New Perspectives in Science Education
Dušan Račko
Institution: Polymer Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava
Country: Slovakia
Dušan Račko is a senior researcher and Head of the Department of Molecular Simulations of Polymers at the Institute of Polymers of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.
He completed his PhD studies between 2000 and 2005 partly at the Institute of Polymers of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and partly at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Florence and at the European Laboratory for Nonlinear Spectroscopy (LENS) in Florence. During this period, he worked in the Molecular Spectroscopy & Simulations group led by Prof. Gianni Cardini. His doctoral research focused on computer simulations of condensed molecular phases.
From September 2007 to September 2010, Dušan Račko carried out a postdoctoral fellowship in Spain. He spent this period partly at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of the Basque Country and partly at the Donostia International Physics Center, where he worked in the Polymers & Soft Matter group of Prof. Juan Colmenero de León. His research there focused on molecular dynamics simulations of polymer melts.
In 2010, he returned to the Institute of Polymers of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, where he joined the Department of Molecular Simulations of Polymers as an independent research scientist in the group of Prof. Peter Cifra. Since then, his work has focused on molecular dynamics simulations of DNA biopolymers and complex molecular systems.
Between August 2014 and July 2018, Dušan Račko spent four years in Switzerland at the Centre for Integrative Genomics, part of the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne. There, he worked in the Chromatin and DNA Modelling group of Prof. Andrzej Stasiak, studying DNA topology and its role in molecular biology through advanced computer simulations. In January 2015, the group became part of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.
In June 2019, after returning to the Institute of Polymers of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, he was appointed Head of the Department of Molecular Simulations of Polymers.
Dušan Račko is the author of approximately 40 peer-reviewed publications, which have received around 850 citations. He has presented his work at about 130 scientific conferences, including approximately 35 invited or contributed talks in the European Union and the United States.
His main research interests include high-performance computing simulations of polymers, molecular modelling, and the study of biopolymers, particularly DNA.
In addition to his scientific career, Dušan Račko has lived for two years in Morocco. He speaks French and English fluently, with basic knowledge of Spanish, Italian, and Russian. His interests include computing technologies, popular science, and travel. He has visited major scientific and research facilities such as CERN in Geneva, the ITER fusion reactor construction site in Cadarache, the University of Bologna, and the High-Performance Computing Centre in Stuttgart.
Areas of expertise: Molecular dynamics simulations, high-performance computing, polymer modelling, biopolymers, DNA topology, computational molecular science, project writing, dissemination, higher education, supervising PhD’s and undergrad students
He completed his PhD studies between 2000 and 2005 partly at the Institute of Polymers of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and partly at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Florence and at the European Laboratory for Nonlinear Spectroscopy (LENS) in Florence. During this period, he worked in the Molecular Spectroscopy & Simulations group led by Prof. Gianni Cardini. His doctoral research focused on computer simulations of condensed molecular phases.
From September 2007 to September 2010, Dušan Račko carried out a postdoctoral fellowship in Spain. He spent this period partly at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of the Basque Country and partly at the Donostia International Physics Center, where he worked in the Polymers & Soft Matter group of Prof. Juan Colmenero de León. His research there focused on molecular dynamics simulations of polymer melts.
In 2010, he returned to the Institute of Polymers of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, where he joined the Department of Molecular Simulations of Polymers as an independent research scientist in the group of Prof. Peter Cifra. Since then, his work has focused on molecular dynamics simulations of DNA biopolymers and complex molecular systems.
Between August 2014 and July 2018, Dušan Račko spent four years in Switzerland at the Centre for Integrative Genomics, part of the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne. There, he worked in the Chromatin and DNA Modelling group of Prof. Andrzej Stasiak, studying DNA topology and its role in molecular biology through advanced computer simulations. In January 2015, the group became part of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.
In June 2019, after returning to the Institute of Polymers of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, he was appointed Head of the Department of Molecular Simulations of Polymers.
Dušan Račko is the author of approximately 40 peer-reviewed publications, which have received around 850 citations. He has presented his work at about 130 scientific conferences, including approximately 35 invited or contributed talks in the European Union and the United States.
His main research interests include high-performance computing simulations of polymers, molecular modelling, and the study of biopolymers, particularly DNA.
In addition to his scientific career, Dušan Račko has lived for two years in Morocco. He speaks French and English fluently, with basic knowledge of Spanish, Italian, and Russian. His interests include computing technologies, popular science, and travel. He has visited major scientific and research facilities such as CERN in Geneva, the ITER fusion reactor construction site in Cadarache, the University of Bologna, and the High-Performance Computing Centre in Stuttgart.
Areas of expertise: Molecular dynamics simulations, high-performance computing, polymer modelling, biopolymers, DNA topology, computational molecular science, project writing, dissemination, higher education, supervising PhD’s and undergrad students
