Czech Academy of Sciences

The Czech Academy of Sciences
Akademie věd České republiky
The main building of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague
Established1784; 240 years ago (1784) Royal Czech Society of Sciences
1953; 71 years ago (1953) Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
1992; 32 years ago (1992) Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
PresidentProf. Eva Zažímalová
Administrative staff
7771
4395
Location,
50°4′54″N 14°24′51″E / 50.08167°N 14.41417°E / 50.08167; 14.41417
Websitewww.avcr.cz
Map
Eva Zažímalová, the president of the Czech Academy of Sciences

The Czech Academy of Sciences (abbr. CAS, Czech: Akademie věd České republiky, abbr. AV ČR) was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and its tradition goes back to the Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences (founded in 1784) and the Emperor Franz Joseph Czech Academy for Sciences, Literature and Arts (founded in 1890). The academy is the leading non-university public research institution in the Czech Republic. It conducts both fundamental and strategic applied research.

It has three scientific divisions, namely the Division of Mathematics, Physics, and Earth Sciences, Division of Chemical and Life Sciences, and Division of Humanities and Social Sciences. The academy currently manages a network of sixty research institutes and five supporting units staffed by a total of 6,400 employees, over one half of whom are university-trained researchers and Ph.D. scientists.

The Head Office of the academy and forty research institutes are located in Prague, the remaining institutes being situated throughout the country.

History

The establishment of the academy in 1992 follows several previous organizations:

  • Royal Czech Society of Doctrines (Královská česká společnost nauk), 1784–1952
  • Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts [cs] (Česká akademie věd a umění), 1890–1952
  • Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Československá akademie věd), 1953-1992

In 2010 the academy adopted an open access policy to make its research outputs free to read and reuse.[1]

Institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences

A radio telescope of the Astronomical Institute in Ondřejov

The official structure of the CAS consists of three areas (sciences about inanimate nature, life sciences, and humanities), each with three sections. Each of these 9 sections contains between 4 and 8 institutes. An institute is divided further into departments, laboratories, or working teams, depending on the size and the topic of the institute.

The Area of the Sciences About Inanimate Nature

Section 1: Mathematics, Physics, and Informatics

Section 2: Applied Physics

  • Institute of Photonics and Electronics
  • Institute of Physics of Materials
  • Institute of Plasma Physics
  • Institute of Hydrodynamics
  • Institute of Scientific Instruments
  • Institute of Thermomechanics
  • Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics

Section 3: Earth Sciences

The Area of Life Sciences and Chemical Sciences

Section 4: Chemical Sciences

Section 5: Biological and Medical Sciences

  • Institute of Biophysics
  • Biotechnology Institute
  • Institute of Physiology
  • Institute of Microbiology
  • Institute of Experimental Botany
  • Institute of Experimental Medicine
  • Institute of Molecular Genetics
  • Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics

Section 6: Biological and Ecological Sciences

  • Biology Centre
  • Institute of Botany
  • Institute of Vertebrate Biology
  • Institute of Systems Biology and Ecology

The Area of Humanities and Social Sciences

Section 7: Social Sciences and Economy

Section 8: History

  • Institute of Archaeology (Prague)
  • Institute of Archaeology (Brno)
  • Institute of History
  • Masaryk's Institute and Archives
  • Institute of Art History
  • Institute of Contemporary History

Section 9: Humanities and Philosophy

Literature

  • Franc, Martin; Mádlová, Vlasta (2014). The History of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Pictures / Dějiny Akademie věd v obrazech (in English and Czech). Prague: Academia. ISBN 9788020023407.

See also

References

  1. ^ "OA in the Czech Republic". OpenAIRE. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016.