Published: 13.07.2022
The eighth annual ceremony ‘Pardubice Region Awards 2021’ was finally again a face-to-face event after two years of pandemic measures. This year, the award ceremony took place in the newly renovated Suk Hall of the House of Music. The event pays tribute to the personalities whose long-term activity has enriched the lives of people in their surroundings. The following awards are given: Medal of the Governor of the Pardubice Region, Michal Rabas Award for Rescue, and Award of Merit in Recognition of the Development of the Pardubice Region. The latter was received by Prof. Ing. Petr Kalenda, CSc, Dean of FChT.
“Chemistry is all around us, it shapes the entire surroundings,” says with a deliberate voice Petr Kalenda, Dean of the Faculty of Chemical Technology of the University of Pardubice. “Nothing can exist without chemistry. Construction, mechanical engineering, food industry, medicine, electrical engineering. These are all products of our research.”
Although his life is tied with chemistry, he is certainly not a scientific fanatic who would ignore the rest of the world. Professor Kalenda is also known for his passion for history, archaeology, geology and even genealogy, but chemistry logically became his fate, despite having different plans at the threshold of adulthood. “I come from a chemical family. My father was a chemist, I am a chemist, my son is a chemist, my grandfather was also a chemist. One can say that I follow the family tradition,” explains Professor Kalenda, who graduated in technology of polymers manufacturing and processing at the University of Chemical Technology in Pardubice in the mid-1980s. “During my studies, I began to like chemistry and I established a relationship with it.”
Perhaps because he was not very keen on chemistry during adolescence, Professor Kalenda is now the one who instigates the interest of young people in the field. “We met for the first time in 2009, during the AMAVET competition at the Festival of Science and Technology for children and youth,” recalls Vice-Dean Mgr. Lucie Stříbrná, Ph.D. “I had the opportunity to see him work with elementary and secondary school children. And it was clear to me that this person was very kind, open, conscientious, humble and that he had a great attitude to children. He was able to communicate with them, improve their qualities and motivate them for the future.” Professor Kalenda’s colleagues believe that in addition to his scientific and educational activity, his efforts in the popularization of chemistry are extremely important.
He was one of the founders of the national competition Search for the Best Young Chemist, acts as a jury in professional competitions, has long supported the Festival of Science and Technology as well as educational activities for secondary school teachers. He has motivated many people to choose chemistry as their career and has been awarded by the Minister of Education for his educational activity. “Love for chemistry can be awakened not only by an example, but also by showing associations and principles. Once you understand something, you begin to like it,” Professor Kalenda reveals the seemingly simple method. But the method itself is insufficient, it always depends on the personality of the teacher. “I see the sense in attracting elementary and secondary school students to competitions. To make them prepare for the competitions, to make it entertaining and to make them believe that their efforts have paid off. Then they establish a relationship with science and are more likely to study technical fields.”
We would like to congratulate Professor Kalenda and wish him a lot of health, success, happiness and many enthusiastic students!
Source: Medailonky 2021, Author: Miloš Spáčil, Award of Merit in Recognition of the Development of the Pardubice Region
