CHALLENGES IN RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY
microsymposium dedicated to the memory of Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Bohuslav Strauch, CSc.
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
Vladimír BAUMRUK (Institute of Physics, Charles University, Prague)
Marcela DENDISOVÁ (Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague )
Martin KALBÁČ (J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the CAS, v.v.i., Prague)
Jana KALBÁČOVÁ-VEJPRAVOVÁ (Faculty of Maths and Physics, Charles University, Prague)
Ladislav KAVAN (J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the CAS, v.v.i., Prague)
Miroslav KLOZ (ELI Beamlines Facility-Laser Center, Dolní Břežany)
Karolína MACHALOVÁ-ŠIŠKOVÁ (Department of Biophysics, Palacky University, Olomouc)
Irena MATULKOVÁ (Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Charles University, Prague)
Martin MICHL (Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague)
Peter MOJZEŠ (Institute of Physics, Charles University, Prague)
Ivan NĚMEC (Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Charles University, Prague)
Marek PROCHÁZKA (Institute of Physics, Charles University, Prague)
Ivana ŠLOUFOVÁ (Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Charles University, Prague)
Josef ŠTĚPÁNEK (Institute of Physics, Charles University, Prague)
Václav VALEŠ (J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the CAS, v.v.i., Prague)
Blanka VLČKOVÁ (Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Charles University, Prague)
Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Bohuslav Strauch, CSc. (1929-2017), the pioneer of Raman spectroscopy in Czechoslovakia
Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Bohuslav Strauch, CSc., the excellent Czech spectroscopist and inorganic chemist, scientist and teacher, the active representative as well as the honorary member of the Ioannes Marcus Marci Spectroscopic Society (IMMSS) and the recipient of the IMM medal, died unexpectedly at the end of last summer.
B. Strauch has been well known to Czech as well as international scientific community as a pioneer of Raman spectroscopy in Czechoslovakia. In 1960, he assembled (at the Dept. of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague) the first spectrograph for Raman spectral measurements. The spectrograph was equipped with a Hg lamp source and a photographic plate detector. The success and the international recognition of the measurements carried out with this spectrograph enabled B. Strauch to acquire, for the Dept. of Inorganic Chemistry, one of the first commercially available Raman spectrometers with laser excitation, namely the JRS-S1 JEOL spectrometer with an Ar ion laser excitation. Utilization of this spectrometer has immensely broadened the scope of the measured samples and enabled also the employment of new methods, such as resonance Raman spectroscopy.
The internationally recognized scientific work of B. Strauch was focused mainly on vibrational spectroscopic study of inorganic compounds, transition metal complexes and biologically important molecules. In addition to the publications in local as well as international scientific journals, B. Strauch is also well known as the author of a book chapter in Horák, M. Papoušek D. et al.: Infrared spectra and molecular structure, (in Czech), Academia, Prague 1974. Dissemination of information about modern vibrational spectroscopy methods and techniques has been an important point of B. Strauch’s scientific as well as educational activities. His review articles „Laser Raman spectroscopy and „Raman spectroscopy with Fourier transformation“ were published first in Czech, and later, in a upgraded English version, as chapters in the book „Instrumentation in Analytical Chemistry“, (J. Zyka, Ed), Volume 2, Ellis Horwood, London, 1994.
The last mentioned goal motivated also B. Strauch’s activities within the Czechoslovak Spectroscopic Society, and, subsequently, within the Ioannes Marcus Marci Spectroscopic Society. In the period of 1977-1993, he was in charge of the Vibrational spectroscopy scientific group of the Society. Since 1978, B. Strauch was the chief organizer as well as lecturer of the „Measurements of Vibrational Spectra“ courses for spectroscopist working in applied research and industry, and also for students. Owing to the great success of this course, its sequel entitled „Interpretation of Vibrational Spectra“ was launched in 1993. Both courses have been very popular and they have been organized annually until now. Although B. Strauch has, later on, transfered the leadership and organization of these courses to Prof. Pavel Matejka, he himself remained the excellent and popular lecturer at these courses until last year.
Assoc. Prof. B. Strauch was a wonderful person known for a variety of his interests. One of them was the life, work and legacy of Iohannes Marcus Marci. By translating the book Thaumantias-About the Rainbow and about the Nature, Origin and Causes of its Observed Colors by Ioaness Marcus Marci (1648) from Latin to Czech, he enabled Czech spectroscopist to learn about the excellent ideas and explanations of our great scientist and the patron of our Spectroscopic Society.
His personality and his lifelong scientific and teaching efforts will remain a persistent motivation for our new activities in the field of spectroscopy. With this idea in mind, we organize the microsymposium „Challenges in Raman spectroscopy“ dedicated to the memory of Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Bohuslav Strauch, CSc., which is an inherent part of this Conference.
