Department history
The history of analytical chemistry education at our university dates back to 1869, when the Prague Polytechnic was divided into Czech and German institutions. At the Czech Polytechnic, there were two chairs of chemistry, one of which, devoted to general and analytical chemistry, was headed by Professor Šafařík. This marks the beginning of the tradition of analytical chemistry education, which would later become a cornerstone of the Faculty of Chemical Technology at the Czech Technical University in Prague.
Professor Šafařík was succeeded by Professor Preis, who was the first in the Czech lands to introduce laboratory courses in analytical chemistry, covering both classical chemical analysis and food analysis. His assistant was Professor Hanuš, who later succeeded him. Professor Hanuš broadened his expertise through advanced studies at both the Czech and German universities in Prague and during a research fellowship with Professor Henriquès in Berlin, an authority on the chemistry of fats, resins, and rubber. This enabled him to lecture not only on analytical chemistry but also on the chemical and microscopic examination of foods and even on fat technology. His lectures on food analysis can be regarded as laying the foundations of food chemistry and food analysis, disciplines that are today taught at the university's Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology. Professor Hanuš became one of the most distinguished Czech analytical chemists, developing numerous analytical methods that remain in practical use today. During the later years of his career, he focused on the application of organic reagents for both the qualitative identification and the quantitative gravimetric determination of metal ions.
This scientific direction was continued by Professor Hanuš's students - Professors Hovorka, Lukas, Jílek, and Hac. Following the division of the Department of Analytical Chemistry in 1927, Professor Hac became head of the Department of Analytical Chemistry II, while the original institute was split into two separate units. Department of Analytical Chemistry I specialized in quantitative analysis and gravimetry. In contrast, Department of Analytical Chemistry II focused on volumetric analysis and the teaching of specialized and physical methods of analytical chemistry.
After Czech universities reopened in 1945, analytical chemistry teaching was once again organized into these two departments, following the pre-war structure. Department I provided instruction in qualitative and quantitative analytical chemistry, while Department II concentrated on physical and specialized analytical methods, from which modern instrumental analysis subsequently evolved.
The Department of Analytical Chemistry I was headed by Professor Václav Hovorka, who was appointed Full Professor of Analytical Chemistry in 1946. Together with his colleagues, he extensively developed the use of organic reagents in analytical chemistry and established their theoretical foundations. Under his leadership, research focused on the structure of inner complex salts, leading to the discovery of a new series of metal complexes. His collaborators included Dr. Vladimír Zátka, Dr. Ludvík Diviš, Dr. Jan Morávek, Ing. František Vláčil, Dr. Václav Sýkora, Ing. Ladislav Šůcha, Ing. Jiří Martínek, and the future head of the department, Professor Záviš Holzbecher.
At the Department of Analytical Chemistry II, Professor Rudolf Hac initially remained active after the war. However, due to declining health, he gradually entrusted both the rebuilding of the department and its teaching responsibilities to Professor František Čůta, who became its head in 1951. In 1956, the department was renamed the Department of Physical and Special Methods of Analytical Chemistry. Owing to Professor Čůta's strong background in physical chemistry and his research stays with Professor Erich Max Müller at the Dresden University of Technology and Professor Herrick L. Johnston at Ohio State University, the department focused primarily on physicochemical methods of analysis. Given the modest facilities and the limited availability of analytical instrumentation in the early years, Professor Čůta directed his colleagues toward electrochemical methods, pH measurements, polarography, and, later, spectroscopic techniques. His contributions to education were equally significant. He expanded both the lecture curriculum and laboratory courses to include modern instrumental analytical methods, particularly electrochemical and optical techniques. At the same time, he maintained strong ties with industry. This was demonstrated in 1949, when he established a research laboratory of the North Bohemian Fat Works within the department. After 1958, this laboratory evolved into the Research Institute for Oils and Fats, further strengthening cooperation between academic research and industrial practice.
Following the death of Professor Václav Hovorka in 1960, the two departments were merged into a single Department of Analytical Chemistry, headed by Professor František Čůta until 1974. As student numbers increased and the department's activities expanded, it was reorganized into two divisions: the Division of Chemical Analysis and the Division of Instrumental Analysis. The Division of Chemical Analysis, led by Professor Jaromír Vrbský, continued research on coordination compounds formed by organic reagents, aiming to develop new analytical reagents with exceptional selectivity and sensitivity. The Division of Instrumental Analysis, headed by Associate Professor František Štráfelda, focused primarily on electrochemistry, pH measurement, and polarography. Associate Professor Štráfelda also pioneered the introduction of automated analytical control systems - a field that reflected his lifelong enthusiasm for the design and construction of analytical instruments.
International development and the growing analytical use of a wide range of spectroscopic methods for both elemental and molecular analysis stimulated the interest of the department´s Division of Instrumental Analysis in spectrometric methods. Alongside atomic spectroscopy, both emission and absorption, developed under the guidance of Associate Professor Miloš Hejtmánek, molecular absorption spectroscopy was also pursued - initially in the visible region of the spectrum and later also in the infrared region. Thanks to Professor Zbyněk Ksandr, the University of Chemistry and Technology (VŠCHT) acquired a Perkin-Elmer 325 infrared spectrometer, which replaced the aging Zeiss UR10 spectrometer, and in 1967 also obtained its first nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. Associate Professor Bohumil Polej adapted a three-prism spectrograph into a Raman spectrometer with photographic detection, even though commercial instruments were already available. However, financial constraints hindered the rapid development of individual techniques and were also the reason instruments were often unavailable for broader use. The establishment of the Central Laboratories of VŠCHT (CL) meant that, from the 1960s onward, a number of analytical techniques were operated outside the department, and some department staff even moved there or participated in the CL's work. This was particularly concerned with atomic spectrometry (Dr. Václav Sychra, Ing. Dana Kolihová) and optical spectroscopy (from 1966 to 1970, the laboratory of the CL was led by Professor Zbyněk Ksandr).
Before Professor František Čůta retired, the divisions were dissolved, and the unified department continued its research and teaching activities from 1974 under the leadership of Professor Záviš Holzbecher. In the final years of his leadership, the two former divisions were re-established, and this structure remained in place until his retirement. The Division of Chemical Analysis was headed by Professor Jaromír Vrbský, while the Division of Instrumental Analysis was led by Associate Professor Milan Popl, who contributed significantly to the development of chromatographic methods. Progress also continued in the field of atomic spectroscopy, while vibrational spectroscopy research was developed by Professor Karel Volka, and nuclear magnetic resonance by Professor Zbyněk Ksandr. Thanks to his efforts, the Department of Analytical Chemistry maintained cooperation with German universities for more than 20 years. Already by the end of the 1950s, this included collaboration with Martin Luther University in Halle/Saale and, in later years, with the Technische Hochschule Leuna-Merseburg. In the 1980s, Professor Jaromír Vrbský again became the official head of the unified department, maintaining all the developed research directions. He was succeeded briefly by Associate Professor Bohuslav Doležal, who led the department through the turbulent years of 1989–1990. In 1991, Professor Ing. Karel Volka, CSc., took over the leadership of the institute (serving until 2008).
Professor Volka obtained his engineering degree in analytical chemistry at the University of Chemistry and Technology (VŠCHT Prague) in 1963. He was accepted into a scientific aspirantship under Professor Holzbecher, under whose supervision he defended his CSc. (candidate of sciences) dissertation in 1968. After his habilitation in analytical chemistry in 1990, he successfully completed the professorial appointment procedure and in 1993 was appointed by the President of the Republic as Professor of Analytical Chemistry. Between 1994 and 1996, Professor Volka served as Vice-Rector for Science and Research at VŠCHT Prague, and from 1991 to 2008 he headed the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the same university. His scientific career was primarily focused on molecular spectroscopy, especially vibrational spectroscopy methods. He made a significant contribution both to the development of “traditional” infrared and Raman spectroscopy methods and to spectroscopic techniques that are often unique in the Czech Republic. These include, in particular, the development of chiroptical spectroscopic methods and the advancement of high-resolution spectroscopy techniques in the centimeter, millimeter, submillimeter, and terahertz regions. He served as principal investigator or coordinator of numerous major scientific and educational projects and research programs, including EU-supported projects such as EUROSPEC and PACI (Prague Analytical Center of Innovation).
Professor Volka is the author or co-author of more than 130 original papers in impact-factor journals, as well as numerous book chapters, textbooks, and teaching materials. In recognition of his long-term contributions to the development of the university, he received the Rector’s Award of VŠCHT Prague in 2008. In 2011, he was awarded the Emil Votoček Medal. Professor Volka has been a long-standing active member of the Jan Marcus Marci Spectroscopic Society (Czechoslovak Spectroscopic Society). Between 1990 and 2005, he served as its chairman, and he was also granted honorary membership in the society. In 1995, he received the Jan Marcus Marci Medal from Kronland. As chairman of the society, he organized or patronized a number of national and international scientific conferences. Above all, however, he was an outstanding teacher of analytical chemistry and a tireless advocate for the field, as evidenced by numerous excellent teaching texts and his essential role in organizing international competitions for students of analytical chemistry, where his exceptional organizational skills stood out.
During this period, a structured form of education was introduced (bachelor’s and follow-up master’s degree programs).
The development of the Department of Analytical Chemistry continued between 2008 and 2018 under Professor RNDr. Štěpán Urban, CSc., who is a recognized expert in high-resolution infrared and microwave spectroscopy. In this field, he develops the theory of rovibrational Hamiltonians, together with sophisticated software tools for detailed spectral analysis, and works in the emerging field of terahertz spectroscopy, where he focuses on weak intermolecular interactions in the condensed phase. More recently, he has also become known as a pioneer in the field of forensic olfactory identification of individuals and the digitization of odor signatures, including determining group characteristics (such as ethnic origin, sex, blood group, etc.) through detailed analysis of odor chemical composition. Professor Urban graduated in physical chemistry from the Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, in 1974. He completed his diploma thesis at the Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, where he defended his doctoral dissertation in 1980 on high-resolution spectra of ammonia and subsequently worked as a research scientist. After 1990, he began focusing on teaching, first at Charles University and later at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, where, in 1992, he introduced the master’s course “Molecular Spectroscopy.”
In 1995, Professor Štěpán Urban was awarded habilitation in analytical chemistry, and in 2003, he was appointed Professor in this discipline. He completed several significant international research stays: three times at the University of Cologne; at Ohio State University in Columbus, with support from the Harald Nielsen Fellowship; at the Institute of Spectroscopy of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Troitsk, near Moscow; and at the University of Lille. After 1990, he was awarded the prestigious Humboldt Foundation fellowship at the University of Cologne. As a visiting professor, he worked at Université Paris-Sud in Orsay, again at Ohio State University in Columbus, at the Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research in Tsukuba, Japan, and at the Institute of Chemical Physics of the University of Bologna in Italy.
Professor Štěpán Urban is the author of more than 150 original scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals, which have been cited more than 1,500 times. He has presented over 95 conference contributions, including three invited plenary lectures abroad and 11 invited lectures in the Czech Republic. In 2010, he received the Ioannes Marcus Marci Medal. Between 2010 and 2016, he served on the editorial board of the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, and he has long served as chair of the organizing committee for international conferences on high-resolution molecular spectroscopy. Within conferences held in Prague, he has hosted five Nobel Prize laureates. Professor Urban has actively served on panels of the Czech Science Foundation and was also the Czech representative at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg near Vienna. He is also the organizer of an international workshop in the emerging field of forensic olfactronics, and he serves as a consultant to the Constitutional Court. As principal investigator, Štěpán Urban has obtained 12 research grants (including one American and one European project), which have enabled him to build state-of-the-art laboratories at the University of Chemistry and Technology for microwave, centimeter-wave, and submillimeter-wave high-resolution spectroscopy, as well as for terahertz spectroscopy and a cutting-edge olfactronics laboratory. All of these laboratories are unique within the Czech Republic. As a supervisor, he successfully guided many dozens of student theses. During his eight-year tenure as head of the Institute of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, the department experienced unprecedented growth and became a leading forensic training center for dozens of Czech and international students. In 2021, Professor Štěpán Urban was awarded the Josef Hlávka Medal in recognition of his lifelong scientific contributions.