The Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences succeeded in the prestigious international competition in the ERA Chairs call of the Horizon Europe programme with its project HIVE: Centre for Biological Invasions in Forests. CZU therefore became one of the five Czech institutions that this year managed to obtain this grant in competition with 158 other proposals, and thus helped to place the Czech Republic in second place, just behind Portugal, in the informal competition of EU member states in the number of successful projects in this call.
The main goal of the HIVE project is to bring to CZU the excellent world scientist Dr. Andrew M. Liebhold and create around him a permanent research group focused on biological invasions in forests. This move aims to increase the quality and capacity of research and innovation at FLD, promote mobility between researchers and innovators, and increase the attractiveness and excellence of research across the Faculty and beyond.
Andrew Liebhold is currently one of the top 100 scientists of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). With an h-index of 89, his productivity ranks him among the top five scientists in the world dealing with biological invasions in forests. During his career, he has worked as a visiting scientist in laboratories around the world and is active in international scientific organizations. His work is widely recognized; it includes the organization of an IUFRO working group as well as editorial roles in top scientific journals. Due to his reputation, Dr. Liebhold is regularly invited as a keynote speaker at numerous scientific conferences around the world and is the recipient of prestigious scientific awards such as the IUFRO Scientific Achievement Award, Fellow of the Entomological Society of America, and Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science.
FLD managed to get the prestigious ERA Chairs grant for the first time. This year, Dr. Liebhold and his team will support the newly established FLD Forest Risk Research Centre.
The European ERA Chairs call is aimed at supporting research institutions and universities in less developed regions of the European Union (so-called Widening countries) to achieve research excellence. The aim is to attract top scientists and experts (so-called ERA Chairs) to these institutions, who will help increase their research capacity, improve the quality of research and innovation, and thereby increase their competitiveness at the international level. Grants enable creating new research teams, modernizing infrastructure, and support the development of strategic partnerships.