Boris Fačkovec

During my high school studies, I was most interested in physics and chemistry, and often competed at olympiads and seminars. I was fascinated by the prospect of calculating chemical properties without laborious and expensive experimentation, and by the possibility of understanding living matter at the molecular level. I later attended a bachelor program at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague, which was intended for students highly interested in chemistry, and was led by experienced lecturers who motivated their students. My interest in theoretical chemistry grew in the college where, in my first year, I worked in a group led by Dr. Vondrášek at the Center for Biomolecules and Complex Molecular Systems at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry AS CR. At the Institute, I studied stabilizing non-covalent interactions in proteins. I have simultaneously studied molecular modeling at Charles University in Prague and chemical engineering and mathematical modeling at the Institute of Chemical Technology between 2010 and 2012. In September 2012, I started my PhD in the Chemistry Department of the University of Cambridge as a member of King's College and a Bakala Scholar. In the last three years, I developed computational methods of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, taught undergraduates and did my best to use the opportunities Cambridge offers to learn about the scientific, technological and social challenges of today. I am currently writing my thesis focused on relaxations on energy landscapes of soft matter systems. My passion for real-life applications of state-of-the-art technology and the desire for changing the world has recently diverted me a bit from the academic career path. In February 2016, I will join Prague office of McKinsey&Company as a junior associate.