prof. Vojtěch Novotný, Ph.D.

A leading entomologist and tropical ecologist who has long studied the
biodiversity of tropical rainforests, above all in exotic New Guinea. He works
at the Institute of Entomology of the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of
Sciences in České Budějovice and teaches ecology at the Faculty of Science of
the University of South Bohemia. His research focuses mainly on the
relationships between plants and insects and on the structure of food webs in
tropical ecosystems. He is one of the pioneers of long-term field research in
Papua New Guinea, where he co-founded the New Guinea Binatang Research Center.
His projects — including an elite Advanced ERC grant — have brought new insights
into the species diversity of tropical insects and helped refine estimates of
the total number of insect species on Earth. Alongside his scientific work he is
also engaged in biodiversity conservation and in developing science education in
tropical regions.