MEDAL AWARDS

     Since 1977, the Ioannes Marcus Marci Spectroscopic Society has been awarding the Ioannes Marcus Marci of Kronland Medal to distinguished individuals in the field of spectroscopy. Named after the renowned Czech scientists, physician, and academic dignitary of Charles University, this medal was first presented on the occasion of the XX Colloquium Spectroscopicum Internationale in Prague. It is awarded in recognition of local and foreign scientists for their outstanding work and contributions in any of the spectroscopic fields. In the international context, this medal is of extraordinary significance and is considered an event worthy of, among other things, reports in renowned scientific journals. Each year, a rather limited number of the medals are awarded and the nominees are selected following a very critical evaluation (see Recipients of the Ioannes Marcus Marci Medal).

Prof. Blanka Vlčková

   Professor Blanka Vlčková graduated from the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at Charles University, Prague in 1984. Her scientific carrier progressed at the Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Charles University where she became a full professor in 2008 and has been a professor emeritus since 2025. In 1989, she established her research group "Surface-enhanced Raman scattering" (SERS), which was the first research group in the Czech Republic which dealt with this phenomenon. Prof. Vlčková and her research group have substantially contributed to elucidation of the molecular resonance damping in surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS), to identification of the reduced Ag(0) adsorption on Ag nanoparticle surfaces and specification of the conditions of their formation as well as to explanation of the simultaneous operation of graphene-enhanced Raman scattering (GERS) and SERS. Since 2017, Prof. Vlčková research interests involve also the plasmon-catalysed reactions on plasmonic metal nanoparticle surfaces and establishing of their mechanisms on the basis of targeted experiments using SERS spectral detection and monitoring of the reaction progress. 

   Prof. Blanka Vlčková published over 80 papers and two book chapters, and she delivered about 50 invited lectures at international conferences and universities abroad. She acted as the visiting scientist at University of London, University of Amsterdam, University of Toronto and University of California at Santa Barbara, and as the visiting professor at Mc. Gill University Montreal. In 2011, she was awarded "Certificate of Appreciation for Peer Review Activities" by American Chemical Society. 

   During her scientific carrier, Prof. Vlčková has been actively involved in the Ioannes Marcus Marci Spectroscopic Society (IMMSS) as a leader of the Vibrational Spectroscopy group and/or a head of the Molecular Spectroscopy Section. She participated in organizing and program committees of international as well as local conferences and lectured at the Vibrational Spectroscopy courses organized by the IMMSS.