English
SlovenčinaDepartment of Environmental Engineering, Department of Biology and General Ecology, Department of Physics, Department of Production Technologies and Quality Management
Research area: 10. Environmental Sciences and Ecology
Scientific field: 4.3.2. Environmental Engineering
Annotation (main research focus):
The scientific team has long been involved in the issue of health protection in the working and living environment and brings together experts from three faculties and four departments. The main areas of research focus on the assessment of the effects of a wider range of factors (physical, chemical, biological, and others) on human health and the environment. Using modern instrumental techniques, human exposure to the above-mentioned factors in the working or living environment is monitored and the measured values are compared with the limit values regulated by legislation. The research focuses not only on the effects of these factors individually, but also on their combined effects in mutual interaction (agonistic and antagonistic). A quality assurance and control system is being implemented at the workplace to ensure the correct objectification of individual factors. The physical factors mainly include noise and light (assoc. prof. Nemec, assoc. prof. Dado, and assoc. prof. Hnilica), radioactive radiation (Ing. Vanek), and dust particles (specialization in ultrafine particles and liquid aerosols/cutting fluids – Ing. Salva, assoc. prof. Dado), and among chemical factors, in addition to gaseous components (ozone), the team specializes mainly in chemical carcinogens, mutagens, and reprotoxic substances (formaldehyde, PAH, toxic metals – prof. Schwarz), and in the case of biological factors, it focuses primarily on objectifying the occurrence of pathogens in the work environment (Ing. Perháčová).
In order to apply the research results in practice, the research team also focuses on the surveillance of risky activities, analysis and interpretation of data, which should be shared as much as possible with both the professional and lay public in order to adopt effective corrective measures to minimize threats and risks and achieve high safety standards. Life cycle assessment software (LCA analysis using SimaPro software) is used to assess environmental impacts.
Reasons why your team is considered excellent
The team members are renowned scientists in their field, not only in Slovakia but also in the European research area. The Web of Science Core Collection database lists a total of 171 publications with 903 citations without self-citations, and the team's H-index is 18 (30.10.2025). They regularly lead or co-lead projects funded by domestic (APVV; VEGA; KEGA; OP Research and Innovation EnviHealth) and foreign grant agencies. Team leader prof. Marián Schwarz, (number of works in Wos 55, number of citations 268, H-index 9), assoc. prof. Mgr. Miroslav Němec, PhD (69/462/14), assoc. prof. Ing. Miroslav Dado, PhD. (39, 158, 7), assoc. prof. Ing. Richard Hnilica, PhD. (31, 131, 7), Ing. Jozef Salva, PhD. (19, 56, 5), Ing. Miroslav Vanek, PhD. (18, 72, 5), Ing. Zuzana Perháčová, PhD. (8, 56, 3). Team members supervise final theses (bachelor's, master's, and doctoral) related to the main thematic focus of the research team and systematically establish a scientific school (6 completed doctoral students and 5 in preparation). In addition to their indisputable contribution to research and science, the entire team also pays equal attention to the transfer of knowledge to students through the creation of university textbooks, for which several team members have repeatedly received the TUZVO Rector's Award for scientific contribution and publication outputs.