VSU Meteorology faculty wins 2nd prize at Czech Conference on climate reasearch

Charlies S. Andan, a faculty member of the Department of Meteorology at the Visayas State University (VSU), placed 2nd in the First-Year PhD Student category at the Bažant Postgraduate Conference 2025 held last June 17, 2025 at the Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague.

Now taking his PhD in Environmental Science at Charles University while also working under the Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics group at the Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Mr. Andan was recognized for his ongoing research on how tiny airborne particles called aerosols influence cloud formation.

His work focuses on tiny particles in the air called cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). These particles help form clouds by allowing water droplets to gather around them. They affect how clouds form and how much sunlight is reflected, and they can also influence rain and air quality.

While they are invisible to the eye, their effect on climate is significant and still not fully understood. Mr. Andan’s research tries to make sense of this complexity using data from a long-term monitoring site in Košetice, Czech Republic.

In his presentation at the conference, he explained how concentration, chemical composition, and size distribution of these particles affect their ability to trigger cloud formation under different environmental and meteorological conditions.

One part of his work evaluates how CCN behave across different air masses sources, from clean oceanic air of the Atlantic Region to more anthropogenically influenced inland sources like Western and Eastern Europe.

This kind of work is difficult, but necessary. Accurately representing CCN behavior in climate models helps scientists better predict how much warming we can expect under different emission scenarios, and how regional precipitation patterns might shift as a result.

On Facebook, Mr. Andan expressed his thanks for this recognition.

“Honored to have received the 2nd prize in the First-Year PhD Student category at the Bažant Conference 2025, held at the Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the Czech Academy of Science last June 17, 2025. Grateful for the opportunity to present my research and progress to the committee. It’s a privilege to learn alongside such competent and inspiring colleagues. Looking forward to the journey ahead!”

The Bažant Postgraduate Conference is an annual event organized as a scientific contest among PhD students at the Czech Academy of Sciences. Submissions are reviewed by a panel of senior researchers and guest experts who evaluate the clarity, depth, and scientific quality of the work presented.

This article is aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education; SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; SDG 13: Climate Action, and; SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

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