Pavol Prokop is Scientist of the Year
The most outstanding people of Slovak science received awards at the Scientist of the Year event. The main award, Scientist of the Year 2021, was given to behavioral ecologist Pavol Prokop from the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Comenius University. The 25th year of the event took place on 14 June 2022, in the Moyzes Hall of the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University.
Scientist of the Year Professor PaedDr. Pavol Prokop, DrSc., From the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Comenius University Bratislava received the award for clarifying how reproductive strategies and evolutionary aspects of behavioral strategies are involved in avoiding pathogen contamination. He has published more than 170 research papers which are available in the Web of Science (WoS) and Nature Index databases. In 2020 and 2021 his publishing activity generated 961 SCI references.
"I greatly value this prestigious award which shows appreciation for the work of Slovak researchers. The vast majority of scientists will never receive it, which makes it particularly valuable to me. At the same time, I am pleased that this award acknowledges the field of behavioral ecology, which does not have a long research history in Slovakia," said Scientist of the Year.
Pavol Prokop is a pioneer of behavioral ecology in Slovakia. He teaches at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Comenius University and works as a senior researcher at the Institute of Zoology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Professor Prokop focuses most of his research at the evolution of animal and human behavior. He concentrated on Darwin's application of the sexual selection theory to living systems, as well as on a number of basic human emotions, anthrozoology, and relationships between hosts and parasites. In intercultural research he teamed up with colleagues to study the effects of gender ratios and the stability of preferences applied in sexual selection. He also participated in research into behavioral strategies of hosts influenced by parasites and by sexual signaling.
The award of Young Researcher was presented to Dr. Lucia Balážová from the Slovak Academy of Sciences, while Professor Tomáš Brestovič from the Technical University in Košice became Innovator of the Year, and Professor Michal Hatala from the Technical University in Košice was named Technologist of the Year. Associate Professor Ladislav Hluchý from the Slovak Academy of Sciences was awarded the title "Notable personality of international cooperation".
The event is organized by the Center of Scientific and Technical Information of the Slovak Republic, the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Association of Slovak Scientific and Technical Societies. The purpose of the event is to raise the professional and social profile of the most notable personalities of science in Slovakia and promote outstanding results of research and science.