The Institute of Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology and Applied Geophysics is a leading university institution in the Czech Republic in the field of applied geology. According to the represented specializations, it is divided into three departments. The institute has over 22 scientific and pedagogical employees dealing with hydrogeology, engineering geology, applied geophysics and environmental protection. For more than 50 years of teaching applied geology at Charles University, over 600 specialists finished their studies.
The research activities of the institute include the solution of a number of specific projects in the field of groundwater, construction, environmental protection, exploitation of natural resources, structure of the Earth’s crust, rock magnetism, extraterrestrial geophysics, induced seismicity and natural CO2 flux. Students' participation in research in the form of independent laboratory or field work is a natural part of the research.
The Institute has the best equipped laboratory of soil mechanics in the Czech Republic, an internationally registered radioisotope laboratory for determining the age of rocks and other natural samples using radiocarbon and tritium dating and a set of instruments for geophysical measurements. It also operates the CarbonNet network for monitoring the flow of natural CO2 in western Bohemia.