The Josef, Marie and Zdeňka Hlávka Foundation Awards for talented students up to the age of 33 this year brought six awards for BUT students. The annual ceremony commemorates 17 November, an important day for the students and the Czech Republic.

The award, coupled with a contribution of CZK 25,000, was given to six students or graduates of the BUT who achieve exceptional results.

Michal Kučera is a PhD student at the Institute of Structural Mechanics, graduated from the Civil Engineering, Construction and Transportation Engineering program at FAST. His thesis and subsequent research focuses on modern methods of modelling failure and fracture processes in concrete with emphasis on the influence of variability of material characteristics.

The Josef, Marie and Zdenka Hlávka Foundation, commonly known as the Hlávka Foundation, is the oldest existing Czech foundation, founded on 25 January 1904 by the prominent architect and builder Josef Hlávka. After 1953, the foundation could exist only formally by decision of the communist government. Its activity was fully restored thanks to the social changes after 1989. The mission of the Foundation is to support the scientific, literary and artistic endeavours of the Czech nation, to contribute to the satisfaction of its cultural needs and to support needy and gifted students at Czech public universities in accordance with the will of the founder of the Foundation. The Josef Hlávka Prize for the best students and graduates is awarded on the proposal of the rectors to students and graduates of Prague public universities, Brno Technical University and young talented staff of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.