History of the FCHT
History of the FCHT
The Faculty of Chemical Technology was established in 1969 by merging the Faculty of Inorganic Technology and the Faculty of Organic Technology, which, together with the Faculty of Food Technology, were the three founding faculties of the independent University of Chemical Technology in Prague in 1952. It might seem that the traditions of the Faculty of Chemical Technology do not date back further than 1952. However, the faculty is not only represented by its name, but above all by the fields of study taught there, in which the faculty has both traditional and contemporary scientific prestige. From this perspective, the history of the Faculty of Chemical Technology dates back to the very beginnings of university education in technical chemistry in the Czech lands.
History of the UCT Prague
In 1807, general and practical chemistry classes began at the Royal Technical College. Practical chemistry courses focused on the needs of the most important Czech manufacturing industries, namely ironworks, glassworks, and textiles.
The teaching of ironworks later changed to chemical metallurgy and was retained even during the gradual transformation of the Royal Technical College into the Prague Polytechnic, later the Czech Technical University, and also after the establishment of the independent University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague. In 1907, František Wald, an internationally renowned scientist in the field of thermodynamics, became the first professor of metallurgy and physical chemistry at the Prague Polytechnic. His appointment as professor at the Prague Polytechnic was linked to the establishment of a department dedicated to this field. Professor F. Wald can be considered the founder of today's Institute of Metal Materials and Corrosion Engineering.
The teaching of glassmaking has also continued uninterrupted to the present day. Around 1870, the technology of building materials was separated from the extensive subject of technical chemistry, alongside iron metallurgy. From 1904, Josef Burian gave lectures on glassmaking and ceramics, becoming the first professor of glassmaking and ceramics in 1909 and the founder of today's Institute of Glass and Ceramics.
Although lectures on "Plant and Animal Substances" were already being given as part of general chemistry at the Prague Polytechnic in 1817, it was not until 1871 that Professor Vojtěch Šafařík introduced organic chemistry as a separate subject. In 1906, the renowned Czech chemist and professor of general experimental chemistry Emil Votoček began lecturing on organic and inorganic chemistry and became head of the Institute of General Experimental Chemistry. In 1938, Professor Rudolf Lukeš took over the leadership of this institute. His colleagues included Otto Wichterle and František Petrů. Professor Vladimír Prelog, winner of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was also a student of Votoček and Lukeš. In 1952, when the independent University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague was established, this institute was divided into the Department of Inorganic Chemistry, headed by Professor František Petrů, and the Department of Organic Chemistry, headed by Professor Rudolf Lukeš. The Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemical Technology are the direct successors of these departments.
In 1822, lectures on mineralogy began at the Prague Polytechnic, led by František Xaver Maxmilián Zippe, founder of the mineralogical collection. Thanks to continuous additions by generations of teachers, this mineralogical collection at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague is now the most valuable collection of minerals in the Czech Republic after the collections of the National Museum. Mineralogy was then mostly taught as part of the natural sciences, although it was a compulsory subject in the chemistry department, e.g., from 1879 onwards, even in the first state examination. The Institute of Mineralogy was not founded until 1920 at the University of Chemistry and Technology by Professor Augustin Ondřej. The current name, Institute of Solid State Chemistry, reflects the institute's shift in focus towards the structure and phase analysis of solids.
In 1835, Professor Karel Napoleon Balling included in his technical chemistry lectures, in addition to glass and ceramics production, iron metallurgy, sugar refining, and fermentation chemistry, sections devoted to the production of potash, saltpeter, soda, vitriol, sal ammoniac, alum, vitriol, and other inorganic compounds. This is where the origins of today's field of inorganic technology can be found. The production of chemicals then had a permanent place in the technical chemistry study program, but Professor Jaroslav Milbauer began teaching it as a separate subject in 1910. He founded and headed a separate workplace, the Institute of Inorganic Technology, from 1920.
In 1920, the "Institute of Technology of Explosives, Essential Oils, Resins, Rubbers, and Varnishes, and Blasting Technology, with Technology of Organic Substances" was established at the College of Chemical and Technological Engineering. This unusually broad name reflected the professional focus of Professor Cyril Krauz, who was appointed head of the institute. Under the influence of prominent figures at its helm, such as Professor František Šorm and Professor Viktor Ettel, the scientific and pedagogical focus of the institute changed, as did its name to the current Institute of Organic Technology.
From 1870 onwards, rubber and plastics factories began to spring up rapidly in the Czech lands and Slovakia, and this development continued into the first half of the 20th century. Engineers came to these plants mainly from the Vienna University of Technology and from various departments of the Czech Technical University's Faculty of Chemical Technology. It was not until 1949 that the Institute of Plastics was established at this university, and Professor Otto Wichterle was appointed its director. He began research into contact lenses made from hydrophilic gels. The workplace was soon divided into the Department of Macromolecular Chemistry and the Department of Rubber and Plastics Technology, only to be merged again later into today's Institute of Polymers.
As part of the polymer technology study program, the Laboratory for the Restoration of Works of Art has been operating at the Faculty of Chemical Technology since 1974. In 1993, it was transformed into the Institute of Chemical Technology for the Restoration of Monuments and provides teaching in this field.
In 1984, the Department of Chemical Technology of Materials for Electronics was established at the Faculty of Chemical Technology. After 1989, changes in the structure of our industry necessitated a change in focus and name to the Institute of Solid State Engineering, which coordinates teaching in the field of Materials Engineering. Other material-focused institutes also participate in teaching.
In 1961, the Joint Laboratory for Silicate Chemistry and Technology of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague was established, which in 1987 was transformed into the Institute of Glass and Ceramic Materials of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Today, this workplace is directly linked to the Laboratory of Inorganic Materials, established in 1996, a joint workplace of the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague.