Periodic Reporting for period 2 - J. Heyrovsky Chair (ERA Chair at J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical chemistry AS CR – The institutional approach towards ERA)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2019-10-01 al 2021-12-31
Based on recommendations of the international peer-review, which concluded that the Institute has not yet enfolded its full capacities, J. Heyrovský Institute of the Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (HIPC) started a series of concerted steps towards placing the Institute at the forefront of European research in physical chemistry. The ERA Chair project, awarded to the institute in 2018, is a significant part of this endeavor. The main mission of the project is to help to better integrate HIPC into the European research landscape. The ERA Chair project has a focal position in the transformation of the Institute, and it contributes to this aim by several means, captured in the four main project objectives. 1) Establishment of an excellent research team in nanocatalysis, i.e. a progressive modern scientific direction, is the key feature of the project; 2) Building excellence by fostering internal cooperation between the new department of Nanocatalysis and the other departments at HIPC; 3) Maintaining excellence through the implementation of institutional changes, including changes in the administrative structure at HIPC; 4) Promote scientific excellence and increase the attractiveness of HIPC for international collaboration with research institutions and universities. The role of the Institute as a research leader in the Czech Republic shall be enhanced by entering European networks like ITN and other international projects and by taking the lead in coordinating them. The capacities of the Institute will be enhanced by a proactive HR policy and the internationalization of its staff. In order to increase its international visibility and performance, the HIPC management decided, to introduce several structural changes in the Institute with the goal of better utilizing its capacities in both, the research infrastructure and in human resources. The ERA Chair project is implemented in three phases, 1) introducing a new scientific direction, i.e research in nanocatalysis to HIPC by establishing the Department of Nanocatalysis; 2) consolidating the research team and integrating the new department into the HIPC structure, and 3) inducing changes in the institutional culture. The project focuses on implementing the measures leading to a systemic change in the institutional culture and completing the transition of HIC to a scientific institution fully capable of performing research at the forefront of scientific knowledge. The project will increase the Institute’s international activities and attract the most prestigious EU funding including ERC grants.
The project succeeded in the most important task which is the recruitment of the ERA-Chair holder, an internationally recognized researcher with a wide experience in science management, in a timely manner. This position was advertised on the websites of several prestigious science magazines, and a total of ten scientists from all over the world applied for the position in the two-round recruitment process. The selection panel agreed upon Dr. Stefan Vajda as the most suitable candidate, as did the members of the international counseling body, the newly established Project Advisory Board, which consists of well-known scientists from all over Europe. Dr. Vajda started working at the J. Heyrovský Institute on 1 January 2019, and the selection and recruitment process for the scientific, which started shortly after his appointment, remained a continuous process also in the second reporting period, and it was successfully completed in February of 2021 when the last scientist joined the project team. The newly established Department of Nanocatalysis became an organic part of the Institute, the laboratories of the Department of Nanocatalysis are equipped with state-of-the-art and highly sophisticated scientific instrumentation, and the team became fully operational by the end of 2021. The research predominantly focuses on identifying and understanding the function of new catalysts in a variety of processes, including industrial and environmental applications. Laboratory spaces for the new Department underwent an extensive reconstruction to provide high-standard conditions for breakthrough research on modern and unique instrumentation. The laboratories are fully equipped and the department has started to produce science, by studying catalytic properties of metal particles smaller than one nanometer and also subnanometer cluster. These particles can exhibit unique catalytic properties, including significant acceleration of chemical reactions. The removal of carbon monoxide from car exhaust or the conversion of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide to chemical products, including fuels, are particularly promising examples. A number of scientific papers were published in widely recognized peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Vajda and his research team are active in organizing and attending scientific conferences, seminars, and scientific lectures, sharing the experience in research subnanometer clusters, and promoting the project at the national and international level. The research group submitted numerous project proposals to calls of the Horizon Europe Framework program, including two Twinning proposals and one ERC grant, and several external funding was already attained. Despite the COVID pandemic the project achieved all its planned tasks, completed all the envisaged deliverables, and met all the foreseen milestones for the second reporting period.
The research in the newly established Department of Nanocatalysis focuses on the fundamental studies of model catalysts designed with atomic precision down to the subnanometer scale, and interrogated under realistic reaction conditions of pressure and temperature, with the goal to establish relations between the size and composition of the nanocatalyst and its catalytic activity and selectivity and to understand the effect of the support material on catalyst performance, in heterogeneous catalytic reactions of various complexity – from model reactions to pro
Expected impact leveraged by the main objective of the project, to become one of the top research organizations in the European context, materialize in the sustainable scientific excellence, international visibility of the Institute, success in competitive international funding, and, integration into the European Research Area. All above mentioned and desired objectives of the project at the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry continues to be valid and relevant and will materialize at the end of its implementation. However, the impact of the project started to reveal real and significant results already during the earlier phases. Within the last period, the research team will continue to deliver high-level science, as the second cluster deposition apparatus and other three catalyst setups are now fully operational, enabling performing systematic studies on model catalysts.
Expected impact leveraged by the main objective of the project, to become one of the top research organizations in the European context, materialize in the sustainable scientific excellence, international visibility of the Institute, success in competitive international funding, and, integration into the European Research Area. All above mentioned and desired objectives of the project at the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry continues to be valid and relevant and will materialize at the end of its implementation. However, the impact of the project started to reveal real and significant results already during the earlier phases. Within the last period, the research team will continue to deliver high-level science, as the second cluster deposition apparatus and other three catalyst setups are now fully operational, enabling performing systematic studies on model catalysts.