being too soft on crime. But at the combined with some interviews done by an inmate time I think it was fairly successful.” friend (a former student), provided the basis for While teaching, Coggeshall says he eventual- “‘Ladies’ behind bars: a liminal gender as cultur- ly began taking notes and interviewing guards as al mirror” published in Anthropology Today (since well as the students themselves before or after class reprinted in The Best of Anthropology Today, ed. by just to get a better sense of “what life in prison was J. Benthall (London: Routledge, 2002). like”. The atmosphere in the classroom was pos- The article explored gender in prison, essentially itive, the building where he taught, modern and how some inmates were emasculated or forced into female gender roles that were to no small degree a distortion and caricature of behaviour and male/fe- male relationships in the outside world. The article How we can understand different pointed to aspects of power, intimidation, sexual violence and abuse but also, importantly, inmates’ approaches to life, and present responses, from acquiescence or acceptance to re- them in a way that does them justice sistance survival strategies, some successful, some and also enhances connections less so, all within the gender framework. In short, gender in jail had little to do with one’s biological between people, is what excites me sex but was determined by one’s standing (or lack as an anthropologist. of it) within the overall power structure among in- mates. The article, which is a powerful read even 30 and traditions that really distinguished us from years on, began to take shape mainly after Cogge- them. I have also always been interested in regional shall was approached by a colleague. groups and in South Carolina. Early on, I figured “I was at a conference and Pam Frese was put- out that if I wanted to be a top anthropologist I ting together a session on gender. She asked me needed to specialize, but I didn’t want to do that. I about the German Americans I was doing my dis- wanted to remain a generalist. For me, that meant sertation on at the time but I said the material I studying different groups besides inmates. Being a

had gathered in prison was suitable. It’s complex generalist and exploring different subjects made me John M. Coggeshall is a pro- and when it comes to the fluidity of gender, there happy.” fessor of anthropology in the might be multiple factors involved in prison: but Department of Sociology, there is a dominant/submissive relationship. Liberia Road: An unexpected meeting Anthropology, and Criminal “Men’s prisons see a lot of sexual violence and One of Coggeshall’s most recent publications is Justice at Clemson Univer- rape, at least they did in the ‘80s when I did my Liberia, South Carolina: An African American Ap- sity in South Carolina. He research. I am positive [being subjugated to a fe- palachian Community (University of North Caroli- received his Ph.D. in anthro- male gender role] is not inevitable for a prison- na Press, 2018). It is a fascinating oral history that pology from Southern Illinois er: you can put muscle on, or gain power through branched out of another project, initially. University-Carbondale. His interests and activities centre education or legal means, or if there is something “I was given a project another researcher turned on American regional and folk you can trade there are ways to avoid it. It doesn’t down and the aim was to document the lives of – groups and sense of place in happen to everyone, but those who are considered the assumption was white people of Irish-Scottish southern Appalachia. Notable weak, who fail to stand up for themselves, who descent – who lived in mountain areas and who publications include Liberia, have elements of femininity, are picked on and ef- had been displaced due to a hydroelectric dam. South Carolina: An African fectively are ‘selected’.” The valley they had lived in before was now under American Appalachian Com- The article gained a certain “notoriety” and water. So I began interviews and what was fascinat- munity (University of North Coggeshall says after publication he received an ing was the way they talked about land. Carolina Press, 2018), Carolina offer to expand his research in a book, but in the “I grew up in the Midwestern United States and Piedmont Country (Universi- ty Press of Mississippi, 1996), end he declined. He says he didn’t want to be- land is considered property with a value attached and “‘Ladies’ behind bars: a come known as the anthropologist who studied to it which you buy or sell and it’s not an integral liminal gender as cultural mir- state prisons; he had many other ideas he wanted part of who you are. But these people spoke about ror,” reprinted in The Best of to explore. At the same time, he readily admits the land as an integral part of their families. Their land Anthropology Today, (Rout- Forum 8 Forum article remains one of his best-known and there’s had been in their families for five or six genera- ledge, 2002). 8 Forum

no question it was an inspiration for many, includ- tions, they told stories about it, land became a part ing Czech anthropologist and CU graduate Alena of their identity and it was a part of who they were. Lochmannová who met Coggeshall during his stay. And to lose that land had meant they had lost a

Profile She herself spent hundreds of hours interviewing part of themselves. And I thought that would make Profile inmates in prisons in the Czech Republic for her an interesting subject for a book.” 8 own dissertation on prison tattooing (which will be Doing research, the ethnologist came across the as being a traditionally ‘white’ space. So I drove up important to hear their side because that is heard 9 the subject of an upcoming article in Forum). name of Liberia Road on a map – an unusual place there and happened to meet a woman who turned far less often than white versions of history. For me “The prison paper was getting a lot of attention name in such a vicinity. out to be the matriarch of this Liberian community. it was a life-changing experience.” but my dissertation was about German Americans “The southern Appalachians pride themselves “So I set my mountain book aside temporarily Meeting with John M. Coggeshall in the same in southern Illinois. What was really interesting for on Scots-Irish, maybe some German, but basically and began to study a community of African Amer- office he walked in off the street in 1995 must have me is how one ethnic group differentiated from Euro-American settlements and here was this Afri- icans who had descended from slaves who had been curious moment for the anthropologist; cer- another, as well as the stereotypes they often faced can place name in the middle of what is often seen been on the very same land before the American tainly Charles University is proud to have had him Civil War. When they were freed and given land in as a guest lecturer from Clemson for at least a few exchange for their labour, many of them stayed. A months. If Coggeshall sounds almost wistful that few descendants managed to hold onto the land his stay in the capital has drawn to an end it is be- ever since, despite there being plenty of forces over cause he could probably envision staying a little the decades prior to drive them out. The matriarch, longer. Next time. I figured out that if I wanted to be a top Mable Clarke, was really involved in the project “We really enjoyed it. My wife, Cathy, now re- and the proceeds from the book are also going to tired after also teaching at Clemson, took four anthropologist I needed to specialize, the local church.” months of Czech while we were here and is a lot Studying even a tiny community like that at Li- better at Czech than I am. We love travelling and but I didn’t want to do that. I wanted beria Road, counting just a few houses and people, different cultures and we really loved being in proved immensely valuable says the anthropologist, Prague. We both talked about it before I took this to remain a generalist. For me, that providing a new thread which inevitably challenged job as there were things we temporarily had to leave meant studying different groups besides or complemented more traditional and dominant behind, but we decided that it would be an adven- narratives. ture and that it would be worth it. I loved our time inmates. Being a generalist and exploring “Hearing their side of the story was important here and getting to know my colleagues, my stu- and it was fascinating to plug that into the story of dents, the culture and the city. I would come back different subjects made me happy. South Carolina and even American history in gen- in a second!” eral. For me, their community is a microcosm of a century-and-a-half of the American story and it’s 10 Panorama Forum 8 the who joined Those PHOTOS BY STORY BY coronavirus. the against fight inthe helped a brief overview of how people Over next the few we pages, offer crisis. health unprecedented the during roles played important all University atplines Charles - anddisci fields multiple across from andlecturers scientists, students, of med Thousands Marcela Uhlíková, Jitka Jiřičková, Martin Rychlík, Jiří Novák Jiří Rychlík, Uhlíková, Jiřičková,Marcela Jitka Martin Vladimír Šigut, René Volfík, Glos Hynek Vladimír Šigut, fight

11 Panorama Forum 8 “I decided to volunteer at the hospital in the town students to donate blood or blood platelets if they of Pelhřimov [in the Czech-Moravian highlands] could. as Prague hospitals already had a high number of At the Third Faculty of Medicine, sixth-year volunteers but smaller facilities still needed assis- students Tomáš Sychra and Metoděj Renza coor- We tried to alleviate the tance. I was able to work with an amazing group of dinated a volunteer initiative called Trimed, which people in the hospital’s ICU, sometimes helping as helped place students where they were needed the panic and fear, to enable a nurse, sometimes as an orderly, sometimes as an most. “We tried to cover university hospitals across people to remain calm assistant,” says Kristýna Pončáková from Charles the Czech Republic,” Renza explains. Organis- University’s Third Faculty of Medicine. “It was an er Anna Malečková of the Faculty of Medicine in and think clearly. opportunity to get valuable hands-on experience Plzeň agrees that Trimed played an important role: and all of us here hope that things will soon be bet- “We received a lot of information and suggestions ter. There is reason again to smile even under our from Trimed about how to put volunteer activities face masks,” she adds. into action in the hospitals in the best way and as Pončáková was one of some 3‚000 students quickly as possible. There were several hundred from CU’s five medical faculties (from the First, volunteers at local hospitals who worked either as Second and Third Faculties in Prague, the Faculty orderlies, assistants, or day care workers keeping an of Medicine in Plzeň, and the Faculty of Phar- eye on the children of medical personnel. Charles macy in Hradec Kralové) who played a role on University’s rector, Tomáš Zima, himself a doctor, the front lines. It is easy to forget that a few short expressed his gratitude for the number of volun- months ago, at the start of the crisis, many facilities teers, which far exceeded a government require- lacked sufficient personal protective equipment or ment that fifth and sixth year students help. PPE. Many students sewed homemade facemasks Hospitals in eastern Bohemia also called for to counter the shortage. help in difficult circumstances: medical students Students volunteered at partner university hospi- with at least four semesters completed were sought. tals, depending on their faculty. Students from the Students of CU’s Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Doctors at the Motol University Hospital operate on a patient suspected of having First Faculty of Medicine helped at the General Králové volunteered in the regional capital and contracted Covid-19. Teaching Hospital in Prague (where a Czech pa- elsewhere. “As part of the initiative, we shared a Forum 8 Forum tient was first given the experimental drug rem- map of the country with representatives of other 8 Forum

desivir on a compassionate use basis). They also academic senates from Charles University medical volunteered at the Institute for Clinical and Exper- faculties. In this way we could put together emer- Help to pharmacies and families Motol University Hospital employees as part of imental Medicine, and the Central Military Hospi- gency services offered by students who could also Students from the Faculty of Pharmacy also helped the “Chci pohlídat!” (I would like a baby sitter!) tal (both in Prague). help other medical facilities. We took charge of the pharmacists during the lockdown. “We feel needed initiative. “The group is diverse in age, colourful, Students from the Second Faculty of Medicine Hradec Králové and Pardubice regions and there and at the same time we’re getting valuable expe- and the older ones help the younger kids. The chil-

Panorama volunteered at their “home base” Motol Univer- [was] considerable interest in our students,” Dean rience, be it positive or negative. We see that not dren entertain each other and at the same time we Panorama sity Hospital and at Bulovka University Hospital Jiří Manďák confirmed. all customers are easy to satisfy. They’re some- can spend time with them individually. We already 12 and also helped look after the children of medical times rude to pharmacists, but even that is part of have a stable regimen in place. During the month 13 professionals. In addition, the Second Faculty of our future profession,” said Eliška Voříšková at the everything fell into place beautifully,” said organis- Medicine’s dean, Vladimír Komárek, appealed to beginning of April. Voříšková is a 4th year student ers Nela Pastrnková and Tereza Barthová. During who started a volunteer initiative called “Pomoc the height of the crisis, the Faculty of Education lékárnám” (Help the Pharmacies). Hundreds of was also involved in the informational website Oko- future pharmacists got involved; an estimated two- ronaviru.cz (About Coronavirus) bringing together thirds of all students helped pharmacists in this experts from a number of schools. most difficult of periods. Athletes from the Faculty of Physical Educa- The Faculty of Science, which is strong in re- tion and Sport also contributed in a novel man- search, offered not only volunteers but also re- ner: they gave online advice to people (afraid of search on SARS-CoV−2 and testing for its pres- gaining weight or falling out of shape during the ence. Dr. Ruth Tachezy (interviewed in this issue) lockdown) on how to exercise correctly at home. “I was one of many experts involved. Experts from like the wave of solidarity that the coronavirus cri- the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics calculated sis inspired. I don’t think sewing masks would have prospective epidemiological models, and the facul- been our strong suit, so I tried to think of a way we ty also provided its research computational capac- could offer help,” said Ondřej Regál, a faculty grad- ity for combating coronavirus as part of the LIN- uate who launched the educational project “Cvič a DAT/CLARIAH-CZ international infrastructure. pomáhej” (Exercise and Help) capitalizing on the Faculty students and employees also programmed talents of coaches and lecturers. an application called “Call Back”; using the app, volunteers with the Czech Red Cross were able to Advice and help for seniors Charles University contact individuals living alone, to let them know Not to be left behind, the humanities and social students worked they were not forgotten, combatting loneliness and sciences faculties were also active. Their students hard to help those negative effects of social isolation. and employees were involved in countless charity who needed assis- tance the most Volunteers from the Faculty of Education at activities and initiatives. Experts from the Facul- during the crisis. Charles University looked after the children of ty of Arts helped in translating important televi- One of the most sion news broadcasts into Czech sign language. notable roles per- It was an opportunity to get valuable formed by med stu- “The most significant – after helping the hearing hands-on experience and all of us dents was testing impaired – was of course to meet the demand for patients. interpretation from media and government or- here hope that things will soon be ganisations. Timely information in a comprehen- better. There is reason again to sible form addressed to all residents of the Czech smile even under our face masks. Republic can fundamentally contribute to getting through the state of emergency better and more safely,” interpreter Naďa Hynková Dingová ex- plained. and healthcare professionals. “This is because the Psychologists from the Faculty of Arts in turn ban on visiting patients weighed heavily on both gave advice on how to manage stress, the lock- groups,” said Marie Opatrná of the Catholic Theo- down and working from home, as well as schooling logical Faculty. children. “I would especially recommend keeping The Czech Red Cross’ crisis task force direct- structure in your day: distinguishing between work ly requested students from the Hussite Theologi- and non-work time, physical activity and intellec- cal Faculty in social and charitable work who were tual work – activities that have visible results. If qualified for work with seniors and people with you’re working from home, it’s advisable to main- disabilities. Students not yet able to perform nurs- tain the structure of a typical working day – getting ing activities distributed masks, delivered food and up, exercising, getting dressed and sitting down at mail, and helped seniors with such tasks as taking your work station or activities with the children,” dogs for walks. Colleagues from other fields took said psychologist Iva Štětovská. part in the activities of the call centre at Prague’s Gerontologists from the Faculty of Humanities Na Homolce Hospital, but also helped with such There were more led by Vice-Dean Iva Holmerová prepared “a dozen things such as babysitting the children of the Pra- than a few head- quarters where recommendations” for seniors most at risk. Stu- chatice Hospital’s employees. Dean Kamila Veverk- students coordi- dents and doctoral students, including journalist ová said she intended to recognise the volunteer ac- nated volunteering Judita Matyášová, worked to produce and distrib- tivities of all students involved as work experience Forum 8 Forum efforts. ute masks to dozens of elderly care homes. Masks as part of their studies. 8 Forum

were sewn by academics at the Faculty of Social Representatives of the Evangelical Theologi- Sciences, who also made available their know-how cal Faculty were also active during the pandemic. in sociology and economics. “We tried to alleviate the panic and fear, to enable All of Charles University’s faculties poured ef- people in their new daily rhythm to find tools to re- forts into online distance learning which was of the main calm and think clearly. We offered support so

Panorama utmost importance. The months of lockdown wer- that people could be in solidarity with each other, Panorama en’t easy for any students or teachers, including at and so that those who were most committed didn’t 14 the Faculty of Law. “I’d like to thank everyone who burn out quickly. We didn’t limit ourselves only to 15 got involved in volunteer activities or legal and so- people who were members of the church, or who cial assistance to people affected by the crisis. We’ll consider themselves believers. After all, everyone be overcoming the impact for a long time, and not is looking for spiritual comfort in some way,” said just from an economic standpoint. Nevertheless, I theologian Ivana Noble of CU’s Evangelical Theo- believe that the academic environment, founded on logical Faculty. the principles of self-government, free thought and pluralism of opinion, will handle the situation and won’t be eroded by a far more dangerous virus that threatens to change our liberal-democratic society,” Dean Jan Kuklík answered in a survey for Forum. Students from the Comfort and worship online Catholic Theological Charles University’s three Theological faculties (Catholic, Protestant, Hussite) were also active Faculty set up a during the Covid−19 pandemic. When churches sewing workshop were closed during the lockdown, representatives offered public services online and helped teachers and distributed and students in the field. Students from the Catholic Theological Faculty masks to those in set up a sewing workshop and distributed masks to need at healthcare those in need at healthcare facilities. The archbish- op’s seminary helped senior homes in Prague with facilities. nursing care and food delivery. Other employees and students were available at the Hospital of St. Volunteers looked after the children Alžběta Na Slupi for conversations with patients of medical staff during the crisis. 16 Panorama Forum 8 spirit volunteering The PHOTOS BY PragueVolunteering, archives pilotilidem STORY BY involved. evenCU, got foreign students At to hospitals. schools from an initiative to deliver PPE formed pilots, recreational of citizens, group one sected: privateand the inter sector Often work the of universities delivered supplies. medical others still lines, front on the helped sewed some masks, Some crisis. unprecedented offeringhelp time of at a country, the across from teers togetherbrought many volun Covid−19The pandemic Jan VelingerJan Vladimír Šigut, CU’s archive,Vladimír Šigut,

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17 Panorama Forum 8 18 Panorama Forum 8 others. was what they did for workthe that mattered goingare that to realise When isover, this people volunteers couldnot.” students. Jobs they were entitled to do andcitizen the school and jobs that were specificformedical Fetissov says: students fitfaculty framework, within thebroader ed to areas where they couldbesthelp. Medical cilitate matters: it was nextstep.” the logical went independent with Prague Volunteering- to fa bility to expand to include the expat community. I faculties’ scope was enormous, there was apossi - After about a week Irealised that even though the I offered tohelp withEnglish-speaking students. ulties andprimarily within the Czechcurriculum. organised by the CharlesUniversity- medical fac places wheretheywereneeded. directlyThat was ed to beanorganisational team to putstudentsin and sixth year medical students to help, there need- munity, Fetissov explains: soon expanded to include the broader expat com- er foreign medstudentsandothers. The initiative Volunteering,togeth- bring found waysto which at the Third Faculty of Medicine, foundedPrague can studentof Moldovan descentinhissixth year andlinked up.faculties Vitaly Fetissov, an - Ameri coordinated responses at all formed of the medical Facultydents at the First were notalone: similar dents together andpool individual strengths. Stu- one, launchingadrive onfacebook stu- to bring Kulišiak, Faculty from the First of Medicine, was early: days in of organiser David the first thecrisis At CharlesUniversity, medstudentsgotinvolved toFrom expats students medical the way things developed in the Czech Republic, wanted to getinvolved. On the groundlevel, with and with somuchenthusiasm. Many people really exceeded hisexpectations: piled up, it was needed. Vitaly Fetissov saysinterest volunteers get through the day, and as the work involved: onedonated fresh-brewed coffee to help orinother ways.fabric Even small businesses got able to signup to make protective masks orcollect ing inclinical work. Citizen volunteers were also Covid−19 symptoms), doing research, orhelp- calls from people who were displaying possible ing masks, ahelpline(mostoften running taking “We hadforms tobefilled that were specificfor Volunteers signingupat the website were direct - “When the government putout the call forfifth “I didnotrealise somany people would join Medical students were able to volunteer inmak- what they did for others – notfor what themselves.”they didforothers – the workmattereddid that thatmost they thewas When all this isover, people are going to realise that outlook instead of just thinking about themselves. teamwork, people areto starting take amore human betweenam seeingmore people, comradery more was how much things would change. computer screens quiet,when citieshadgoneeerily in the daysof lockdown frombehind windows and as opposed recordsto historical andpastanalysis.” us with the valuable insightinto this kindof virus is not to say that it was agood thing but itprovided like crisis this inrealwitness anhistoric time; that es, saidasstudentsof medicine we were lucky to it was inspiring toseesomany people getinvolved. on the frontlinesorsomeone working fromhome, Vitaly says whether one was amedstudenthelping spread inEurope –broughtmany people together; site. Itall made adifference.” helped uscreate amore aesthetically pleasing web- and we hadinputfromgraphic designers who contacted us,others offeringhelponalargerscale, of drive andmentality that Ireally respect. Many from professional sectors was also most welcome: andstaffingthe thehelpline.”virus – Thehelp including research andcompilinginformation on control. All the same, we continuedouractivities – was asense that herethe crisis was almost under work actually slowed alittlebit: even earlyon there on frontlines:the very most of the hospitals had the field: schedule. And heardbackfromfellow studentsin doing volunteer work according to aregular daily distance learning, reading studymaterials, and But shesuccessfullybalanced her time between went well, even ifit was all alittleconfusingat first. She says that balancing work and distancelearning worked fromhomeandnotat amedical facility. were many things to bedone.” after they began. They were busyand therevery and organisingduties. So Icameinabout fourdays in the projecthereganisers to help with the website from himIlearned that hestillneededmore or- info about how to setupasimilarinitiative. And had done. I wanted to provide people there with Brazil becauseIhadbeensoamazed with what he could helpme with a video formy hometown in told Forum how shegotinvolved: ble forpublic outreach at Prague Volunteering. She and second-year medstudentfromBrazil responsi- Clara Boettcher Mallmann isafellow volunteer FrontThe Lines “Will the world change?I think italready has: I One question probably contemplated bymost “Our professor, ininfectiousdiseas- anexpert There isnoquestion that the pandemic –asit “The donated coffee shows thespecifickind “I have in some friends the third year who were fromasthmaBoettcher soshe Mallmann suffers gotin touch andasked “I originally Vitaly ifhe tective equipment. patients and to other save with fected people pro to in of potentially order minimize contact the in booths equipped inspecially offices titioners’ patient’sthe quarantine. to decide end could tive, general the practitioner wastest for categories nega of both antibodies the if whereas to test, sent follow-up aPCR with patients were the of testpositivity, Incase Health. of ofMinistry the aegis underthe created were Covid-19 against tests for antibodies detecting ofrisk COVID-19 positivity. a of patients with new testing provided 6) which inPrague Dejvice team atcare (in Vítězné náměstí Faculty, of health the member first the became Medical Third the from astudent Lukáš Kaňka, The testing itself took place outside of prac the took place outside itself The testing for rapid sites patients using - testing Special Some Of The Many The Where Places Of Some Third Faculty Students Helped – Helped FacultyThird Students A Closer Look A Closer - - - - - 3rd year Faculty at student 3rd Third the of Medicine Dispatch by Veronika Viktoria Matraszek important.” work isnow more which other much allows which midwives the toistrative do support We and CTGups, provide admin also monitoring. for check- come patients who prenatal regular of pregnant pressure blood the and measuring work ofdown Our history taking consists the ens. staff the incase crisis wors possible as helpful as that we istraining can usso be and Child Mother however, of Care staff the the for of TheInstitute and midwives, work the of nurses ly substitute emergency prenatal the ward: hisexperience told at usabout of Medicine, ulty well. as athelping departments individual but onlytriage, not regarding in various positions Faculty worked Third of there the Medicine from students med 30 Almost and Child. of Mother for at Care the TheInstitute helped also Students “We well aware are ableto not that we- ful are Fac Third avolunteer the Heřman, Jakub from - - - 19 Panorama Forum 8 The sky‘s the limit was a teacher, some were younger while some were The love for flying, in this case, The mix of students and citizen volunteers involved a little older like me (laughs). It was great to watch in Prague Volunteering at Charles University is in- something like this come together, something I provided a bigger opportunity: spiring and shows how well schools and the broad- could never have imagined, and I am proud to have er public intersect. Another initiative, called Piloti been a part of it. I didn’t forget my job of course to not be grounded at home, lidem, saw private citizens also do their utmost to (laughs) and I always hoped that a return to busi- but to help. help schools deliver needed materials. Pilots flying ness was really not that far into the future; but of recreational planes offered their help early on in the course the health situation took precedence.” crisis to deliver medical equipment and other sup- In May, the Czech government began easing re- plies around the country and their effort made inter- strictions, some of them ahead of schedule, when it national headlines. One example was the delivery of became clear that social distancing, wearing masks, 3D printed masks designed by covmask.cz connect- lockdown and special shopping hours for seniors, return life fully “back to normal”. There are ques- ed with the Czech Technical University (ČVUT). had managed to push or keep the rate of infec- tions if that will even be possible given the lack of a Tomáš Cáp, a pilot and one of the members of tion (the R number) below 1 (preventing infections vaccine or more effective treatment. Perhaps there the organisational team, told Forum it began with from spreading exponentially). Officials were able will be a new “normal” in which we learn to live a facebook post, when a member floated the idea to gain valuable information from a smart quaran- with the threat and possibilities of a second wave as With many of us thinking more of using planes; it caught on almost immediate- tine in Moravia and the overall fairly low number many epidemiologists have warned. So far, luckily, collectively, I think this pandemic ly. Within days there were hundreds of volunteers of fatalities (over 300) and infections (less than no signs of a second wave have emerged, although coming forward who were willing to fly, covering 10,000) meant steps to slowly reopen businesses as that could change in the autumn. will change the way humanity moves most (if not all) of the costs themselves. well as regular workplaces could be introduced. No one knows what the future will bring but forward, in a way that was needed. “It all started with a single post in an aviation-re- Some measures – the requirement of masks if there is a “silver lining”, it is this: that so many lated group. Our founding member, Miloslav and social distancing – remain for the time being people volunteered and met the challenge head Chlan, asked if anybody had thought about using (until July 1) in public transport and inside stores: on. The one thing shared by most? The hope that private planes to deliver medical goods and Adam people walking or exercising in the park without this spirit would continue. Even after the crisis had Zahradníček replied. Together they built a website masks has become a common sight once again. No passed. and began assembling a team.” doubt there were – and still are - divergent views on Cáp says that pilots came from different back- where to go from here to restart the economy and Forum 8 Forum tents before the entrance where they did triage, grounds, some of them former airline pilots or for- 8 Forum

checking temperatures and so on, so patients would mer military, while others were recreational. All of not continue needlessly into the facility and raise them shared one thing in common: the risk of infection. One friend collected data for “What we share is that – under normal circum- the National Health Institute every day from 8 am stances - most of the time we fly for fun.” to 5 pm. The thing that I heard the most is that it The love for flying, in this case, provided a big-

Panorama was an exhausting job but everyone was glad to be ger opportunity: to not be grounded at home, but Panorama involved. It also helped that [the fight against the to help. 20 virus] in the Czech Republic was going well.” “We had almost 400 pilots. We flew Cesnas, 21 Clara Boettcher Mallmann was concerned about Pipers, usually two- or four-seaters or ultralights. I how the situation was developing at home, but nu- think many of us were thinking about doing some- merous factors showed early on that how things thing like this, you know, taking the plane and fly- would unfold in Brazil would be different. Steps ing… but it always takes that special individual who that largely worked in the Czech Republic, with the gets things in motion for it to happen. early lockdown, masks and social distancing, would “So when those two guys published the initial be more difficult or even impossible to implement challenge, it got a response from pilots across the there for social, economic and demographic rea- country. We began delivering supplies for example sons, she says. It is also worth considering that from Prague to Most, to Ostrava, wherever they Brazil is a country of more than 210 million people were needed.” compared to the Czech Republic’s 10.6 million. Jan Bradáč is a private pilot who got involved Brazil was also behind the Czech Republic in terms and flew masks to the ARO section of a hospital of the infection peak. in Most and also volunteered to work at least one “I heard Sao Paolo was already 90 percent ca- day a week in dispatching for Piloti lidem. A well- pacity in terms of hospitals, and feared we were known figure in the Czech film industry, he says he going to hear bad news about Brazil in the coming is glad he could get involved: days. That it would get worse before it got better.” “Everything these days has become more per- Boettcher Mallmann, like Vitaly Fetissov, says in sonal. Because there is not anyone who in some the Czech Republic it was inspiring that so many way was not touched by the crisis. My feeling was people were willing to help in the face of crisis; she if I could do something, I would. Here you had a says it is an indication the future may be brighter, bunch of guys and girls who came from different once the crisis is over. parts of the country and most of us had never even “With many of us thinking more collectively, I met face-to-face. think this pandemic will change the way humanity “Everything was done through electronic media: moves forward, in a way that was needed.” we had a person from the railways, another who Hundreds of pilots signed up to fly medical supplies where they were needed. 22 My CU Forum 8

coronavirus Testing for the BIOCEV PHOTOS BY Luboš WišniewskiLuboš

Genetics and Microbiology at CU’s Faculty of Science and Microbiology Genetics of Department the from of testing, supervisor Special Professor Ivan Hirsch aday. samples 300 test around ableto we are aresult, As expertise. their allprovided public Re ofCzech the at Academy the of Sciences ular Genetics of Molec Institute and the Institute Biotechnology and the University at Charles Faculty and the of of Medicine Science Faculty First the from infrastructure ratories and research Labo CEV came staff testing. members with to help forward watch what isgoing by oninside monitor. 100BIO than More teamCovid−19 have to ableto laband access we the are by employees. BIOCEV entrance main used the through pass that nosamples That in. ensures to brought be staff entrance to enter and leave samples for and adrop-off onefor laboratory entrances: onlytwo has labarea the sons, rea For population. inthe of virus the security presence the to testfor modified and specially designated were samples biological for contagious criteria strictest the working with with Laboratories complying homes. and nursing hospitals testedfrom came primarily Samples Covid−19. causes which for testing SARS-CoV−2 tomission large-capacity conduct was granted University), per and Charles emy of Sciences of Acad the At of centre - April, joint (a BIOCEV beginning the Only specially-trained staff who are part of the BIOCEV theBIOCEV of part staff Only specially-trained who are Průmyslová 595 Address: 252 50 252 Vestec ------× 23 My CU Forum 8 Taking aim at the unexpected Forum 8 Forum 8 Forum If the novel coronavirus had never hit, Ruth Tachezy would have been doing other things: applying for funding, heading a national Interview reference laboratory, and publishing. She Interview 24 would have been helping her students at 25 the Faculty of Science and would have been preparing for an upcoming conference and a mountaineering vacation. Instead, she opted to tackle a higher “mountain”, setting her sights on SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen that changed the world drastically in just a few months.

STORY BY Marcela Uhlíková PHOTOS BY Luboš Wišniewski, Ruth Tachezy’s personal archive Do you remember your thoughts when you Who did you get your love of the mountains My aunt, who was a micro- first heard about the outbreak in China? from? biologist at the National I do. I tried to be optimistic. In interviews I want- I come from a family of mountaineers and moun- ed to calm the public and I didn’t admit to myself tain climbers. In the early 1970s, my dad, Jan Červ- Institute of Public Health, that the outbreak could go global and turn into inka, founded a mountaineering club in Vrchlabí. was also a big inspiration a real pandemic. I thought the outbreak would re- He himself was a famous mountaineer who had for me. I longed to become main local in two or three countries, like the orig- been part of Czechoslovak expeditions in the Him- inal SARS, that it would be contained. In a way, alayas, the Hindu Kush, and other major moun- a doctor and even to take the events as they unfolded reminded me a little tain ranges. Today, he is one of the oldest surviving part in rescue missions of 9/11. Then, I had been waiting to pay at a gas members of the first expedition in Afghanistan. station and a TV was airing images of the planes Since he and my mum were passionate about around the world. hitting the World Trade Center in New York. sports and travelled often to the mountains, my I didn’t realise immediately what I was seeing was sister and I also “caught the bug”. That said, I suf- real but thought it was“just some stupid film”. But fered a bad injury in a climbing accident 10 years of course, it wasn’t. The start of the pandemic was ago which could easily have cost me my life. similar: a week earlier, my son, daughter and I were My kids love climbing too, though: my daugh- watching a BBC documentary about pandemics ter has been climbing since she was 15 and my son, and suddenly here we were… in the midst of one. who I tried to dissuade a little from taking up the sport, does orienteering. Now he has gotten me in- It might sound strange, but in terms of your terested in orienteering as well. We all the love the profession it must be an interesting period; mountains, including my husband, whether on foot is it? or on cross-country skis. I would never say I was happy to have gone through this experience but it’s true that “on pa- Do you remember your first bigger climb? per” it was a situation I had always been curious My father took me to the Caucasus Mountains and I was a downhill skier, who attended a sports acad- ing. My mother liked microbiology and recom- about. It was within the realm of possibility and I remember the climb as being extremely difficult emy and raced and even later competed at univer- mended me a book on the subject that became my one could imagine something like this might hap- and long; in terms of energy I hit rock bottom. sity. Regular training teaches you to organise your favourite. My aunt, who was a microbiologist at the

Forum 8 Forum pen one day. But a real epidemic or pandemic is Later in life, it helped greatly: whenever I faced time. But even though sports were important, my National Institute of Public Health, was also a big 8 Forum extremely distressing and difficult to tackle – for all a difficult situation where I thought I was “down”, parents still emphasised academic excellence. Had inspiration for me. I longed to become a doctor of us – and is not anything anyone can be happy I knew that I still had reserves I could draw upon. my marks suffered in school, I don’t think they and even to take part in rescue missions around the about. The mountains taught me discipline, strength of would have let me continue doing sport. world. Circumstances, however, kept me at home: will and the ability to take responsible decisions first the former communist regime made it impos- When did you first realise the gravity of the at tough moments. It’s like that with many sports. If we turn to work, the coronavirus soon sible to travel, and later when we founded a family,

Interview situation? became the main focus, didn’t it? I did not want to be away from my children. Interview Before the outbreak spread significantly in Wuhan, At first, colleagues and I prepared testing at the 26 friends and I had been organising an annual trip Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion. How did you put together your current 27 to the High Tatras in Slovakia. We go there every Once the lab was successfully up and running, team? winter. I mostly leave the climbing to others now I began testing samples at BIOCEV. Usually I’d There was a lot of enthusiasm. It was an emer- but still do a lot of trekking and now that my kids be there from around 7 am sometimes to mid- gency situation and we were in a position to help. are older they often come too and help me carry night and at home I’d still have to prepare for the Scientists are a very specific community: most of us my backpack to the top (laughs). But as the extent next day. The period was intense. Things are now are happy to stick to our research and there is usu- of the crisis became clear, we cancelled our plans – changing: responsibilities at the department are ally quite a bit of rivalry. But here a lot of people just the first of many restrictions the pandemic calling; although I remained in touch with my stu- got involved very quickly and one of the reasons we brought. dents throughout the crisis, I still felt like it wasn’t got up and running so successfully was because of enough. I am trying to balance things out now with support from BIOCEV management, the Faculty of online courses and individual consultations. I also Science, and also Vice-Rector Jan Konvalinka. They gave a lot of interviews, for which I had to study all made it possible to begin proper testing, quickly. of the latest information. I am continuing to follow Have you ever joined forces against a “common the latest epidemiological information, answer doz- enemy” with others? With someone who might oth- ens of emails a day and handle numerous calls. On erwise have been a rival? It happened a lot before The mountains top of that, you have regular organisational tasks the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia in 1989 and problems that arise. And of course each day at when the common enemy was the regime. That taught me disci- BIOCEV, we have to release the results from hun- brought us together then – in the labs and even in dreds of samples. the mountains. We had a lot of fun, felt safe in each pline, strength of other’s company, shared a lot similar views and felt will and the ability What first drew you to microbiology when very little rivalry at all. This was a little bit similar. you were younger? to take responsible I was always interested in medicine. My mum, Do you have a favourite story from those decisions at tough a paediatrician, worked until she was 86! I liked days? going with her to the hospital. I wondered who her The most personal one is from my marriage. My moments. patients were and what treatment they were receiv- husband is a parasitologist; in 1986, before we en were correct. What happens next will depend there will be fewer serious cases, I think, but in my a great deal on how people will behave and wheth- opinion, it will take roughly a year before restric- er they will continue to respect restrictions as they tions are completely lifted. But I think it’s the only What happens next will depend a great deal are lifted. If you suddenly have crowds of people way forward. We’ll have to keep a close eye on de- waiting for beer, that’s not following recommenda- velopments and in the case of sudden increases of on how people will behave and whether they tions. It would be easier perhaps if the virus were cases, temporarily tighten restrictions again. The “visible”. The coming days will determine where we main task is to ensure the virus doesn’t ever swamp will continue to respect restrictions as they go from here, but if people who are annoyed and the healthcare system. Certainly, it hasn’t been tired of restrictions suddenly throw all caution to easy, especially for families with little kids. But also are lifted. If you suddenly have crowds of the wind, there could be local outbreaks and hot for people who live alone. people waiting for beer, that’s not following spots. On the other hand, if people are careful, the warmer months may see transmission of the virus recommendations. It would be easier stop.

perhaps if the virus were “visible”. And then? It’s possible the novel coronavirus will just disap- pear one day with “a snap of the fingers”, but it’s not very likely. If it comes back, it could become seasonal, like the flu. Ahead of us is a period where

married, he left for two years on an internship in through grants and to back studies running then. It China. There were no mobile phones, email didn’t made sense to me. I always asked people I want- exist, and letters took weeks to arrive and were ed to work with if they wanted to do something censored. I was head-over-heels in love and he just together that would matter, or make a difference. disappeared. I very much wanted to travel to see Something they wouldn’t be paid for, for which him but wasn’t given permission by the state. So we there’d be no medal. I don’t know what must have came up with the idea of getting married at the em- gone through their minds, maybe they would rath-

Forum 8 Forum bassy in China in line with the Helsinki Accords. er have killed me (laughs). But the fact that peo- 8 Forum But that was also rejected. You know what hap- ple came on board was great: on your own, you pened? My partner filled in the necessary papers in wouldn’t get the same results. China, and I got married in Vrchlabí with a friend acting as a surrogate during the ceremony! Once Where are we when it comes to the coronavi- married, I thought the authorities would have to let rus pandemic? Is the end far? Or near?

Interview me go and see him. And they didn’t! They claimed I am a little afraid that the “easiest” solution, devel- Interview I didn’t have the sufficient capital to go. oping a vaccine for broad immunisation, is prob- 28 At the time, my father was at basecamp at Mt. ably not just around the corner. A vaccine stim- 29 Everest but when he heard about it, he contacted ulating the production of antibodies is certainly his sister in Switzerland and asked her to send me the best hope, but it may not succeed, for many 300 dollars. I got the funds and became eligible. reasons. Another approach can be a vaccine stim- I hunted down all the necessary documents from ulating a T-cell response, capable of wiping out in- the ministries of education, finance and foreign fected cells. That road is even more uncertain and affairs and then waited for three days at the then- difficult. All the same, I want to be optimistic and state travel agency Čedok to get a train ticket from believe we will come up with a vaccine, even if it Ulaanbaatar to Beijing. No obstacles remained and takes longer. I was able to reunite with my husband. What about effective treatment? And here we are: today, you are a highly-re- There might be a greater chance there: tens of spected scientist and once again China is the thousands of molecules are being tested and it centre of the story… is possible some will prove effective against the I try to do my job as best I can and I enjoy it. In illness. If they stopped the potential infection of science, nothing is ever complete, there is always additional cells, they could be used preventively. more to be done, and there are always things that But to manufacture enough to“cover” the entire could be done better. My parents didn’t teach us world population is a much greater challenge than to relax. In the 1990s, I worked with great enthusi- tackling a local epidemic. asm to improve screening for cervical cancer. I was Ruth Tachezy, Ph.D., was born in Olomouc, in the former Czechoslovakia. She focusing on related viruses. I spent a considerable How do you see the lifting of restrictions and studied molecular biology and genetics at the Faculty of Science at Charles part of my career fighting for vaccines against hu- return to normal life? University, receiving her doctorate in molecular virology. She is a research- man papillomavirus, and it wasn’t easy and came I think that the head of the country’s healthcare er in the Department of Experimental Virology at the Institute of Hematology down to money. statisticians, Ladislav Dušek, and Professor Ro- and Blood Transfusion and the head of the National Reference Laboratory for The intensity was similar to what I am expe- man Prymula, who is the deputy health minister, Papillomaviruses and Polyomaviruses. She heads the Department of Genet- riencing now: it was necessary to fund research did a fine job and I think decisions that were tak- ics and Microbiology at the Faculty of Science. 30 Science Lab Forum 8 immunity Bats’ remarkable and Covid-19 STORY BY would never spill over to humans. bats that in“a canweather world” viruses perfect short, answerthe system. immune animal’s inthe In lies robust says of Zoology of Lučan CU’s Department Radek mammal? Why many so pathogens are species. linked to flying the likely most anintermediary bats, through jumpfrom the novel that the are tions coronavirus made also SARS-CoV-2 indica The SARS. original andthe Ebola including in bats, believed are of viruses deadly A number to have originated there are exceptions. of course are minimal to the number ofout there,viruses but eases that are transmissible fromhuman to human animals at all. Also, the numberof zoonotic dis- have comefromdomesticated animals andnot wild sion to humans. mostzoonotic Historically viruses diseases, we lackevidence of any direct transmis- strong immunesystems over time. ity and thermoregulation, they also developed very They have remarkable social organisation, longev- do notonlyhave the capability of powered flight. of all kinds viruses throughout their evolution. Bats long been aroundfora time andencounteredvery million ago.years Many speciesof bats have simply comparison, Homo habilis lived two-and-a-half were aroundmore than 50million ago;years by Bats are ancient: there are fossilsshowing they were linked… Zone example, was Preston’s Hot The inRichard for Ebola, about Iread time first The them? to from come seem manythat so viruses – why fascinating isit are creatures Bats Jan VelingerJan While they may behosts foranumberof deadly quite awhile ago, quite andeven they there PHOTOS BY Vladimír Šigut

causes Covid−19. transmission of SARS-CoV−2 that the coronavirus ple, we have noidea who patient zero was in the Patient 0. That ispractically impossible. For exam- animal) wediary would have to beable to locate (whether it was directly or - through aninterme know forsure how pathogens jumped to humans SARSfirst were foundinbats; butinorder to press upmore andmore againstnature, itseems the world inamatter ordays. of hours trade, apathogen canpop upon the othersideof air travelglobeis today through connected the and quickly. When you combine this with how inter- man transmission proves possible, itcanmove very pathogen andhuman-to-hu isespecially- virulent Human population densityplays acentral role: ifa crisis… health unprecedented that one wentis the an becoming global, avian MERS, Covid−19 flu. SARS, threats: demic was were andthere coming earlier warned forExperts years that pan adeadly Deadly viruses fromEbolaDeadly viruses to Marburgor the I amnotsure how we can change that. As we - - 31 Science Lab Forum 8 more and more likely that such situations will hap- Throughout my career, I dangerous known pathogens. But there is no rea- nating creatures bats are. The protection of bats is pen. If you take into account the diversity of wild- son a novel virus couldn’t slip through undetected in our legislation so when you have the renovation life as well as the density of local populations in never heard of a scientist the same way even here. It doesn’t have to be in of pre-fab apartment blocs underway and bats are tropical areas, the chances of an outbreak are even some place far away in the tropics. found, bat houses are put up for their protection. greater. The main difference is, in the past patho- dying from anything Without question, we have seen a lot of progress gens could not spread as quickly. caught from a bat. When it comes to studying bats in the field over the last 20 years. Many of my colleagues lay the blame with hu- in the Czech Republic, are any precautions mans for encroaching more and more on nature, required? Historically, bats got a bad rap as well, didn’t but paradoxically more people live in big cities than the lab was almost immediately shut down as news There are around 45 different species of bat in they… ever before. Half the people around the world live of the outbreak got out. Only conspiracy theorists Europe and most of them are tiny: while we usu- In medieval Europe, or in the Christian world, in cities and have less contact with nature than think that Covid−19 is man-made but it is not hard ally have gloves and carry disinfectant, their bite they were associated with night and areas under- ever. Eighty percent of kids in the Czech Republic, to imagine it could have been the subject of study wouldn’t even break through your skin. We wear ground that brought to mind Hell; their wings were for example, are unable to recognise a blackbird. in the lab in Wuhan – and got out. gloves especially when it comes to the bigger spe- seen as demonic. In many cultures in the past, bats Even when I take my students at the university on Given it is a novel virus and given it is often cies and bites are simply unpleasant. The threat of were feared or disliked but one exception was Ja- fieldwork to study wildlife, it is a real eye-opener asymptomatic, a scientist could have been exposed rabies exists but incidence is very rare – much less pan, where they were a good-luck symbol. Bats are for some of them because it is the first time they to the virus and accidently carried it out of the lab than 1 percent of the bat population have antibod- remarkable and they are very beneficial in many have ever slept under the stars. A lot of them have without knowing. He or she could even have gone ies which still does not mean they have rabies. We ways. They play crucial roles in tropical and other never been in the forest at night. shopping at the market and the sheer number of are vaccinated of course but here’s another inter- ecosystems, responsible for pollinating all kinds people there, in the subtropical humidity, would esting fact: unlike dogs, bats do not have rabies of plants, including banana or durian. They keep If we have less and less contact with nature – have ensured that it spread quickly. present in their saliva so the threat of transmis- insect populations, such as mosquitos, in check. A what about other countries? sion is absolutely minimal. Throughout my career, single bat can eat one-third of its body weight in I spent a lot of time in the Middle East and in Do you think an international investigation I never heard of a scientist dying from anything mosquitos in a single night. In 2007, a study in Sci- North Africa and the contact between locals and will ever uncover the truth? caught from a bat. ence showed that in the US one single species, the wild animals was not as common as you might One question is China’s regime: I don’t think it will Mexican Free-Tailed Bat, saves America four bil- think. If we are talking about bats, they might fea- be at all easy to get to bottom of what happened. You have done a lot of conservation work as lion US dollars per year in insecticides. They have ture in local shamanistic rituals. If we are talking The only information that gets out is what the re- well as popularisation. Do bats enjoy a better a positive impact.

Forum 8 Forum about parts of Southeast Asia and some parts of gime allows. Methodologically, I don’t see any way reputation today because of it? While they certainly carry viruses, as I said, there 8 Forum Africa, they hunt bushmeat, consuming bats such it can be done either: it is simply extremely difficult They do. The Czech bat conservation trust – which is no record of any direct transmission to human as “flying foxes”, along with domestic animals like to trace back what happened. Even in scenarios I was a secretary of for many years – does a lot of beings. If anyone was ever at threat it would have cats and dogs. All of these animals are cooked or where a lab followed all of the necessary protocol public education, such as International Bat Night, to have been Ozzy Osbourne [in the infamous] in- roasted and heat of course kills viruses. The danger and we even if we had a lot of the missing infor- attracting around 10‚000 visitors at around 50 sites cident when he allegedly bit off a bat’s head. And is in the actual preparation of the raw meat: that is mation, it would still be hard to piece together the in the Czech Republic annually. We are involved in he was okay and has been going strong ever since. the point where the virus can make the jump. exact chain of events. Czech schools with presentations and lectures. The (laughs) But otherwise? Ordinary people almost

Science Lab public perception has certainly changed. never come into contact with bats and even when Science Lab It is hard to imagine how things might be dif- In terms of future threats, what is something In the old days, if someone found a bat in their they do, they are far more likely to simply spot 32 ferent in the future. If your city is at the very we can influence? attic they would just bash it with a shovel. Now, them flying overhead than to ever hold one in their 33 centre of an outbreak there is even less time The unregulated hunting of wild game and the eat- people know better and they know whom to call. hands. to respond, even if you know how. ing of bushmeat remains the problem: the easiest In all seriousness, people have learned what fasci- Short of living in some sci-fi fantasy, it’s not clear restriction would to limit the consumption of bats how much can really be done. We’d have to be and wild game. At the same time, plenty of places completely apart from nature and be living in some have restrictions in place and locals do it anyway kind of sterile aquariums hooked up in a Ma- and not because their livelihood depends on it: it trix-like VR existence, which is nonsense. We will may simply be a question of tradition. I spent some have to get used to the fact that there will be epi- time in the Philippines where hunting for bush- demics and new illnesses and we have to prepare meat is banned but every local has a firearm using for them as best we can. I strongly believe we have CO2 cartridges. They hunt by flashlight and fire enough technologies and know-how to manage these glass balls at any creature that blinks in the Radek K. Lučan, Ph.D., is an expert in ver- tebrate zoology, chiropterology and bioge- such threats successfully. dark. ography at the Department of Zoology at They could live without the bushmeat but for the Faculty of Science at Charles Univer- To come back to the current outbreak, there them the meat has a deeper significance. They see sity. His professional interests include has been a lot of speculation about where it has having medicinal properties and – illegal or the population ecology and conserva- Covid−19 originated, including no shortage of not – bushmeat is simply is part of their way of life. tion of bats in the Western Palearctic and conspiracy theories. For that to change, there would have to be people bird and bat migration. Current projects I don’t think any serious scientists are entertaining monitoring the situation on the spot, which is un- include a study of the biogeography of the idea that it was bioengineered but certainly it realistic. It comes down to education and upbring- the fruit-bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) in is striking, at least for many of us who study bats, ing and that is not something that can be done the Mediterranean region and conserva- tion ecology of grey long-eared bat in the that the outbreak happened in the same city where “overnight”. Czech Republic. He is a leader of a large a level−4 lab was studying bats for zoonotic illness- By comparison, in the Czech Republic, the project focused on long-term monitoring es including coronaviruses. The lab in Wuhan is hunting of traditional game like wild boar or deer of bird, bat and insect migration at Čer- located just around the corner from the wet market is of course also regulated and meat has to be test- venohorské sedlo Mountain Pass in the where China officially said it began. And of course ed and meet veterinary standards for parasites and Jeseníky Mountains. I asked Dr. Jann in April about how smart tracing In South Korea, they was used in Asia and how it was expected to help in the Czech Republic, where a pilot project was were able to run tens of run in South Moravia. thousands of tests per day. Why have South Korea and Singapore largely In most cases, the results been success stories in reining in the num- ber of new cases? were negative but of course Both learned from the experience of narrowly avoiding catastrophe several times in the past: there in other cases they learned was the SARS epidemic in 2002-2004, and later, that many infected people MERS. They looked at how close they came to disaster and began planning. That meant building were asymptomatic and infrastructure, organising training exercises, and that was a very useful preparing testing kits. In Europe, we were maybe more complacent: these were problems that just result. seemed “far away” and there just wasn’t as much preparation here. What they did – and did early on - was to test a lot. In South Korea, they were able to run tens of thousands of tests per day. In most cases, the re- that can lead to the downfall of the system: the sults were negative but of course in other cases they whole idea is that people take part and want to learned that many infected people were asympto- help. We can talk about incentives to cooperate but matic and that was a very useful result. above all people should not have any reason NOT to cooperate. How important a role did the smart quaran-

Forum 8 Forum tines play there? By that, you mean guaranteeing that the 8 Forum

This is something else they implemented very information will remain private, not be quickly. When we talk about contact tracing that is passed on and not be accessed by other something that all countries already do to an ex- state institutions, where the risk of abuse tent, but with different degrees of success. The big would exist… difference was that South Korea was very diligent The information absolutely needs to be protected, in testing and very carefully followed the chain: to be kept secret from everybody else, there needs

Science Lab when someone tested positive, the South Koreans to be a clear outline when the data will be de- Science Lab Smart quarantines: were very careful to follow up on all others who stroyed and people need to know for what purpos- 34 were in the chain. In Europe, until now, we put the es it will be used. And it needs to be separate from 35 main contacts in quarantine, but it often stopped all other state purposes. What I think makes sense there. We didn’t follow others on the chain dili- there is to build a really separate infrastructure be- gently; because this illness can be largely asympto- cause that will both reassure people and also make a “first step” back matic in many cases, that has a negative effect. it physically very hard for the state to abuse that data. It is also something that can be torn down What kind of data was monitored? easily and removed once the crisis has passed. The In South Korea, they used many different sources: only other state records you need are addresses be- medical histories and histories of recent doctor’s cause obviously if someone has been infected, you to normal life visits. Then, they tracked cell phones (usually with need to find those people. But you don’t need the consent even though the legal situation suggests data to otherwise be cross-referenced. they can do so without a warrant). They traced credit card transactions (which is very useful in a What we saw at the height of the crisis in the As the coronavirus held the world in its grip – claiming society where everyone pays by card) and they used Czech Republic were blanket restrictions, CCTV cameras to check where people had been. requiring people to stay home, to work from lives across the globe – it grew apparent that an They also used data from apps. Apps tailored for home if they could, to keep children out of important tool in fighting the spread was the intro- monitoring, which can be used very quickly, are an schools. Almost all businesses were closed asset while data from cameras is far harder to gath- and a great deal of commercial activity was duction of smart quarantines: tracing the movement er and verify. stopped, to flatten the curve. Yes, it is effectively a “dumb” quarantine where of infected individuals to free up at least some sectors What is, potentially, the weakest link in you have to treat everyone as if they were infected: of society. The potential impact was examined in smart tracing or a smart quarantine? everyone has to wear masks, to stay at home and If people don’t cooperate, that can hurt these ef- avoid meeting others including older family mem- a study by economist Ole Jann, published by CERGE-EI. forts significantly. There are different reasons why bers. But as we learn who is likely to be infected, they might not be helping: someone might shrug to be part of the chain, that means we can free up STORY BY Jan Velinger PHOTOS FROM Shutterstock, Ole Jann‘s personal archive off only mild symptoms and not report them. And other parts of society and economic activity. I suppose a super flu was the biggest hypo- ing, that would be very detrimental and could be thetical worry before Covid-19? catastrophic and then the only solution is to rein- An infection is a stochastic thing and it Sure, or if you take the 2015 Ebola outbreak. With troduce blunt rules for everyone. And as we talked Ebola, people have symptoms and succumb very about, someone who is having an extramarital is a question of probability: we can’t say quickly, meaning they can’t infect as many oth- affair, or someone dodging taxes or someone who ers. But imagine something as dangerous as Ebola goes to a brothel, needs absolute assurance that no for sure even if you met someone for an which would be asymptomatic - that would be very one is interested in that information or will pass hour who has it that for sure you will hard to control. it on. The only thing that is needed is to trace the route of infection. get it or that you will not get it if you Your paper mentions very clearly that when a society tries to implement a smart quaran- That’s a line that stuck in my head from Dr. met for only two minutes. tine it only gets one shot. Why is that? Emily Landon at her press conference in the The rules and procedures have to be well-designed US near the start of the crisis when she said and clear and have to dissuade people from being “It‘s really hard to feel like you‘re saving the clever about the rules and trying to trick the sys- world when you‘re watching Netflix from tem. For example, someone may try to be clever your couch.” to shorten their quarantine and so on. There is a (laughs) Yes, but that is what is expected when you In the Czech Republic, one worry was that South Korea, instead of having cases in the hun- bit of a culture sometimes about being clever with have a lockdown. Not to fight in the trenches but people might be wary about being so closely dreds, rose to around 10 thousand. rules and some people take pride in getting around to sit on the sofa and stay at home. monitored - even during such a crisis… them, from labour to tax laws. In the case of trac- There are cultural differences and there are different And of course we see how serious the situa- approaches to community and the individual’s role tion became, from country to country. in community, but another reason is that the Czechs The number of deaths rose and the strictness of have a very recent history of state surveillance and the measures by the government sent a message. the state invading peoples’ private lives and using We also saw what is going on in other countries. what it finds against them. In South Korea, they One snag is that, if you are successful, it will never

Forum 8 Forum don’t have that kind of experience and also they become fully apparent how serious the situation 8 Forum have more community enforcement, more enforce- was. If you look at the past cases, SARS or the ment of the rules. All of these things matter a lot. swine flu, governments did react and did so quickly and effectively. In the case of SARS, SARS had a In South Korea, how well did their smart mortality rate of 10 percent: if that had broken out quarantine work? Were there blind spots? uncontrollably, there would be fewer people living Did they plan for the data not being com- in the Czech Republic and elsewhere now.

Science Lab plete? Science Lab I think they did and it’s the only reasonable thing Many people rediscovered or learned about 36 to do: there are going to be contacts you miss. You Bill Gates’ now famous Ted Talk from 2015 37 can’t catch every case. Not everyone will be forth- where he warned exactly of the danger of coming, things will be overlooked; also, an infec- microbes and that the next crisis the world tion is a stochastic thing and it is a question of faced would be a pandemic. Many steps are probability: we can’t say even if you met someone now being implanted to try and curb the for an hour who has it that for sure you will get it spread but given how many countries were or that you will not get it if you met for only two caught off guard, do you think we will be bet- minutes. The goal is to make the system as reliable ter prepared next time, if and when Covid-19 as possible and if something does pop up that we is in the rearview mirror? didn’t expect, to follow up very quickly. Find the You can never learn the lesson completely, even initial contact, then contacts of contacts, and test looking back. There will be lots of differences be- them. tween what happened here, what happened in Ger- many and what happened in the US. There will be How great an impact can a single missed different analysis and various explanations and fac- contact have? tors, such as the age of the population and so on. It can be enormous. In South Korea, they reacted Of course, we will learn from Covid-19 but what so quickly and looked at so many people travelling we learn may not be applicable next time. We have from China, they had the epidemic pretty much been talking about South Korea and Singapore: under control for the first 30 patients. But then they were very lucky in the sense that the kind of came the famous patient number 31, who contin- outbreak they prepared for was similar to SARS or Ole Jann is an assistant professor of economics at CERGE-EI, ued to participate in daily life, did not follow the MERS. But the next such pandemic or epidemic a joint workplace of Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences. He was previously prize postdoctoral research fel- measures, did not tell anyone although she had the might well be very different. The lessons might not low at the University of Oxford. He studied economics in Berlin symptoms, went to church and was in close contact be as useful or could even lead us down the wrong and Copenhagen and he received his PhD from the University of with others and infected up to 1,000 other people. path. You have to do more than just learn from Copenhagen. He is principal investigator of the Charles University They infected still more people and then it became what happened but have to simulate or try to antic- PRIMUS project “Information Revelation and Privacy in the Infor- very difficult to get back under control. That’s why ipate the next kind of threat. mation Age”. We benefited a lot from our know-how in constructing the Czech version of the German kurzarbeit (short-time work system). The Model Initiative anti-Covid−19 for the Czech Republic was Ideas for restarting created in early April by René Levínský and Pavel Hroboň. The initiative covers and supports coor- dination and logistics for the complicated agenda of epidemiological modeling, which has proven to be crucial to the Czech Republic from a number the country of perspectives. Unfortunately, we encountered a relatively chilly reception for these models from More than 20 the state, as well as a reluctance to provide certain They aren’t as visible as medical workers wear- In the first phase of the fight necessary data for a better calibration of the mod- ing masks or face shields, but that doesn’t mean anti­‑Covid studies el. Cooperation was also established with the PAQ they haven’t been hard at work, weighing numer- against coronavirus, doctors Research organisation on an agenda of collecting ous models and considering different approaches research data in real time: PAQ – Life during the on how to stop Covid−19, while limiting as much and other healthcare workers In the first two months of the crisis, IDEA pro- pandemic. The IDEA anti-Covid19 project encom- as possible damage to the economy. Scientists at helped. But experts from duced more than 20 studies presenting knowledge passes wide-ranging inter- and multi-disciplinary CERGE-EI began their mission in mid-March. from wide-ranging areas of modern economics rel- efforts by dozens of scientists from a wide variety Central in the fight against the virus was the CERGE-EI, the joint workplace evant in the context of combating the epidemic. of workplaces in the Czech Republic and abroad. launching of the IDEA anti-Covid−19 project, issu- Everything began on March 14 with an email Although academics are involved mainly out of ing recommendations to help mitigate the impact of Charles University and the from a colleague, Jakub Steiner (himself a holder enthusiasm for the cause and with an awareness of or negative effects which hit, and are likely to fur- Czech Academy of Sciences, of an ERC grant who works at CERGE-EI and at social responsibility, the effort has already received ther affect, Czech society. the University of Zurich), which describes the sto- operational support from the Experientia Founda-

Forum 8 Forum “In the first phase of the fight against corona- also contributed. They were ry well. tion and the Česká spořitelna foundation. 8 Forum

virus, doctors, nurses and epidemiologists helped. determined to do their part, “Dan, I found a very good text on the econom- Now it’s time for us – the economists. We want to ics of epidemics by Kevin Bryan. It explains the Daniel Münich, Ph.D. use our knowledge so that a minimum of people having worked on dozens of standard epidemiological model from the perspec- IDEA Executive Director at CERGE-EI lose their jobs, so that they don’t drown in debt, so tive of game theory in the context of the Covid−19 that as few companies as possible go bankrupt, and potentially beneficial studies crisis. What do you think about this proposal: what so that the economy can return to normal as soon throughout the crisis. if we quickly translated it into Czech, and shared it Science Lab as possible after the crisis,” explains IDEA Exec- widely across social networks as an IDEA study… Science Lab utive Director Daniel Münich. He adds: “We also It’s important to quickly explain in the Czech envi- STORY BY Pavla Hubálková 38 want to contribute to people’s understanding of ronment that economic motivations and externali- 39 PHOTOS BY Hynek Glos, CU archive how all crises can affect us all and how they can be ties will be important for handling the epidemic. It prevented.” could be very useful in public discussions during Scientists have not only addressed current is- the crisis. If we divide up the text and I edit it, it Solutions for quarantine and debt sues such as how to best end the across-the-board can be done within 24 hours,” Steiner’s e-mail Six ways to restart Top scientists published more than 20 papers fo- measures related to the pandemic and return to read. the economy cusing on how to “freeze” the economy so that it normal life without the threat of making it worse, And on 18 March it was the first in a series of can be restarted quickly after the pandemic sub- but have also dealt with epidemiological models. studies titled The Economics of Social Distancing for In May 2020, the IDEA think-tank run by the leading sides, how to best set up data collection for smart Another project is the Život během pandemie (Life Everyone: The Covid−19 case with a foreword by the and award-winning economist Filip Matějka compiled quarantines, or how to communicate with the during the pandemic) survey, which examined de- original author and a comprehensive summary for six goals for the following months. The steps explained public. Contributions were often based on foreign velopments in 2‚500 Czech households. Every two the public. Other original studies on various topics how best to reawaken the economy. studies but recast or examined within a Czech con- weeks, researchers asked how the epidemic and re- followed in rapid succession. Dozens of scientists text and the Czech milieu. Some of the econo- lated measures were affecting the country’s house- and doctoral students from both CERGE-EI and 1. Reduce uncertainty. mists involved, such as Filip Matějka (a holder of holds and family life, learning how participants’ other Czech and foreign research institutes grad- 2. Encourage payment morale and restore a European Research Council ERC grant), Štěpán attitudes had changed, how much their economic ually got involved. The benefits can be traced not market efficiency. Jurajda or Daniel Münich, temporarily joined state situation had shifted and, in the case of students in only from the rich responses in the media and rep- 3. Provide liquidity to companies that are advisory bodies. the family, how well they had adapted to distance licated in public discussion, but can also be seen in useful or viable in the long term. learning. a number of measures adopted. For example, our 4. Stimulate demand intelligently through “Our recommendations are based on best prac- proposals for temporary amendments to insolven- state purchases. tices, and are supported by data and relevant re- cy laws were soon put into practice. We proposed a 5. Promote international cooperation. In the first phase of the fight search. They are intended for the government, low interest-bearing payment of insurance premi- 6. Avoid distraction from anything not against coronavirus, doctors, experts from ministries, journalists and the general ums from employee wages as a first aid measure related to the current crisis. nurses and epidemiologists public. We don’t want to give princely advice. We in the middle of March and now it is going to the want to help,” says CERGE-EI’s director Sergey Senate. helped. Now it’s time for us – the Slobodyan. economists. Source: IDEA, CERGE-EI Michal Škrabal: A nice current example up a certain term. I deal with it by pub- is the word “promořování” (herd immu- lishing the name of the person who sent nity), which sounds dreadful – it must me the neologism first, which of course provoke horror and panic in the aver- doesn’t mean they’re the author. age person, especially if they’re glued to their television screens, going over Do we play with words more than New “corona statistics and getting massaged by this other nations? media hysteria. But if you then listen to an interview with an expert who really MK: I don’t think we’re exceptional. understands the given topic because he, There are dictionaries of slang and new as opposed to others, has been work- words such as urbandictionary.com, Martin Kavka graduated from ing on it for a long time, he can explain which is kind of our English equiva- the business academy in Ostra- va. He worked as a journalist, words” helped everything in plain language. It never lent and a foreshadowing of our own editor and marketing special- would have occurred to me what a bal- website, Čeština 2.0. But as the linguist ist. Now works as a copywrit- sam for the ears and soul a simple in- and Czech scholar Jiří Marvan, who has er and copy editor. In 2008 terview would be with someone who at given lectures on the Czech language he founded the online dictio- this time can speak calmly, soberly and on almost every continent once said, the nary Čeština 2.0 (Czech 2.0). matter-of-factly. advantage of Czech is that it’s just the Ten years later, together with us laugh right size. It’s neither large nor small. Michal Škrabal, he prepared Do you look for the authors of the Also, it’s not a global language which its printed version, Hacknutá neologisms that you receive? has to be comprehensible to everyone, it čeština: Neortodoxní slovník can allow itself more insight and wit. It dnešní mateřštiny (Hacked “Czech is not a global language, so we don’t feel as much Czech: An unorthodox dictio- I try to, but it’s something like a uses its potential for itself, and doesn’t MK: nary of today’s mother tongue) pressure to be comprehensible as with languages such good joke. If I can find the person who have to take non-native speakers into ac- which includes their selection used the word first from open sources, count. The whole world speaks English, of the 3‚000 most interesting as English. We can play with it at will,” says journalist and then I mention it in the dictionary. But and the pressure for simplicity is much expressions of non-standard copywriter Martin Kavka. “At the same time, there’s no what mostly happens is that five differ- stronger, while we can play with our lan- Czech, mostly neologisms.

Forum 8 Forum ent people will claim that they thought guage as we please. 8 Forum need to worry about its future,” adds lexicographer Michal Škrabal of the Institute of the Czech National Corpus at the CU Faculty of Arts. Eleven years ago, Kavka founded a

Language website for neologisms, or newly-invented words, called Language

40 Čeština 2.0 (Czech 2.0). 41

STORY BY Jitka Jiřičková PHOTOS BY René Volfík, Shutterstock

Now Kavka and Škrabal have published 400 soon, maybe 500, because the rise clensions and verb tenses, add prefixes some of the new words in book form. has been massive. and suffixes like ‘(v)olajkovat’ or ‘(v) Of course they weren’t happy about the odlajkovat’ (an informal Czech transposi- current crisis, but thanks to their fond- Where does this increased need to tion of the English ‘like’ and ‘unlike’). It ness for Czech, they were able to have at create new words spring from? doesn’t seem forced or artificial. least a little fun. MK: It’s one of the ways to describe a It seems to me that these new On average, how many neologisms new situation, often with exaggeration, words relieved social tension at a got added to your online dictionary and thus a kind of coping mechanism. difficult time. They sound sympa- every day? If you recall, when Facebook, Twitter thetically unforced. For example, and other modern sites appeared, they the word “koronáč” doesn’t seem Martin Kavka: More than 20, which brought with them new terminology tak- as depressing as coronavirus. is about triple the usual number. The en from English, so for example, instead coronavirus is beyond all previous of saying “líbí se mi” you’ll hear “lajku- MK: Exactly. The new words tell a sto- benchmarks. The first word, ‘skorona- ju” (a Czech transposition of “I like”). ry not only about the present, but also virus’ (‘skoro’ meaning ‘almost’ plus Words that are simple and concise are about the national culture, such as its coronavirus) appeared on our site on 28 the ones that catch on. Why be held back specific sense of humour. They reflect January. It signifies a flu so strong that it with lengthy transcription when we can our attitude toward life. The crisis meas- raises suspicions of being sick with Cov- express ourselves quickly? What’s more, ures affected absolutely everyone, and id−19. Since then, more than 300 words Czech is incredibly malleable. It enables people had a need to react to it by, for were added. We’re going to jump over us to easily handle the neologisms’ de- example, creating new words. Lexicographer Michal Škrabal (left) and Martin Kavka, author of the online dictionary Čeština 2.0 MŠ: All people on the planet have had But you yourselves decided to pub- gasbags and wiseacres, we need educat- to adapt to new situations and this in- lish the dictionary in book form. ed and professionally trained people; we cludes their language, to frame things Were you afraid it might meet the simply won’t make it without specialisa- verbally. In this regard, we really won’t same fate? tion. Today we need epidemiologists. To- be any more or less playful than the morrow it’ll be entomologists and who Uruguayans or the Tongans, although MK: We prepared it for the 10th anni- knows, the day after tomorrow it might from what I know about the Tongans versary of the founding of Čeština 2.0. be etymologists. … What I really see is sort of pan-hu- This isn’t a classic dictionary. Instead man universalism, which gives the genus we wanted to try to present the past Can you predict which new words Homo an admirable degree of adaptabil- decade from the perspective of a mod- will settle in the Czech dictionary Neologisms in the time of coronavirus ity to new conditions and the ability to ern living language. Because every word for good? survive in them. was added by someone different, their (taken from the online emotional colouring is different. They’re MK: I like haranténa (‘harant’ meaning Do you remember the first word these playful little feuilletons of our ‘brat’ plus ‘karanténa’ meaning ‘quar- dictionary Čeština 2.0): that brought you to the idea of col- time. We didn’t try to play arbiter and antine’ or spending the quarantine lecting neologisms? judge whether a specific word was ap- with your kids at home) and naroušitel propriately formed or not. It should be (‘narušit’ meaning ‘to disrupt’ plus ‘rouš- MK: Quite clearly. I once heard a young comprehensible to as many people as ka’ meaning ‘mask’ or a person being lady on a tram tell another young lady possible, and it should be clear from its disruptive in public without a mask). koronaut [kəˈrəʊnənɔːt] koronovela [kəˈrəʊˈnɒvəla] that her boyfriend was a ‘sračkogán’ definition why it was created at all. They accurately capture the atmosphere (‘sračka’ meaning ‘the runs’ plus ‘to- in society, yet there’s a bit of a smirk a healthcare worker dressed in personal never-ending and detailed news reports bogán’ meaning ‘toboggan’). I start- MŠ: Hacknutá čeština (Hacked Czech) in them, a pleasant exaggeration. As to protective equipment during the about the coronavirus ed writing down these new words, and wasn’t intended as a serious diction- whether they’ll really stick around, that’s coronavirus epidemic (combining the words (‘koronavirus’ plus ‘telenovela’) when I had a nice collection of them, it ary work. That’s a task or even a fate up to time and people. Some clues are ‘koronavirus’ and ‘kosmonaut’) occurred to me that I could start a web- for other colleagues. We rather intend- already in the online dictionary. People prymulex [prɪmulɛks] site and let other people add their own. ed it as a sort of chronicle of our time, can evaluate every newly added word – The advantage of an online dictionary is as Martin says; a specific cross-section they either give a thumbs up or down. netkafe [netˈkæfeɪ] the set of government measures

Forum 8 Forum how up to date it is. It gains new words of the timeline. It was primarily about The most popular words are the ones to meet someone for coffee, but online against coronavirus; named after chief 8 Forum quickly, continuously, everyone can take entertaining our readers and secondar- that cross over to the regular vocabulary (referring to the internet and Nescafe) epidemiologist Roman Prymula (and part in it and help to understand the ily about forcing them to think about most often. Language is a tremendous- referring to Primalex, a popular house paint, neologisms as soon as they are created. certain issues related to vocabulary and ly democratic organism. People will use koronáfuka [kəˈrəʊnə:fukʌ] Classic academic printed dictionaries language in general. only what they like, what fits in their as well as ‘lex’ meaning ‘law’) get old quickly. Before it’s published, mouths and what has emotional value a person who knows absolutely everything

Language certain words or neologisms aren’t in- How did you divide tasks when for them. Words that sound too artifi- about the coronavirus; if he ran the state rouškomil [rəʊʃkəʊˈmɪl] Language cluded but become part of ordinary working on the book? cial or too difficult to pronounce will there would be no infections and no deaths a person who wears a mask even during 42 speech, while others just fade away and disappear. 43 (‘korona’ from ‘coronavirus’ plus ‘nafoukaný’ activities where it isn’t required become incomprehensible to readers. MŠ: I was the notional guarantor of lexi- cographical staff culture. As a conscious MŠ: I don’t want to make any predic- meaning ‘a blowhard’) (‘rouška’ meaning ‘mask’ plus the suffix -mil and conscientious amateur, which is to tions but I will say that we have several meaning ‘lover’) say a lover of the Czech language, Mar- candidates for Word of the Year already. koronášup [kəˈrəʊnə:ʃuːp] tin turned to me as a person from a field For example, ‘rouška’ (mask) or ‘ústenka’ the second wave of infection (‘korona’ from covidět se [kəʊˈvɪgɛt] where he felt a bit wobbly – he visibly (disposable mask) have had a remarka- ‘coronavirus’ plus ‘šup’ meaning ‘whoosh’) to co-videoconference, to see each other by didn’t want to risk that the resulting ar- ble “career”. So it occurs to me, Martin, tefact would be rushed off, half-baked, that ‘ústenka’ could also be a free pass to video chat in the time of coronavirus

bungled. I appreciate this kind of ap- the city of Ústí nad Labem if necessary zoombík [zuːmbiːk] proach, and I’d wish for it to be shared under quarantine. I remember when a user of the Zoom videoconferencing app deprymulovaný [deprɪmuːləʊˈvæni] by as much of the population as possi- that city was flooded, the country’s who has become zombified depressed by the measures proposed by ble. The current crisis shows us, among jokesters had renamed it Ústí pod Labem chief epidemiologist Roman Prymula other things, that despite any number of (Ústí-under-the-Labe). Yet one more of the countless pieces of evidence that we really don’t have to worry about our mother tongue or the “risk” of English taking over.

Michal Škrabal, Ph.D., Studied Czech language and literature – Latvian and mathematical linguistics at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University. Since 2015 he has worked as a researcher at the Institute of the Czech National Corpus at Charles University He has worked as the editor of the magazine Tvar and as a lan- guage proofreader, and occasionally translates Latvian fiction. During the crisis, he began his long-postponed study of Lithuanian to become a full-fledged, so-called ‘two-eyed’ Baltic scholar. Reading makes us who we are CU graduate Anežka Kuzmičová returned to Prague after more than a decade abroad to conduct new research into children’s reading, made possible largely thanks to the Primus programme.

Forum 8 Forum STORY BY Martin Rychlík PHOTOS BY Martin Pinkas 8 Forum

Kuzmičová completed her Master’s in comparative Getting to the core of readers’ experiences

Alumni literature and Scandinavian studies at CU’s Fac- Kuzmičová’s focus is research into reading, espe- Alumni ulty of Arts back in 2007; from there, she contin- cially children’s reading, in a natural environment. 44 ued her studies at Stockholm University, where she “I wanted to work in a team that would be formal- 45 received her doctorate. Research took her to other ised in some way. Until now, I’ve held an individ- places as well: to Denmark, England and Canada. ual postdoc position, and for the last two years I Now – some 12 years later – she’s back at Charles worked in Bristol; all contacts and collaborations University. depended on my personal initiative. It was informal “I had a post-doctoral position in Stockholm academic cooperation, not consolidated by an offi- that I knew would be ending in January, and had cial grant, so to speak,” she says in Prague. taken some time to complete. In Sweden, you can From the start she knew exactly whom and what postpone work – including research – for maternity she wanted. “There are four academics on the leave and I had had two children. For the last two team. Each member brings something complete- years, I had been thinking intensively about what ly different to the project and that is the main joy to do next, and we wanted to return to the Czech for me,” she says. The three-year project is called Republic,” Kuzmičová says. Now she’s researching Integrating Text & Literacy Research (InT&L). Kuz- reading – ultimately how reading informs who we mičová’s senior colleague is Markéta Supa of the are – at the Institute of Czech Language and Theo- Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University, ry of Communication at the Faculty of Arts. who researches media education, as well as how She first prepared to apply with the Grant Agen- children experience media, its messages and narra- cy of the Czech Republic, but the head of the tives. “She’s inspired me a lot. She’s got a lot of ex- department, Jan Chromý, suggested that she try perience from abroad and a doctorate from Great Charles University’s internal Primus programme as Britain. She’s building something that didn’t exist a viable alternative. Primus exists primarily to help in the Czech Republic,” Kuzmičová says. The re- young researchers establish new research teams at searcher is also betting on two younger colleagues CU; it started its fifth year in March. Alongside 21 who are doctoral students: Jana Segi Lukavská who other researchers, Kuzmičová won support and has focuses on children’s culture and Kamila Homolk- CZK 4 million at her disposal for her research over ová whose area of expertise includes didactics and the next three years. communication in education. In 2019 the Swed- with text.” But children have to enjoy it enough to has extensive experience in this regard; she has ish magazine Fokus published feel motivated to talk about texts in depth. She is been published in academic journals such as Semi- a list of the top interested in how the will to read can be skillfully otica, Communication Theory, the Journal of Gen- researchers in developed, promoted and stimulated. eral Psychology or Poetics Today. Last October, in Sweden in which Anežka Kuzmičová Swedish children’s literature used to be a buz- a ranking in the magazine Fokus, she was ranked came first among zword and category unto itself. What’s it like there first among all humanities researchers in Sweden, researchers in the today? “The image presented by the media is not something which surprised her considerably. “I humanities; “her” surprising: just like here, the perception is that thought they’d made a mistake,” she laughs. The Stockholm Univer- sity was the most Swedish children don’t read. But of course they do. ranking’s methodology was based on work pub- successful overall, Some schools have introduced 10 minutes of listen- lished between 2012 and 2015 and citation track- while Malmö was ing to a self-selected audiobook every morning, so ing adjusted with a subject coefficient, which was the most effective. children have a moment of experience and concen- overseen by an expert who led the latest reform of tration. The teacher doesn’t care what the topic is; Swedish university financing. A religious stud- what’s important is the setting – ‘now I’m enjoy- ies scholar from Stockholm came in second place, ing this and I have the time to notice how I feel,’” while a lecturer in ancient culture from Gothen- Kuzmičová says. She adds that expert and parental burg placed third. experience show how important it is for children What would she say was the most important skill in various stages of life to be enchanted by themes she learned abroad? “Mainly how to work in an presented in books: children then concentrate on environment where nobody knows me. In different selecting what they’re interested in: football, ad- countries, even the disciplines look different; it gave venture, nature… Early literacy instruction in the me the possibility to define myself, what I do and Czech Republic apparently focuses on reading for how I do it, and to concentrate on relatively big information and then in later stages it is all learn- topics. And the best decision right at the beginning ing about literature. That risks missing important was to start writing all publications in English,” aspects: experiences, scenes, visualisation and the says Kuzmičová, who originally studied Swedish. pure joy of reading itself. “It’s a shame when teachers don’t tell children anything about how they read themselves,” she says. This is why she wants to teach a new course Forum 8 Forum 8 Forum

For a long time and on an interdisciplinary ba- alyse primary level reading anthologies and leisure at the Faculty of Arts called Reading: Theory, Prac- sis, Kuzmičová has been delving into the depths of books. “We’re aiming at lower primary. In our case tice, Reflection. During the semester, university reading as a cognitive process and activity, and has it’s from third to fifth grade which is a period when students will take one book they’ve long wanted published a number of studies. Her work shows, it’s very important to develop reading on a volition- to read but were never able to get around to, and

Alumni for example, how important the inner experience al basis. We would like our findings to be appli- during 12 weeks they’ll read it in a self-reflective Alumni is for reading, as well as what different reading sit- cable. For me, it’s extremely important to build a style and thoroughly analyse not only the book but 46 uations and visual scenes stored in memory do for more lasting relationship with the education sec- above all their own reading processes. 47 text comprehension. In other words, she focuses on tor, but at the same time I realise how difficult the how books co-create or help form readers’ person- profession is in practice and that there aren’t that Results for research and practice alities (and vice versa). many teachers exactly waiting for theoretical ad- The team intend to use the findings from their Given the context, it seems natural that a psy- vice,” she laughs. research in primary schools and elsewhere in aca- chologist would be a part of the team, but that demic publications as well as in developing recom- isn’t the case. Kuzmičová explains: “I’ve already Enjoying learning mendations for practitioners. Kuzmičová already worked with psychologists a lot, and I will be using Anežka Kuzmičová’s older child transferred from them as consultants. This time I’m not planning a British school to a regular Czech school. “Af- experimental research. We’re interested primari- ter returning as a parent, I’ve noticed a few things. ly in reading in its natural environment. For us it’s It seems to me, for example, that not very many about what happens in the field, for example in teachers try actively to make the child happy and Anežka Kuzmičová, Ph.D., liter- ary scholar, originally in Scan- school. How reading is approached both at home enjoy learning,” Kuzmičová says. One way to in- dinavian studies, returned to and in school,” she replies, adding that she has crease enjoyment is through activities promoted CU’s Faculty of Arts in January already made arrangements at different schools in by the Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking from work stays at Stockholm the Czech Republic. In addition, the team will an- (RWCT) initiative which trains educators to culti- University and in most recently vate the joy of reading in children by sharing expe- Great Britain. Last year, the riences and feelings and talking about them. Swedish magazine Fokus listed In excellent company “The purpose of our project is to see how chil- her as the most cited humani- Kuzmičová is among 22 young researchers who dren are – or could be – led to start perceiving ties researcher in Sweden. She received Charles University internal Primus grants reading as a holistic experience; that it isn’t just received internal support from the Primus programme and for three years to start their own research teams. The something abstract that happens in their heads, but largest number of successful applicants so far were as of 1 January 2020 leads the also something that they can experience physically InT&L research group inves- from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (6 recip- and that can shape them,” Kuzmičová says, adding ients), the Faculty of Science (5 recipients) and the tigating reading in natural envi- that reading is also a social activity where, in the First Faculty of Medicine (4 recipients). ronments and its impact on words of Ondřej Hausenblas, “people commune personality. drilling process, this is where we face We want to find out whether expertise in the subject will likely result the greatest risks and have to take the in an international team. “A substan- greatest care, but we will at least give it the rapid melting of the tial part of the grant amount will be re- a try”. If the scientists succeed in get- ice sheet may contribute quired to cover the drilling itself as well ting the samples needed, the field phase to an increase in methane as flight hours of helicopter transport,” “I have actually never will be followed by laboratory work with Stibal says. He made dozens of trips to concentration in the atmos- done anything else,” is incubation experiments, and computer Greenland, especially during the time modelling. phere and so constitute a he worked in Copenhagen – he would how Marek Stibal, who has The presence of methane under the positive climate warming just take his backpack and fly there for a Greenland Ice Sheet has been con- weekend. To do science, naturally. been studying biological firmed: its release was discovered in feedback. processes in glacial 2015 by a team of scientists from eight A return to science… and the band institutions including Charles Univer- accelerating melting. “I am mostly inter- Marek has not seen a glacier for almost ecosystems for almost 20 sity. The concentrations of dissolved ested in the microbial processes occur- two years. Not that they have lost their methane in samples of meltwater from ring under the glacier,” he says. charm for him, far from it; the reason years, sums up his career a 600 km2 ice sheet catchment were is prosaic – he became a father last Au- as a scientist. Stibal, from determined and its origin analysed. An international team is being gust and wants to spend as much time The measured amount of six tonnes assembled as possible with his son. “Gradually, I the Faculty of Science per melting season corresponds to the “It does look like a significant amount am starting to focus more on science methane production of a hundred cows. of money,’ Stibal agrees with a smile in again. What other choice do I have now at Charles University, is The new project should provide deeper answer to a question about what he is that the project’s been funded?” he asks. the co-author of a study insight into how much greenhouse gas going to do with the 58 million crowns The microbiologist is a little reluctant could potentially be released from the he was was awarded by the Ministry to speak about his hobby, playing in published in Nature that entire ice sheet. of Education, Youth, and Sports of the a band; he says that he and his fellow brought evidence of the “We want to find out whether the Czech Republic. That was based on musicians are rather lazy, all have small rapid melting of the ice sheet may con- submitting the project to the Europe- children, and their plans have also been release of methane from tribute to an increase in methane con- an Research Council. A simple calcula- affected by the coronavirus. This year,

Forum 8 Forum centration in the atmosphere and so tion, however, reveals that about a half they have only met three times in the re- 8 Forum the melting Greenland Ice constitute a positive climate warming of the amount will cover the salaries hearsal room and not more. “Don’t ask Sheet during the summer feedback.” This is where the microbi- of the team members, including three me about the musical style – it is differ- ologist sees one of the benefits of the postdocs, two Ph.D. students, a logistics ent every time,” Marek laughs, conclud- period. research, to which he adds immediate- manager (who will organise transpor- ing: “I won’t tell you the band’s name – ly “We’re realists. We already know that tation and coordinate the field work), you could google us!”

Research STORY BY Marcela Uhlíková there are much more significant anthro- and a project manager responsible for Research PHOTO BY Vladimír Šigut pogenic methane sources. The amount administration. 48 of methane coming from Greenland’s Team members will be recruited in 49 subglacial ecosystem will probably be several steps, as required by the project negligible globally, but still, it should structure. The limited pool of national not be ignored.” The team led by Marek Stibal will also be interested in how and when methane appeared under the approxi- mately million-year-old glacier, wheth- Boreholes in the er it has been produced continuously or whether it is old gas released due to

ice in Greenland Marek Stibal, Ph.D., is a microbial ecolo- gist interested in cryospheric ecosystems Further research of biological processes Kilometre-deep boreholes ble areas at the margin of the ice sheet (especially glaciers), based at the Depart- under the ice sheet have been made pos- The project will be split into several which have been used for research so ment of Ecology of the Faculty of Science sible by an ERC CZ Consolidator Grant phases: during the first, six sections of far, but from places where sediments are at Charles University. He has a degree in worth CZK 58 million. the western margin of the Greenland not affected, for example, by the pres- biology from the University of South Bohe- As the scientist admits, this will be Ice Sheet will be mapped for methane ence of oxygen. mia and obtained his PhD in glacial biogeo- the greatest challenge he has ever faced. release. To be able to answer fundamen- “It is this sampling that is potential- chemistry at the University of Bristol. Although his ERC Consolidator pro- At the same time, there are plenty of tal questions regarding the release of ly going to be the most interesting part ject was not funded directly by the ERC, it reasons to be excited: the boost in fund- greenhouse gases, he and colleagues will of the research,” says Stibal, adding received the highest evaluation – A – and ing means he will be able to hire the need to obtain samples of undisturbed “we will have to get through a layer of received support from the Czech Ministry best possible colleagues for his team. subglacial sediments. That means taking ice that in some places is up to a kilo- of Education, Youth and Sport through the The project will start on 1 July 2020. samples not only from easily accessi- metre thick. Due to the demands of the ERC CZ programme. I can see for miles and miles: on the ground in Greenland. 50 Research Forum 8 real world byinspired the numerous problems cannotbesolved ef- abstract networks. And we cansee that in solvelems whichwealso then wantto Studies of real networks openprob- was created itpurposely bysomebody? community appeared spontaneously, or qualities basedon that, suchas: has this appearing there, and deducecertain may study the patternsof relationships in anexample – onsocial networks, we in these networks.occurring To show it are interested in, issolving problems interconnected byrelations. What we road network, forexample: somepoints network, aFacebook relation network, a may be called anetwork. A computer agraphimagine assomething which haps the exponential. Mathematicians agraphusually imagines asaline, per- for non-experts. A non-mathematician project,ory which may bemisleading bounded expansion. “It isagraph-the- andcomplexity gorithms within andbeyond million forsolving a project named Al- this had to be postponed,” headds. Japan, however, due to the coronavirus Tokyo. I was supposed to beleavingfor the National Institute of Informaticsin Universitywith McGill inCanada and matician says. “We cooperate especially international cooperation,” the mathe - portantly, it will allow me to continuein work on the project with me. Most im- and otherdoctoral students who will to focusonresearch andfundapostdoc “Being awarded the grant will allow me mathematics Theoretical Dvořák obtained more than CZK7 STORY BY for hisresearch. received Granthe CZ Consolidator ERC the theory, and informatics, andtheoretical graph oncombinatorics, He focuses University. of Charles Institute Science Zdeněk Dvořák Computer the from paper,” mathematician says theoretical of my“Most work takes still place on Pavla Hubálková PHOTO BY

Vladimír Šigut and paperare forme.”winners working with somebody – but apencil and blackboards are great when you are ideas written there may beeasily erased, Sometimes, we also useblackboards – per centof my work takes place onpaper. They usecomputers, sometimes. “Ninety ideas are valid in the remaining time. the conceptsand verifying whether their apply to solutionsproblems to and trying cians takes place indiscussingideasand laughs. any ideaafter several hour’s work,” he in frontof my colleague ifIdidn’t get and of performance. I would feelstupid ferent approachesand thus more ideas, great motivation – both in ofterms dif- visiting somebody forafew weeks. Itis foreign colleague visits us, or when Iam ing with colleagues: “I amglad when a Zdeněk Dvořák, however, prefers work- many mathematicians work individually; mathematics tend to besmall, and As ageneral rule, research teams in Cooperation ismotivating in finding the required path quicker.” ofefficiency navigation – theymighthelp mighthelpimproveThese algorithms the it shouldn’t motivation. be the primary Practical useis, of course, important, but be done outof interest andcuriosity. annoying. The reason? “Science should isonehefindsslightly these algorithms ples’ possible practical useof solving research.” The question about exam- lems as well asinspiration forfurther will giveusnew tools forsolving prob - structure. If we succeedinfindingit, it there actually isany related geometrical and unknown: “We do notknow whether might bedescribed.” ple, that structure geometrical acertain limitations – whether there is, forexam- find thehierarchy of qualitative network theoretical: “The goal of the projectis to ple.” ZdeněkDvořák’s research ispurely exceptions: are bridges agoodexam- there are numerousimperfections and use.in their tations Atsame time, the arbitrarily – andlimi- there are rules “Roads, forexample, cannotintersect they findinspiration in the real world: complexity of networks. Onceagain, It may beexplained aslimiting the of boundeded expansion.the theory the mathematician explains. fectively inanentirely abstract network,” The work of theoretical mathemati- The entire approachisentirely new This is why mathematicians invent- ing sci-filiterature and doing the Jap- admits. saw measpromisingat that time,” he graph theory.honouredfeel that they I crete mathematics, combinatorics, and promising scientistsin the field of dis- torics: isawarded“This prize to young most is inCombina - the EuropeanPrize in 2011. However, the onehe values the the Neuron for Prize young scientists tiple occasionsforhis work andreceived less success,” hestates. in the CzechRepublic, however, with consultations. Iintroducingitheretried they wouldhave tutors – nication with active in their interaction andcommu- the US was that the students were more students with teachers: “What Iliked in he missesmostismore interaction of esting.” home,returning After thething literature or theatre. Ifound that inter- bine mathematics with suchsubjectsas the United States. Studentsmay com- ing – universityeducation isbroaderin What isinteresting, is the way of teach- abroad as well asin the CzechRepublic. equipment – a pencil andpaperisused there. Inourfield we need nospecial da: “The scienceitselfisquite similar postdoc staysin the USAandCana- points out. ofspondence informatics,” seminars he high school students andalso corre- version of Mathematical Olympiad for “We organizeaninformatics-oriented and popularization, amongother things: The mathematician focuseson teaching Greater interaction isneeded am taking a walk, perhaps,” hesays. this newideacomessuddenly, when I about two weeks onaproblem, and then happens, when Ihave been working for time Igetanentirely unique idea. This solvingproblems.on “From timeto ples that proved effective inotherareas In hisleisure time, heenjoys read- Dvořák hasbeenrecognised onmul- He gotinspiration his also during Dvořák applyingtries - various princi and beyond bounded expansion. and beyond bounded CZ within grant andcomplexity Algorithms forERC hisproject inVancouver,University Thisyear, Canada. hewas awarded an of Technology Institute Georgia andSimonFraser USA inAtlanta, two at years informatics. Hespent asapostdoc and theoretical focusing graph University oncombinatorics, theory,of Charles Zdeněk Dvořák, Ph.D.,

works at the Computer Science Institute Institute works Science at Computer the funding limits. funding dueto noEUfunding received but titions, compe ERC inthe achieved results great whohave of Education totry researchers CZ awarded grantsERC are by Minis the outputs). oftion research of commercializa phase early inthe port andProof-of-Concept (sup researchers), of 2to 4 (groups Synergy researchers), Advancedprojects), (excellent senior own their teams or with researchers (young Consolidator researchers), reer (early-ca Starting grants: of ERC types toPresently, ispossible applyfor it 5 of research. newing perspectives orevenof extending boundaries, open its given the significantly,of influencing field potential the with ideas new revolutionary isonentirely emphasis A great in allfields. excellence at supporting inscience aimed grants very prestigious are These budget. EU the from andfunded Council Research grantsERC awarded are by European the says. intact nature. Ilove the contrast,” he metropolis like Tokyo of into the heart Within two hours, you cangetfroma it andIlove the Japanese landscape. ferent. Ienjoy discovering more about culture andmentality iscompletely dif- not a western-style one. The Japanese of the fewdeveloped countries which is for along time: “I would sayitisone improve.” 15 years, there isstillalot or to learn that although Ihave beendoing itfor el, mental relaxation. Ialso like the fact change. But there isalsolev- aspiritual which means that exercise isa welcome spend mostof the time at work sitting, it is, of course, aphysical activity –I Jodo. “Jodo hasseveral levels forme; ShintoMusoRyu art anese martial Japanese culture hasbeenhisinterest ------51 Research Forum 8 will be my right hand,” Testa adds. Al- What enriched him the most? “It’s the months of lockdown, I was extreme- though the sympathetic globetrotter has extremely important for researchers, es- ly disappointed because I couldn’t go worked at the Faculty of Social Sciences pecially at the beginning of their careers, with my friends to the pub!” he laughs, Enchantment for more than a year, he fell in love with to expand their horizons as much as switching to fluent Czech. Prague long ago. possible. Living and working in differ- ent countries helped me enormously. Epidemics as an opportunity for A longtime passion for Prague I learned seven languages – we could creativity Testa visited the Czech metropolis for have done this interview in Czech as The Covid−19 pandemic hasn’t threat- and the first time in 2002. During his studies well – but English is more accurate for ened his project, luckily, or at least so spirituality and academic activities, he then worked expressing myself. Absorbing knowledge far. Limited mobility is devastating in Spain and France (at the Sorbonne), in different places is invaluable. I have for science, but nevertheless, the ERC but also went to Estonia, Iceland and been exposed to various scientific envi- CZ plan will start within the next few Vienna, where he worked at various uni- ronments, approaches.” months, and field research is planned versities. In the meantime, he spent two Testa praises Prague and his work at for the end of the first year. “There’s a in Eastern Europe years as a postdoc at the University of Charles University. “There’s a good ra- pretty safe time cushion. But the doctor- Pardubice (2013 to 2015). Why Pardu- tio between the cost of living, quality of al students should come for interviews bice? Testa explains: life, and enjoyment, and working infra- next semester, so I believe that what “That was a bit of a coincidence. A structures. I’m very content and satisfied President Zeman said – about the bor- Italian scientist Alessandro Testa has already written four couple of days after my doctorate, I re- here. Students rate my courses well; I ders being closed all year – isn’t going to book-length monographs. The works focus on different ceived an offer from eastern Bohemia, to have enough time to write and publish, happen,” Testa says. Pardubice, and I said to myself, ‘Car- and I’ve received interesting opportuni- “Fortunately, my family is ok. The topics, such as on the relationship between ancient myths pe diem. Try it.’ It’s a nice region and ties for national and international coop- region I come from‚ Molise, is the least and modern mythology, public rituality, and the history of moreover close to Prague, which I fell in eration. I want to be worthy of this new affected in the entire country. I’m using love with,” Testa recalls. He was also en- opportunity here. I also have a lot of the current quarantine as a sabbatical religions. He has been published in renowned journals such chanted by eastern Europe; he lived in friends in Prague. And of course, the se- and I’m concentrating on writing,” Tes- Vienna in the following years. cret reason is the excellent beer. During ta says. In a couple of months, another as Folklore, Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, and book will come out with the Routledge

Forum 8 Forum Social Anthropology. publishing house: Ritual and Social (Dis) 8 Forum Order: A Cultural History of Popular Car- STORY BY Martin Rychlík PHOTO BY Hynek Glos nival in Europe which will be the first comparative historical-anthropological study in English on carnivals in Europe. Testa’s erudition, diligence and ideas nal opinions about the project and who pologist, Testa has extensive experience Another book should be borne from

Research have now been awarded with a pres- carefully considered every word I said, with revealing the subtler layers of re- his research on Central Europe. “Let’s Research tigious ERC CZ Starting Grant, which was very stressful and mentally drain- ligiosity through historical and ethno- hope that a lot of publications will be 52 is the Czech version of support from ing,” Testa says today – although now graphic methods. The methods include created from the ERC CZ project, but 53 the European Research Council for with a smile – now that he has a rich ca- field research, participant observation, in research you always take a risk be- outstanding applicants. Although Testa reer and a number of successes behind interviews and research in archives, as cause you don’t know how the research got high marks from the committee in him. well as the collection of other written will come together. But there will defi- Brussels, there wasn’t enough fund- materials, such as gray literature. There nitely be a book, articles and a con- ing left in the demanding competition Teamwork in archives and the field is a wide range of sources. The scientific ference. In addition, I’d like to get the to secure his project. Testa’s research What will his two-year project deal team plans to purchase software for data acquired knowledge to a wider audi- project, titled “The Re-Enchantment of with? “My project examines religious analysis as well as necessary books and ence – at lectures, events in museums Central-Eastern Europe,” received CZK phenomena that are re-emerging in the documents. and the like. My ambition is to advance 12 million (around EUR 435 thousand) countries of so-called Central and East- “The key task will be to study and knowledge not only among scientists from the Czech Ministry of Educa- ern Europe. Put simply: I’ll be interested understand the reasons for the return and experts, but also among the general tion for two years, with the obligation in religiosity in the Visegrad countries of spirituality or the general cultural public,” Testa concludes. to compete again for other internation- and eastern Germany. I don’t necessarily conditions and motivations that made it al funding – especially the EU’s ERC deal only with forms of official religiosi- possible for Central and Eastern Europe grant. ty such as Christianity, for example, but to rediscover this phenomenon, and to Charles University won three ERC with various alternative cults and new understand the historical and societal Alessandro Testa is an Italian historian and anthro- CZ projects; in addition to Testa, the religious movements. I’d like to capture factors that underlie this social trans- pologist working at the Institute of Sociological theoretical mathematician Zdeněk a broader picture in comparison with formation,” Testa says, explaining that Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles Dvořák of the Faculty of Mathematics more countries, and how the situation he has the Czech Republic, Slovakia, University. Alessandro Testa studied history, religion and Physics won one, as did ecologist has changed after the fall of the com- Poland, Hungary and eastern Germany and classical studies at universities in Italy (Florence, Marek Stibal of the Faculty of Science. munist regimes,” Testa says. in his sights. This will be the focus of a Rome, Messina) and in Paris (at the Sorbonne). He later worked in Tallinn and Vienna, as well as at the Univer- “People confuse ERC and ERC His ambition is to map the reasons five-member team. In addition to Testa, sity of Pardubice. He focuses on the anthropology of CZ quite a lot. The interview before and effects that are part of religiosi- there will be an three doctoral students religion and cultural heritage, and has lectured at a the commission in Brussels, a kind of ty, but which have not yet been suffi- chosen in an international selection number of universities. He is the author of four mon- ‘executioners’ squad’ of more than 20 ciently taken into account. As a trained process and one postdoc, most likely ographs and several edited volumes. He speaks 7 lan- experts, who also read about 10 exter- historian, religious scholar and anthro- from a Czech university. “The postdoc guages including Czech. 54 Spotlight Forum 8 STORY BY atand CU Princeton University.studied who stars onbinary anexpert Pejcha, was ofOne them Ondřej astrophysicist Czech Republic. inthe scientists promising won University Prize for Neuron Charles the atIn late young 2019, three researchers example, that my colleagues from the Institute of Some things really pleased me. happy, Iam very for you your upon things find return? You’d for abroad been several how years; did stars. interactions of binary the EuropeanResearchCouncil (ERC) to study year later Ireceived grant from aso-called starting ation of my team. IcameinSeptember 2017 anda That created aplace formeandensured the oper- programmeThe internal Primus made itpossible. ton? retu endowment Whatthe you fund. prompted to talented You have of one the“most as described been USA. in the tion. Ialready knewabout the Neuron when I was received itbefore mehave my respect andadmira - much. It’s arecognised award and the people who I was really happyabout itandIappreciate it very abroad? have it Czech scientists among areputation What was like it to Prize? winaNeuron Does Rychlík Martin rn to Charles Univerrn to Charles astrophysicists” byastrophysicists” of council the V1309 of of The secret PHOTO BY sity from Prince from sity Luboš WišniewskiLuboš binary - Faculty of Mathematics andPhysics inKarlín. into the expansionof the computingcluster at the I invested of part the moneyfrom the ERCgrant doing calculations onsupercomputers. After all, us project. Ourgroupsare related to eachotherby England andapostdoc inGermany - with aPrim recently hired ZdeněkMašínafter adoctorate in a grouphere working onquantum physics, which andblack holes.such asneutronstars There isalso relativity, and the physics aroundcompactobjects of gravity,cuses on the theory of the general theory derstand what the problem is. details of our work away, right but they quickly un- different problems thanI, so we cannotdiscuss the people andcapable scientists. They’re working on matics andPhysics are inquisitive very and smart Theoretical Physics at the CUFaculty of Mathe- individual faculties anddepartments.individual faculties The uni- impression that the situation varies greatly between It’s hard to take ageneral position becauseIget the improve? t areas there What did you f A large part of A largepart the research at ourinstitute fo- hat the university s hat university the ind less than optima than ind less star hould l? Are 55 Spotlight Forum 8 versity is divided into a large number of faculties der-of-magnitude astrophysics, where a randomly and each one often consists of many departments. selected student would go to the blackboard and With so many voices, it’s hard to find the necessary write down the thoughts and ideas for the solution harmony and to coordinate cooperation on larg- from other students, so there was also teamwork er goals. I also think that many departments and and communication. Charles University as a whole lack consensus on a truly long-term and detailed vision of development How has your research into binary stars over a period of 20 or 30 years. progressed in Prague? In 2019, we wrote several articles both with people You’re primarily a scientist, but last year you from our team and with foreign co-workers. Last told me you also wanted to teach. year, our team grew by two postdocs and two stu- I advise one bachelor student and two master stu- dents. We focused on theoretical models of gas and dents, which I enjoy. I’ve also been teaching a new dust dynamics as well as the transport and emission class: the astrophysics of gravitational wave sources. of radiation, which is our main source of informa- It’s related to the spectacular detection (LIGO de- tion about events in the Universe. The idea of the tected gravitational waves for the first time in Sep- project is to understand one of the phases in the tember 2015, which saw those behind the project evolution of binary stars, called the “common en- receive the Nobel Prize two years later), but I focus velope phase,” when two stars start to interact so more on what gravitational waves reveal to us about strongly that they can merge into a single object, or Ondřej Pejcha, Ph.D., is a the- celestial objects. I try to teach a little differently: shrink their orbit significantly. This is probably the oretical physicist and astro- physicist who won an ERC with my students we’ve tried group work, interac- most important phase in the evolution of interesting starting grant in 2018. He stud- tive teaching, panel discussions, papers, literature binary stars, such as those composed of black holes, ied theoretical physics at the reviews… My goal is to show students current is- neutron stars or white dwarfs. The phase is essential CU Faculty of Mathematics and sues, how the scientific method works and that re- for the formation of sources of gravitational waves. Physics (2008) and continued sults are often not as polished to detail as they are in his study of astronomy at in the textbooks. The paths to knowledge are often Is this just a theoretical model, or have we Ohio State University (Ph.D. quite tortuous and many interesting and important as humanity observed something like this 2013). He then worked as a problems are left unresolved in the end because already? postdoc at Princeton Univer- Forum 8 Forum sity in the USA, where he also 8 Forum ideas and experiments run out. Astronomers observed one case where it was ex- won a NASA scholarship. In tremely clear that two stars merged. A binary star September 2017, he returned Are there any differences between students was observed, noticeably shortening its orbital pe- to CU thanks to the Primus in the USA and here? riod, followed by a flare-up and brightening. I’ve programme. He is the author of My limited impression is that our students are worked on this object for several years. Its name is around 30 studies; he is raising

Spotlight ahead of those abroad in depth of knowledge, but V1309 Scorpii. two children with his wife, Eva. Spotlight are behind in soft skills: in the ability to commu- 56 nicate, which is also related to thinking about why Do you still dream about it? 57 and where they’re heading. Even for me, during Not any more (laughs). That stopped after I came my doctoral stay in Ohio it wasn’t easy at first to to Troja and published an article explaining all the learn these abilities, but there were classes to work observations of this object. That was also the basis Tell me more about the members on your Will you try for a higher academic rank in the on these issues. For example, we had a class on or- of my ERC grant. team: who are they? Czech Republic? Our group is made up of three postdocs, two It’s probably necessary. The local academic system master students, a bachelor student, and myself. requires associate professorships and professor- I’m now looking for a doctoral student and we’re ships; it’s also important for access to students, ac- gradually coming to a natural change of postdocs creditations and so on. I want to habilitate. after their three-year stints. We have four years of the ERC grant left, during which I anticipate that In one interview, I was interested to learn other successful scientists will become part of the that you described your advisor from Ohio, My limited impression is that our team. Professor Todd Thompson, as a great role model. students are ahead of those abroad in What would you advise colleagues who want He was a different type of scientist than anyone I’d to apply for such a grant? known before that from the Czech Republic. He depth of knowledge, but are behind Aside from the usual lessons, like that the applica- inspired me with his curiosity and the style of work, in soft skills: in the ability to commu- tion has to answer a number of basic questions – his original ideas, and an effort to take everything why this topic, why you specifically and why now – to the higher level. At the beginning of my doctor- nicate, which is also related to thinking with the ERC I would advise that they really push ate I found it interesting that people in the depart- on the “high risk, high gain” threshold. From my ment there were each successful in a completely about why and where they’re heading. point of view, the project design was a lot riskier different way. Todd was an excellent mentor. than any other thing I’d ever written. The commit- tee appreciated that, but then you’re afraid that they’ll come to the conclusion that you can’t fulfill it. Honouring women in academia The year 2020 has largely been the Year of the Wom- 3/2 an in Academia at Charles University, recognising the enormous contribution of Voršilská female academics, ped- agogues, scientists and researchers. In January, facility the university marked the 50th anniversary of the reopens death of Milada Paulová, the CU’s Rector Tomáš Zima and the di- first female full professor rector of Charles University’s Refec- in the history of the school. tories and Dormitories, Jiří Macoun, Paulová, an expert in Slavon- reopened the university’s refectory in ic Studies, received the pro- Voršilská Street in a special ceremo- fessorship in 1925. ny after renovation was complete. The site houses not only the canteen but also offices used by the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Social Sciences, The In- stitute for Language and Preparatory Studies and numerous student organ- 17/1 isations. Forum 8 Forum 8 Forum

Life at CU at Life CU at Life 58 Honorary degrees awarded 59 Life at CUThousands of visitors at- tended the Gaudeamus exhi- bition fair promoting univer- sity education and lifelong learning, among them many high school students on the eve of graduation consider- 18/2 ing where to continue their studies. Charles University, as always, was a major par- ticipant.

American geneticist Eric S. Lander (a professor at 21/1 Harvard and MIT) and Is- raeli biologist Joel L. Suss- man (from the Weizmann Institute of Science) were honoured for their lifelong contributions, receiving the Gaudeamus: a “must” for students degree honoris causa in a special ceremony at CU’s applying at university historic Carolinum. 60 Life at CU Forum 8 February 1920.February on19 University” “Charles reinstatement ofname the of the anniversary 100th the slovakia’s and Constitution, of Czecho- anniversary event marked 100th the also University.of Charles The history the about exhibition an with coinciding project videomapping by aspecial transformedbuildings were The walls of CU’s historic initiativeseducational oncutting-edge4EU+ focuses 29 / 2 CU’s history event celebrates Videomapping 20 / 2 alliance. Wegener C. Henrik the about of Copenhagen’s Rector ty Universi the - interviewed Forum engagement. social and thinking ship, critical literacy, entrepreneur data 4EU+: multilingualism, for within sential students Transferal es that skills are discussed The vice-rector cation Králíčková. Milena CU’s Vice-Rector for Edu- VolkerGeneral and Balli alliance’s the ing Secretary keywith - includ speakers inFebruary,Copenhagen of a4EU+ conference in focus the were initiatives Cutting-edge educational

- - “Mirroring Venice”“Mirroring at Carolinum the torics. and combina graph theory in contributions enormous his recognising causa, oris of doctor hon title honorary LovászLászló the received mathematiciangarian Hun The world-renowned - 4 - - / honorary title honorary Lovász László receives 3 5 / 3 ror company inMurano,ror Italy. mir eFugaOngaro artistic Venetian the from mirrors and exhibited Špaňhel Jakub works by academic painter Nisio. Theshow featured to Praguebassador Saverio Tomáš am and Italian Zima of Rector auspices der the un atheld Carolinum the Venice”, “Mirroring called tion of an exhibiat opening the - vernissagewasA gala held - - - 61 Life at CU Forum 8 62 Life at CU Forum 8 Covid−19. of onholdbecause were es and performanc rehearsals ater public when atime chestra’s work- to broad the or the to present tunity oppor the “wonderful” as described tor HaigUtidjian tras) inApril. conduc Chief Orches work of University Net European by (the ENUO ofMonth the Orchestra as recognition ceived special inPrague re University of Charles The Orchestra of historic the to site completed. be for allowed Thecrisis Onesilverlining? renovation the of time crisis. the in helping were who and optimism” at university by the allthose energy pride, with hewas “filled was University farat pleasant, Charles from of hallways the emptiness that the while Hesaid and buildings dress. Instead, Tomáš Rector ad- video inataped hisspeech delivered Zima was year this dueto Magna) cancelled coronavirus the pandemic. at held Carolinum’s the Grand Hall(Aula traditionally The ceremony 7 / 4 - - - 17 - - - - / chorus receivechorus recognition special and orchestra University Charles 4 in midst ofin midst crisis 672nd anniversary marks University Charles welcomed atCarolinum Slovakia’s educationminister of 11 appeal The and loss. suffering dox with combined of victory para symbolising the broken wreath, Nike goddess a holding ue ofGreek the and astat Carolina Universitas words featuring memorial new bronze the Together, unveiled a representatives conflict. ofend global the versary of 75th the occasion place onthe anni- The event took of WWIIvictims. ory mem the honoured University Charles oftion Czechoslovak and Legionnaires Associa the from Representatives - - - - World War honoured IIvictims 21 22 / / 4 6 planned. totions lifted be faster been had than restric at time) the required prognosis onepidemiological data and the (based of country the prosperity and the ing, wellbe economic health, that public view the They expressed pandemic. the following of gradually worst the reopen wayslining could country the inwhich out appeal apublic published Zima, Pavel Pirk, Jan Kolář and Tomáš Rector professors the including University Charles from Eleven top personalities studying at CU. studying 3‚000Slovak than More are students inSlovakia. universities operation with onexpanding internationalcused co minister the fo had with his meeting onhisFacebook wrote Zima that page dueto history. past ties their Rector have and close understanding astrong and Slovaks Czechs tives. traditionally representa school and other Zima, rector, University’s Charles ed Tomáš Fellow- includ speakers Carolinum. the inadebate at part taking foreign visit, official for Republic Czech the hisfirst Branislavtion travelled Gröhling to Slovakia’sIn June, Minister of Educa 8 / 5 ------63 Life at CU Forum 8 Jan Hrabovský is a student at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics in the Quantum Optics and Optoelectronics Group. In the current crisis, he was a member of the Sousedska- Water & Civilization Pomoc.cz (Neighbourly Assis- tance) platform, and with other colleagues from the Alumni Water & Civilization is a unique open-air exhibition in scientae Bohemicae coopera- 24 photographic panels highlighting the importance of water tive (www.czechscience.cz) he for sustaining life on the planet. Visitors can explore the past, broadcast a series of educa- tional lectures and workshops present, and future of water usage on Earth and read entries on the YouTube channel Cov- from top international scientists. idEdu. The photographs feature scenes from across the globe: Australia, Europe, Africa, the Americas as well as the world’s oceans. The exhibition can be viewed day or night, thanks to illumination from solar panels.

“Water was crucial in life taking hold and we are all used to current conditions continuing indefinitely. While there is

Forum 8 Forum enough at the moment, that could change very quickly,” says The mask maker the curator of the exhibition, Charles University Professor

STORY BY Jiří Novák PHOTO BY Hynek Glos Miroslav Bárta. “We have to look to the future, change our established ways of thinking and find new solutions.”

For now, it appears that the worst of the pandem- prepared models in two sizes for smaller and larg- The travelling exhibition, which can be visited for free 24/7,

Final Word Final ic is over in the Czech Republic. But we wanted er faces. It’s also possible to adjust the shape a bit will be hosted by the following towns or cities next:

to take one last look back. Our focus? Respirators when you soak part of the mask in hot water,” he Untitled-1 1 25.06.20 10:00 64 made by a CU student at the Carolinum – the heart advises. This exhibition is organised by Medialogue of Charles University – during the peak of the crisis. “Essentially, they were better masks. You could During the pandemic, CU doctoral student Jan say they were semi-respirators,” Hrabovský ex- together with several Charles University Hradec Králové: 12. 6. – 6. 7. at 28. října square faculties, and both domestic and Hrabovský wanted to help but at first wasn’t sure plains. In the first weeks of the pandemic, he pro- Český Krumlov: 11. 7.—2. 8., riverfront how. “I didn’t want to sit at home, and I can’t sew. duced around 200 respirators, and these went to international scientific workplaces. On the other hand, I do have a 3D printer,” says places like the Vinohrady University Hospital, Mo- Karlovy Vary: 15. 7.—9. 8., terrace at Hotel Thermal Hrabovský, who is doing his doctorate at the Facul- tol University hospital, to fellow colleagues from ty of Mathematics and Physics. His “workshop” is Sousedská pomoc and to the crisis task forces at České Budějovice: 7.—25. 8., Přemysl Otakar II. square right in the Carolinum, and it’s there that he ended Prague 1 and Charles University. He even printed a Vysoké Mýto: 9. 9.—4. 10., Přemysl Otakar II square up printing original respirators for hospitals and respirator for the school’s rector, Tomáš Zima. other institutions in need. How were the masks manufactured? PLA plas- Plzeň: 16. 9.—14. 10., Šafařík orchards Hrabovský first offered his respirators on his tic was used as the base material: in the process, a own website, where he also posted print files so thin fibre is gradually melted as it unwinds from a that others could print their own and provided ba- wheel. It is printed layer by layer – first the body sic information on cleaning and disinfection. He of the mask and then the front cover with an inner then became actively involved in the Sousedská po- barrier. The finished plastic skeleton is then supple- moc (Neighbourly Assistance) volunteer initiative mented with a filtration layer; the simplest could and offered his respirators through the organisa- be made of 100% cotton. A single unit took about tion. two-and-a-half hours to print. “I’ve had this 3D printer for three years, so I The masks weren’t meant to replace certified thought I could put it to good use,” he recalls. Af- PPE; they served only as a replacement at a time ter getting approval, he borrowed a second print- when respirators and masks were almost impossible er from the lab, to increase the speed of output. to get. But they made a difference: yet another ex- MAIN PARTNER I used the basic print files from the Thingiverse. ample of how much even just one person, in a time com database, and based on my own experience, I of unprecedented crisis, can help. koronaut [kəˈrəʊnənɔːt] a healthcare worker dressed in personal protective equipment during the coronavirus epidemic (combining the words ‘koronavirus’ and ‘kosmonaut’)

Martin Kavka and Michal Škrabal: New “corona words” helped us laugh / 40