UJEP

is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Environment, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University (UJEP) in Ústí nad Labem, Czechia. His research primarily focuses on soil–plant interactions in the context of phytoremediation and the enhancement of contaminated and/or degraded soil quality. He works extensively with various plant models such as Miscanthus and quinoa to explore their potential in sustainable land management and environmental restoration.

In addition to his core research, Dr. Al Souki is actively involved in water and wastewater quality monitoring and remediation. He has hands-on experience in a broad range of environmental and geochemical analyses, including soil, water, and plant tissue assessments, utilizing both conventional and advanced laboratory techniques.

He earned his PhD from the University of Lille 1 – Sciences and Technologies in France, conducting his doctoral research between 2014 and 2017 at the Civil Engineering and geo-Environment (LGCgE) laboratory at ISA-Lille. His academic journey has been marked by a strong interdisciplinary approach, bridging environmental science and plant-based solutions for ecological rehabilitation.

Dr. Al Souki has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed scientific publications and remains actively engaged in research dissemination and academic collaboration. Beyond research, he is involved in teaching and supervising Master’s and PhD students, as well as contributing to the university’s internationalization efforts through joint projects and academic exchanges.

His work continues to promote sustainable environmental practices and to develop innovative strategies for managing polluted ecosystems, integrating scientific rigor with practical applications.

He is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental Chemistry and Technology and also serves as Vice-Dean for Research. His expertise focuses primarily on environmental microbiology and biotechnology, with a specialization in the removal of soil and water pollutants. He is the author of 70 scientific articles and holds 3 patents or utility models, including a patent for the removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater. He teaches courses such as Biological Minimum, Remediation Technologies, Environmental Microbiology, Environmental Biotechnology, and the course Climate and the Environment in Data within lifelong learning programs. He is also engaged in climate change awareness and green transformation initiatives as an ambassador of the European Climate Pact.

He studied at the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, majoring in General and Applied Biochemistry, and obtained his Ph.D. in Microbiology and habilitation in Biotechnology from the same institution.

He is engaged in the development of new types of materials for environmental applications (especially based on inorganic oxides) and focuses on the characterization of the surface properties of these materials using classical analytical chemistry methods and their ability to remove pollutants. Within his current scope of work, he has developed and modified existing methods for characterizing nanomaterials and applied them to nanomaterials developed at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, UJEP. He is also involved in the development of new materials with modified nanostructures for advanced applications

Expertise:

• Inorganic and analytical chemistry (HPLC, FTIR, electrochemistry)
• Preparation and characterization of new types of nanomaterials for environmental applications
• Development of non-traditional methods for characterization of nanomaterials

Pollutant removal using various nanomaterials

I graduated with a master’s degree in Landscape Restoration, focusing on geoinformatics. I am currently pursuing a PhD at the Department of Cartography and Geodesy, where my research concentrates on the acquisition and processing of spatial data. My long-term interests include geoinformatics, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), analysis of data obtained through aerial surveys and remote sensing.

I have hands-on experience with ArcGIS Online, preparing and publishing web maps, as well as mapping using mobile applications in the field. I will apply this expertise in the IDEAL project, particularly in data collection, creation of interactive maps, and interpretation of results.

is a graduate of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences in Ústí nad Labem. He is currently completing his Ph.D. studies in the Environmental Chemistry and Technology study program. Main focus: ICP-MS analyses, extraction and microwave extraction of soils, bioavailability of elements for soils, etc. In recent years, Slavomír Adamec has been dealing (as part of his dissertation) mainly with the pollution of the landscape of northwestern Bohemia with risk elements (mainly metals such as As, Cd, Pb, etc. and also polyaromatic hydrocarbons). The aim of the work is to distinguish natural contamination from bedrock from contamination caused by anthropogenic activity. The target area of research is best described by the following publications:

Adamec S, Tůmová Š, Hošek M, Lučić M, Matys Grygar T (2024) Pitfalls of distinguishing anthropogenic and Geogenic reasons for risk elements in soils around coal-fired power plants: from a case study in the Northwestern Czech Republic to general recommen­dations. J Soils Sediments 24:1274–1288. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-0 4-03726-9

Grygar TM, Adamec S, Tůmová Š, Burdová H, Kříženecká S, Bretschneiderová D, Lučić M, Pavlů I (2025). Identification of coal combustion impacts on soil contamination by risk elements needs empirical holistic approach: case study in the Most Basin, Czech Republic. Environ Earth Sci 84, 446. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-025-12458-z