Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 +0100Wed, 22 Jul 2026 03:58:17 +0200https://english.radio.cz/world-renowned-chemist-josef-michl-figuring-out-mysteries-1968-and-a-remarkable-8207513© 2026 Radio Prague International Last week the Boulder-based Josef Michl was in his native Prague to receive the prestigious Neuron award for lifelong contribution to world science in the field of chemistry. Professor Michl became one of the planet’s top experts in his area – organic photochemical reactions – after deciding not to return to Czechoslovakia from abroad in the wake of the 1968 Soviet invasion. When we spoke, a question about his memories of the end of WWII (he was born in 1939) prompted an extraordinary story. One day in February 1945, little Josef’s mother had wanted to take him and his brother home via their usual route, up Vinohradská St. But the boys wanted to see some machine at the main train station – and the three were taking a parallel street home when an air raid began. encr@radio.cz (Cesky Rozhlas)webmaster@radio.cz (CRo Webmaster) https://english.radio.cz/sites/default/files/images/michl1.jpg?timestamp=1590555378 https://english.radio.cz/world-renowned-chemist-josef-michl-figuring-out-mysteries-1968-and-a-remarkable-8207513 Radio Prague International Radio Prague International radio.prague.int@gmail.com clean 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9