Dr Josef Pek, born May 7, 1952 in Kladno then Czechoslovakia passed May 16th 2024 in Prague of natural causes after protracted health complications. Josef joined the Institute of Geophysics of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences after graduating from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University in 1975 and spent his entire career at the Institute completing defending his PhD ‘Linearization methods of interpretation of magnetotelluric and magnetovariation data’ under Dr Oldřich Praus in 1984. After the retirement of Dr Praus, Josef lead the department of Geoelectrics from 1992-2018 before retiring in 2019. Together Josef and Oldřich Praus along with coworkers put the Institute of Geophysics at the forefront of electromagnetic induction methods globally – a feat given the political climate of the time.
Josef’s research focus centred on passive electromagnetic induction sounding – in particular magentotellurics and geomagnetic depth soundings. He made foundational contributions in development of modelling and inversion approaches and was a pioneer in the implementation of anisotropic earth structure solutions and stochastic modelling approaches. Throughout his career Josef participated in numerous multinational research projects including: determining the electrical structure surrounding the KTB drill hole; investigating links between intraplate seismicity and electrical resistivity of Western Bohemia; establishment and analysis of geomagnetic observatory network coupled with long-period magnetotelluric soundings to understand the East European craton evolution; and investigating the tectonic processes responsible for the Trans-European suture through the geoelectrical structure of the region. And taught the electromagnetic geophysics lectures at Charles University in Prague.
Always generous with his time and willing to share his knowledge and experience with students and young scientists in the Bierstube, his humble nature will be greatly missed by all those who knew him.
