Professor
University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Czech Republic
Prof. Frantisek Stepanek obtained a PhD in chemical engineering in 2000 jointly from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague and Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris. He started his professional career at Unilever R&D in the UK in the area of powder detergents, later moving back to academia to Imperial College London where he established a research group on particle technology. Since 2008 he is a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, Czech Republic. At present, he is the scientific director of the Pharmaceutical Applied Research Centre (The PARC). His research interests include drug delivery, pharmaceutical process engineering and chemical robotics. He has published over 200 research articles, 6 patents and initiated the foundation of two start-up companies. Prof. Stepanek has received several awards for his work including the Moulton Medal, the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Award, the Philip Leverhulme Prize, the Werner von Siemens Award, or the Fulbright Scholarship. Frantisek is a keen beekeeper and a finisher of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.