Martin Palušák goes from lab to longboard: science and adrenaline

"I like the non-violence of the environmental chemistry field. We're trying to help society," says analytical chemist Martin Palušák from the Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation, who is currently working on methods for reusing metals from mine water.

Martin grew up in the popularity of Jurassic Park. He wanted to travel the world and discover dinosaurs, but over time he found chemistry and physics more interesting. "My chemist and I went to the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS. We went to a lab where they were studying the structures of proteins. It was in the basement, with an old couch against the wall and a shelf full of fantasy books next to it. And I thought, I have to do this. That's when I decided that I wanted to be a scientist," recalls Martin, who returned to the Institute of Chemical Biology as part of his bachelor's thesis. "It was a valuable experience, there are real experts working there," he says. So Martin studied biochemistry at the UK and ended up at the Faculty of Nuclear and Physical Engineering at the Czech Technical University, where he went on to complete his PhD.

In a white coat instead of a helmet on the dig site

Eventually he returned from Prague to his native Liberec and currently works in the environmental chemistry laboratory at the Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovations (CXI TUL). "During my PhD I worked here two days a week. And then my wife was pregnant, so we decided to go back to our family. Everything goes better with the help of grandmothers," explains Martin.

Martin values the freedom of self-realization and the opportunity to gain experience abroad. "We have a lot of international collaborations, I have gotten to places I would never have thought of in my life. I was in the oceanography lab. They had round windows on the door, just like on a ship. There were aquariums full of fish or even coral. Of course, we don't have that in the Czech Republic."

Did his childhood dream come true? He travels the world and discovers. Not dinosaurs, but analytical methods.

Hit the bull's-eye

And what would Martin recommend to budding scientists? "The most important thing is to choose the right field," he jokes.

"I chose environmental chemistry. I enjoy the fact that this field is trying to help society. For example, there is a lot of debate these days about whether or not there is global warming and who is to blame. We look for the facts and use them to decide on solutions to improve the current situation. In our case, for example, by treating water better or using neglected resources."

The fact that Martin is passionate about chemistry is evidenced by the fact that he performed chemical experiments at schools and then taught organic chemistry and ran laboratories at the PhD level. "When I think about it, it was definitely an important experience. It made me realize how much I didn't know. Nowadays, teaching is no longer compulsory, but I think everyone who wants to work in a university should try it as a career."

Did his childhood dream come true? He travels the world and discovers. Not dinosaurs, but analytical methods.

From the lab straight to the longboard

And what's Martin up to after work? He rides from the peaks of the Jizera Mountains on a longboard. He has no brakes, he controls everything with his body. "Now I take more care of myself for my family. I go slower, maybe 60 km per hour," explains Martin, who still relaxes after work by bouldering and of course with his wife and daughter.

Horizon Europe Twinning

Martin is working on several projects, one of the larger ones being SURRI (Sustainable Remediation of Radionuclide Impacts on Land and Critical Materials Recovery). It is a prestigious international Horizon Europe Twinning project. The main idea is to form a team and exchange know-how through the world.

And what is the project about? The Czech Republic has been one of the main producers of uranium in recent years. After mining, there are many sites with high levels of radioactive substances or rare heavy metals. However, these can still be considered strategic raw materials. "The first problem that SURRI is addressing is how to clean up the mine water. This is because a huge amount of money is spent to ensure that contaminated water does not flow into the environment. But by cleaning the water, we concentrate strategic materials such as uranium or heavy metals. The next problem is how to access and reuse these valuable resources. The options are biological or chemical. I am working on electrochemical methods."

Extracting metals from mine water

To a layman, what Martin is doing can be described as having two magnets that can attract certain chemicals, but instead of magnetism, electricity is used. "Our partner, the University of Southampton, has a lot of experience in this and that helps us transfer their methods to our conditions. And it was an English university that was almost excluded because of Brexit. And then we have partnerships with Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Granada, and in the Czech Republic we work with the national company Diamo. SURRI is a project that promotes knowledge transfer."

Comprehensive methodology and other projects

The end result of the project will be a comprehensive methodology using both chemical and biological methods for the reuse of valuable raw materials from mine water. "Ideally, SURRI will be followed by another project that would integrate our technologies into site-specific operations. I would like to be involved in this. I appreciate the fact that I write interesting projects," Martin explains enthusiastically.

"For example, when I came from Prague, I didn't know how to write projects. At CXI TUL, I was immediately involved in all the processes and they helped me get collaborations going pretty quickly. So far, my projects haven't worked out well. I am at the beginning of my career. But I'm still trying. It's probably best to take the plunge and not be afraid to work on it again and again. That's what I'm free to do here."

For CXI TUL and across half the country

And where does Martin see himself in five years? "I would like to go back to my PhD studies, but now we are about to have another child, so it will be slower," he calculates, adding in one breath that he would like to stay at CXI TUL, simply because he is working with leading capacities in the field of environmental chemistry. "For example, there are scientists working here who do not hesitate to commute to Liberec from Prague every day," he says.