At Earth Day 2025 in the Botanical Garden, physics was not absent. The Botanical Garden organizes this event every year. This year's topic was plant protection. Hundreds of people, both adults and children, came to the event.
22 April of each year is dedicated globally to promoting and supporting the protection of our planet. At the Faculty of Science this event is organized by the Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University.
In 2025, the Botanical Garden's Earth Day event took place on Saturday 26 April and its theme was Poison or Cure. The physics and fluorescence of medicinal and poisonous substances were presented by promoters from the Department of Plasma Physics and Technology and the CEPLANT center. Dr. Jana Jurmanová, Dr. Tereza Schmidtová and nanotechnology student Vratko Mančuška presented in a darkened boot a weak light of various substances excited by ultraviolet radiation. Visitors could only marvel at the unusually luminous substances contained in plants, food and objects around us.
We welcome Stanislava Debnárová as a new postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Plasma Physics and Technology and CEPLANT. After completing her PhD at Masaryk University and gaining valuable international experience in Mons, she now returns to focus on advanced plasma diagnostics in thin film deposition. Within the COLOSSE consortium, her research will connect fundamental science with industrial applications.
Vladimír Hudák, a Slovak high school student, worked with DPPT and CEPLANT on using plasma-reduced graphene oxide to purify food dye solutions – a technology with environmental benefits. His project earned national recognition at AMAVET 2025 and the Quark Magazine award, showcasing the potential of plasma technologies and opportunities for young researchers.
