Dr. Ing. Jiří Kotek, dr. h. c., FEng.

Member of the Academy Council and Member of the Academy Council Presidium

• Addressing conceptual financial and budgetary matters and their implementation, including grant management in the entrusted area.
• Coordination of infrastructural activities of the Centre of Administration and Operations of the CAS.
• Coordination of support for scientific societies, including the grant management agenda in this area.
• Methodological oversight of public administration controls at CAS institutes.

Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the CAS

Jiří Kotek (*1971) is an internationally recognized expert in the field of polymer science. In 1994, he completed his studies in Materials Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague. At the same faculty, he defended his dissertation in 1998 and obtained the degree of Dr. (equivalent to Ph.D.). Since 1994, he has been working at the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the CAS, where he currently leads the Otto Wichterle Centre for Polymer Materials and Technologies. From 2016 to 2025, he served as the Director of the Institute.

He focuses on the relationships between the structure and resulting behaviour of polymers and materials derived from them, such as blends and composites, and also deals with plastic processing and recycling.

He has been the principal investigator of dozens of projects funded by the Czech Science Foundation and other providers, including the POLYMAT project of the National Sustainability Programme I. He has long-term collaborations with the application sphere, both with companies in the Czech Republic and abroad.

Jiří Kotek is active in several professional organizations and committees. He is the chairman of the Expert Group on Macromolecular Chemistry of the Czech Chemical Society, a member of the Engineering Academy of the Czech Republic, and a member of the editorial board of the journal Chemické listy. He is also a member of the Working Group on Plastics in Packaging at the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC). He also serves as the national representative of the Czech Republic in the European Polymer Federation and was elected its president for the years 2019 to 2022.

For his work, he has received several awards, including an honorary doctorate (dr. h. c.) from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon in France in 2022, and the Award of the President of the Czech Academy of Sciences for the Promotion or Popularization of Research, Experimental Development, and Innovation in 2023.