Nearly three hundred visitors, from the youngest to research veterans, celebrated Researchers’ Night 2024 with us on Friday the 27th of September. They enjoyed interactive expositions on 3D printing, laser safety or holograms, guided tours, as well as a brand-new lecture.
During his popularisation lecture Metamorphoses of Planet Earth, Jan Kaufman led listeners through the past, present, and future of our corner of the solar system. Aside from physics and questions such as the origin of the very universe, he also included other sciences, such as geology or biology.
Jan Kaufman a Jan Šmaus revealed the Laser Shock Peening experimental halls to the public. There, where an ordinary visitor of the Centre won’t step foot, they work on treating materials with laser pulses for industrial applications. They showed the visitors some of the samples they have been working on over the past years with the remainder of the LSP team.
A new addition to Researchers’ Night 2024 was a station focused on 3D printing, which is the daily bread of the HiLASE design team. Aside from seeing 3D printers in operation, tech enthusiasts could see a variety of samples or ponder over 3D-printed puzzles. A traditional part of an open day is the laser safety station, which explains how our researchers protect themselves from laser radiation, as well as what to look out for with the lasers you encounter every day. Playing with light, we showed visitors how a phone camera can be transformed using a diffraction film, or how to create your own hologram.
For the youngest generation of researchers, we prepared a physics cinema, creative crafting, as well as a laser shooting range. We did not forget about lasers in VR and prepared the popular game Beat Saber.
Nation-wide, institutions of a wide range of research fields from 50 Czech cities and municipalities participated in this Researchers’ Night. In Czechia, this unique event has been taking place since 2005, within a European initiative. Of the twenty-three national Researchers’ Nights, the Czech one belongs among the most prominent.
Didn’t have time to visit us this year, or already miss our laser centre? Visit us in 2025, when we will open our doors on the International Day of Light and Researchers’ Night!
