Professor Šikola and architect Vydrová received the Brno City Prize

Professor Tomáš Šikola, Director of the Institute of Physical Engineering, and architect Zdeňka Vydrová, a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture, who now works at the Faculty of Civil Engineering has been awarded the Brno City Prize in the field of technical sciences. The award for outstanding personalities of the city for the past year was presented to the laureates on Monday 23 January by Mayor Markéta Vaňková.

Tomáš Šikola graduated in physics at Masaryk University, then joined Tesla Brno as an independent development worker and since 1986 has been working at the Brno University of Technology. In 2005 he received a professorship in applied physics. He was a founding member of the team of scientists that led to the birth of the Central European Institute of Technology CEITEC. At CEITEC BUT he is the head of the research group Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructures. Since 2006, he has also been the Director of the Institute of Physical Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

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

Zdeňka Vydrová is a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture where she used to teach as an external teacher. She now cooperates with the Faculty of Civil Engineering where she teaches Architectural Design Studio. After her studies, she joined Stavoprojekt Brno in the studio of the architect Viktor Rudiš. Together with her colleagues from the architectural office Rudiš and Rudiš, she won the Grand Prix OA in 1996 for the reconstruction and completion of Hall G at the Brno Exhibition Centre where she also reconstructed the Rotunda.

In 1991 she established her own studio and one year later she started working as the city architect of Litomyšl. This became her lifelong goal and she is one of the key figures behind the success of the town as one of the centres of contemporary Czech architecture. In 2016 Vydrová received the Minister of Culture Award.

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