Dr. Vojtech Novotny is a tropical biologist studying the ecology of rainforests. He is based at the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences in the Czech Republic, while also directing the New Guinea Binatang Research Center in Papua New Guinea. 

Dr. Novotny’s research led to a better understanding of the diversity and ecological roles of insects in tropical rainforests, improving the estimates of global insect diversity and documenting complex relationships between insects and tropical vegetation. 

Dr. Novotny has also developed rainforest conservation projects, working with indigenous communities in Papua New Guinea. He is promoting research capacity building in tropical countries. In Papua New Guinea, he is co-developing training programs for para-ecologists and students. Among the more adventurous projects, he has built a canopy crane for rainforest research in Papua New Guinea. 

Dr. Novotny has received his PhD from the Czech Academy of Sciences in 1993. He is serving as a Vice-President of the Society for Tropical Ecology, as an Editor of the Ecology Letters, as a member of the European Research Council panel, and as a member of the Academia Europaea. In 2018, he received The Marsh Award for Insect Conservation from The Royal Entomological Society.