Researchers' Night 2026 at HiLASE: from candles to lasers, smoke signals, and a battle of materials
On Friday, 25 September, the HiLASE Centre opened its doors to the public as part of the nationwide Researchers' Night. The evening followed the event's national theme: communication. Together with our visitors, we explored one of humanity's oldest, yet most advanced, ways of sharing information: light.
The programme kicked off with not one but two talks. In From Candle to Laser, Dominika Jochcová guided the audience through the history of how we understand light, from candle flames and light bulbs to laser technology. She also explained what makes laser light so special and how it is used today in science, medicine, and industry.
She was followed by Radek Uhlíř with When Light Tells a Story: Smoke Signals, Lasers, and Invisible Messages. He took the audience on a journey from the first light signals sent with fire, mirrors, and lighthouses all the way to optical fibres and communication with satellites. It was Radek's first time speaking at a public event such as this, and his talk earned well-deserved applause.
Visitors also showed great interest in tours of the Laser Micromachining experimental hall, led by Ondřej Stránský. The tours took them into internal areas that are normally closed to the public, where we carry out experiments for industrial applications.
The evening's biggest hit was the demonstration of our materials testing machine. As part of the Destruction Lab: Battle of Materials, Ondřej Buršík showed the machine we use to test samples prepared in our laboratories. He explained in a playful way how different materials behave when pulled apart and compressed, and why particular materials are chosen for particular purposes. He then demonstrated these differences on industrial materials as well as on sweets and biscuits, which also gave participants a little snack.
Many thanks to everyone who joined us for this year's Researchers' Night. Whether you came for the talks, the experimental halls, or to see how much force a wafer biscuit can take, we were glad to have you.
About Researchers' Night 2026
Researchers' Night is a nationwide science festival that opens universities and research centres across the Czech Republic to the public. Each year, it brings science closer to people in an engaging and accessible way.
This year's edition took place on Friday, 25 September, with the theme of "Communication". Dozens of institutions across the country prepared a varied programme of lectures, experiments, workshops, and excursions, showing how essential communication is in science and in everyday life.
More information can be found at nocvedy.cz.
