On Monday, 21 October 2024, a meeting of the Scientific Council of the Czech University of Life Sciences was held in the auditorium of the Czech University of Life Sciences. Traditionally, it was an important event, during which new associate professors and doctors were appointed, and prestigious awards for scientific and publication achievements were given. Among the awardees were students and teachers of the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, who contribute to strengthening the scientific reputation of the University.
One of the major awards is the Professor Stoklasa Prize, which was awarded to Rohit Bharati, a PhD student of the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, for his thesis on Exploring the Potential of In-vitro Polyploidization for Genetic Improvement of Medicinal Plants, under the supervision of Professor Fernandez Cusimamani.
Another awardee was Jignesh Italiya, who received the Ministry of Agriculture Award for his research on SARS-CoV-2 in zoo-kept and wild-living animals. Italiya, who works under the supervision of Associate Professor Cerny, has contributed his research to a deeper understanding of virus transmission among animals, a key topic not only for zoos but also for wildlife conservation.
The Rector's Award for the best publication output of PhD students was awarded to Hidayatul Fitri for her publication in the journal Global Change Biology Bioenergy. This work under the supervision of Associate Professor Hynek Roubik in the field of sustainable energy has attracted the attention of the international scientific community and once again confirmed the growing importance of the research of FTZ.
The award for the best FTZ teacher of the academic year 2023/2024 was given to Assoc. Ing. Vladimír Krepl, CSc.
The Rector's Award for the publication outputs of the employees listed in the Nature Index was awarded to:
- prof. Mgr. Jan Šobotník, Ph.D. and Dr. Bourguignon Thomas: Evidence of cospeciation between termites and their gut bacteria on a geological time scale
- Onyedika Emmanuel Okpala, M.Sc., Ing. Iva Bernáthová and Mgr. Barbora Černá Bolfíková, Ph.D. a Ing. Markéta Swiacká: Genomic analyses reveal poaching hotspots and illegal trade in pangolins from Africa to Asia
- Mgr. Aleš Buček, Ph.D., Ing. Tereza Beránková and Johanna Romero Arias: Evidence of cospeciation between termites and their gut bacteria on a geological time scale
- doc. Ing. Karolína Brandlová, Ph.D. and prof. RNDr. Pavla Hejcmanová, Ph.D.: Ranging behaviours across ecological and anthropogenic disturbance gradients: a pan-African perspective of giraffe (Giraffa spp.) space use
The Rector's Award for the publication activities of employees in journals ranked in the 1st decile was awarded to:
- Mustapha Yakubu Madaki a doc. Ing. Miroslava Bavorová, Ph.D.: Agricultural insurance as a climate risk adaptation strategy in developing countries: a case of Nigeria
- Sillam-Dusses, David a prof. Mgr. Jan Šobotník, Ph.D.: Neoisoptera repeatedly colonised Madagascar after the Middle Miocene climatic optimum a Alarm communication predates eusociality in termites
- Dr. Thomas Bourguignon: Neoisoptera repeatedly colonised Madagascar after the Middle Miocene climatic optimum a Alarm communication predates eusociality in termites
- Ing. Nikola Teutscherova, Ph.D., Ing. Michel Kolaříková, Ph.D. a prof. Ing. Jan Banout, Ph.D.: Disentangling the effects of rice husk ash on increased plant growth and nitrogen recovery
- Ing. Hidayatul Fitri a doc. Ing. Hynek Roubík, Ph.D.: Biomass potential from agricultural residues for energy utilization in West Nusa Tenggara (WNT), Indonesia
- doc. Ing. Hynek Roubík, Ph.D.: Fungal solid-state fermentation of crops and their by-products to obtain protein resources: The next frontier of food industry a COVID-19 crisis interlinkage with past pandemics and their effects on food security
- Seyma Celina a RNDr. Jiří Černý, Ph.D.: Re-Emergence of BTV-4 in Sheep Farms in Kosovo, 2020: A Retrospective Study
- Chama Theodore Ketuama a Charles Amarachi Ogbu: COVID-19 crisis interlinkage with past pandemics and their effects on food security
The Rector of ČZU, Professor Petr Sklenička, in his speech emphasized the importance of excellence in scientific research and thanked all the awardees for their contribution to the growth of the University's prestige at the international level.
