Doc. RNDr. René Hudec, CSc., senior researcher at the Stellar Department of the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (ASU), was promote to a professorship by the President of the Czech Republic on December 15th, 2021.
This is an award for lifelong work in the field of X-ray astrophysics, especially experimental (the topic of professorial lecture of René Hudec was ‘X-ray telescopes – a window into space’). The contribution of X-ray telescopes to the study of cosmic objects is indisputable: they provide valuable insight into the high-energy physical processes occurring in Universe.
The development of X-ray telescopes in the Czech Republic (with a focus at ASU) took place until 1989 independently and in interdisciplinary cooperation (led by Prof. Hudec), in recent years it has been focused on participation in international cosmic projects of ESA and NASA.
The contribution of Prof. Hudec for the development of new and innovative types of X-ray optics, but also for the development and implementation of robotic telescopes at the Ondřejov Observatory and the BOOTES telescope network in international cooperation, is considerable. These ground based instruments represent an important contribution to multispectral analyses of cosmic sources, whether they are rapid follow-up observations of transient events detected by satellites (e.g., gamma-ray bursts), acquiring of simultaneous data for satellite observations, or long-term observations for classification and physical analysis of objects.
The second part of the activities of Prof. Hudec is in the field of high-energy astrophysics, especially multispectral analysis and study of transient eruptive processes in space, even using non-traditional methods such as unique data (both photometric and spectroscopic) from the archives of astronomical photographic plates to study the very long-term behaviour of astrophysical objects on the scales sometimes longer than 100 years.
Pedagogical activities of Prof. Hudec include, in addition to extensive international cooperation, the management of graduates and doctoral students, bachelor’s and other student theses, as well as the organization of conferences and workshops.
