On December 14, 2022, Rafael Baieta successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled “A study of the behavior of selected metals in affected environments using isotopic approach” completed under supervision of prof. Martin Mihaljevič. On the photo you find Rafael with the external reviewers Dr. Tomáš Navrátil (left) and Dr. Václav Tejnecký (right). Congratulations, Rafael!

On Thursday 22^nd September 2022, Helena Jelenová (née Kindlová) and Magdaléna Peřestá (née Knappová) successfully defended their PhD theses entitled “Arsenic speciation in mining wastes – case studies in systems dominated by ferric sulfo-arsenates” and “Speciation of arsenic under reducing conditions of organic-rich soil”, respectively. Both theses were supervised by Dr. Petr Drahota. On the photos you will see both ladies with their supervisor and reviewers Dr. Michal Filippi (Geological Institute of the CAS), Dr. Ľubomír Jurkovič (Comenius University, Bratislava), Prof. Edgar Hiller (Comenius University, Bratislava) and Dr. Barbora Doušová (University of Chemistry and Technology Prague). It was a successful ARSENIC DAY. Congratulations!

On Thursday 30th September 2021, Marek Tuhý successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled “Wildfires in polluted areas: mineralogical transformations and remobilization of metal(loid)s“. The thesis was supervised by prof. Vojtěch Ettler and reviewed by Dr. Isabel Campos (University of Aveiro, Portugal) and Dr. Tomáš Navrátil (Institute of Geology, CAS). Congratulations!

A new book entitled Metallurgical Slags: Environmental Geochemistry and Resource Potential edited by Nadine M. Piatak (USGS) and Vojtěch Ettler has been published by the prestigious publishing house, the Royal Society of Chemistry (link). Vojtech Ettler (co-) authored four of nine chapters in the book: Introduction: Metallurgical Slags – Environmental Liability or Valuable Resource? (DOI), Geochemistry and Mineralogy of Slags (DOI), Slag Leaching Properties and Release of Contaminants (DOI), and Environmental Impact of Slag Particulates (DOI).

Vojtěch Ettler will give a plenary lecture entitled “The leaching behavior of smelting slags: from contaminants to critical metals” on the 7^th International Slag Valorization Symposium (SVS7). The conference, originally planned to take place in Leuven, Belgium, will finally run in a virtual mode. SVS7 is a major event on characterization and applications of metallurgical slags and will bring together people from R&D sector and industry.

Marek Tuhý, our PhD student, spoke about diamonds in the Czech TV channel for kids (CT D:-)) in a TV show called “Wifina”. This part of the broadcast was published on March 31, 2021 and is available in the Czech TV online archive (link).

Despite the coronavirus outbreak and COVID-19 pandemia, measurements in our isotope lab are still going on. Stay in a good health!