A total of 26 Czech scientists, students or representatives of non-governmental organizations have succeeded in the prestigious competition for the Fulbright Scholarship and will gain experience in the USA in the academic year 2024/2025. Among them are nine colleagues from Charles University.
Specifically, the following Fulbrightists from Charles University:
Eva Holtanová (
Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University)
- Colorado State University, Department of Atmospheric Science
- Visiting Scholar Program (02/2025 – 07/2025)
Internal Climate Variability Under Different Forcing
The project will analyze the changes of internal climate variability under different forcing levels and its influence on hot and cold extremes over mid-latitude continentals in the Northern Hemisphere. Besides the importance for further research, the results will serve as a basis for more confident adaptation and mitigation strategies planning.
Jiří Žák (Faculty of Science of Charles University)
- University of Minnesota Twin Cities, N. H. Winchell School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Visiting Scholar Program (03/2025 – 07/2025)
Tracking the Assembly of the Earthʼs Oldest Supercontinents
The project will investigate the mechanisms, kinematics, and time scales of formation of Earth’s oldest supercontinents. The field research will concentrate on a broad zone along margins of the Superior and Wyoming cratons, which may record their collision in the late Archean times (ca. 2.8–2.5 billions of years ago). An integrative approach using structural and microstructural analysis, magnetic anisotropy, and paleomagnetism then should provide key constraints on the style of continental deformation and to test whether supercontinents may have formed in the Archean, an issue that is central to our understanding on how our planet works and how it evolved through time.
Kristýna Bubeníková (Faculty of Science of Charles University)
- The University of Iowa, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Fulbright-Masaryk Program (11/2024 – 07/2025)
It Takes Three to Tango: The diversity and evolution of Genus Torymus in Tritrophic interactions with oaks and oak gall wasp communities in North America
Parasitoids significantly influence ecological interactions. My project investigates tritrophic interactions involving Torymus genus, gall wasp, and oak in North America. Using morphological, ecological, and genomic methods, it explores Torymus species' ecological-evolutionary dynamics, diversification, and host shift drivers. The findings will contribute to understanding biodiversity and its evolution amid current biodiversity decline
Jan Hrabovský (Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University)
- New Mexico State University, Department of Physics
- Fulbright-Masaryk Program (11/2024 – 7/2025)
Effect of Temperature on Optical, Structural and Luminescence Properties of Selected Materials for Photonic Applications, Detectors and Sensors
The project will be focused on temperaturedependent optical characterization and thermally in-situ induced structural changes monitored by optical, and photoluminescence methods using materials of high specific relevance for nonlinear optics (chalcogenide/tellurite glasses), mid-infrared detectors (In-Ga-Ar-Sb alloys), and photonic applications (rare earth doped materials, MoS₂ /MoSe₂/MoTe₂).
Kateřina Jandová (Faculty of Science of Charles University)
- Dartmouth College, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, New Hampshire
- Fulbright-Masaryk Program (10/2024 – 05/2025)
Contribution of Geogenic Organic Carbon to Modern Carbon Cycle and its Sensitivity to Climate Change
Geogenic organic carbon is a significant but poorly quantified soil carbon pool. It is mineralized when exposed to an oxidative environment, but this flux is overlooked in global carbon models. I will compile evidence on the extent to which ecosystems are affected by the input of geogenic organic carbon and suggest how this information can be incorporated into Earth system models. I will also design an experiment to test whether the increased supply of fresh carbon expected under global change will increase this flux.
Jiří Kocián (Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University)
- Rutgers University, Department of Political Science, New Jersey
- Fulbright-Masaryk Program (10/2024 – 03/2025)
Post-Populist Political Legitimacy in Central Europe: Radicalization and polarization in Poland and the Czech Republic
I am assessing the evolution of our contemporary democracy crisis in Central Europe in both top-to-bottom and bottom-up perspectives through the lenses of digital humanities and AI-based analytical tools.
Anna Malečková (Faculty of Medicine in Plzeň)
- University of Maryland, Department of Biological Sciences
- Fulbright-Masaryk Program (08/2024 – 01/2025)
Competency-Based Learning: Guiding Students Toward Mastery
Evidence-based methods, such as Competency-Based Education (CBE), have become a crucial part of teaching and learning at the universities. The project aims to implement elements of CBE in STEM course and to evaluate its effect on the students’ ability to master the proposed learning objectives in large class setting.
Lukáš Filippi (Faculty of Education of Charles University)
- University of Texas, School of Music
- Visiting Student Program 09/2024 - 12/2024
Falsetto/M2 Excercises as a Main Tool for Structuring Male Singing Voice: Legacy of Anthony Frisell in American Education
The training of the male singing voice usually starts from the readily available chest voice. This projects examines an alternative approach that builds the full voice from falsetto phonation and which was extensively described in books by American singer and pedagogue Anthony Frisell.
Tereza Plíštilová (Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University)
- Princeton University, Department of Political Science, New Jersey
- Visiting Student Program (09/2024 – 01/2025)
(In)visible Arab Spring 2.0 in Global Media? The new wave of contentious politics in the Middle East and North Africa
My data driven research focuses on global media visibility of protest events in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) after the Arab Spring, adopting an interdisciplinary approach that draws on theoretical insights from media studies, sociology and IR.
A full list of this year's Fulbrightists can be found a fulbright.cz.
