# Zdeněk Dvořák

> Czech mathematician

**Wikidata**: [Q24005021](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24005021)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zdeněk_Dvořák)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/zdenek-dvorak

## Summary
Zdeněk Dvořák is a Czech mathematician and computer scientist at Charles University, best known for his 2015 European Prize in Combinatorics and his work on graph theory and computational complexity.

## Biography
- Born: 26 April 1981, Nové Město na Moravě
- Nationality: Germany (citizenship); Czech (origin)
- Education: Magister in Computer Science (2004), Ph.D. (2007), docent (2013) – all from Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University
- Known for: Graph theory and computational-complexity research
- Employer(s): Charles University (Faculty of Mathematics and Physics; Second Faculty of Medicine)
- Field(s): Graph theory, computational complexity of mathematical operations

## Contributions
Dvořák’s research centers on structural and algorithmic graph theory.  He has published extensively on graph coloring, minor-closed classes, and parameterized algorithms.  Key results include polynomial-time algorithms for coloring H-minor-free graphs, density theorems for planar and bounded-genus graphs, and exponential lower bounds for several Ramsey-type problems.  His 2008–2015 papers on “linear-time coloring of planar graphs” and “list-coloring graphs with bounded expansion” are now standard references.  He has co-authored more than 60 refereed papers and supervised several doctoral students at Charles University.  Dvořák also contributes to open-source software for exact exponential algorithms and has served on programme committees of major combinatorics conferences (SODA, EuroComb).

## FAQs
### Q: What major award did Zdeněk Dvořák win?
A: He received the European Prize in Combinatorics in 2015, awarded every two years to an outstanding early-career researcher in combinatorics.

### Q: Where does he teach?
A: He is a faculty member at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, and also affiliated with the Second Faculty of Medicine there.

### Q: What was his dissertation about?
A: His 2007 Ph.D. thesis, advised by Jaroslav Nešetřil, investigated graph coloring and minors, laying groundwork for his later algorithmic results on sparse graphs.

### Q: Has he competed in mathematical olympiads?
A: Yes, he represented the Czech Republic at the International Mathematical Olympiad and is listed as participant ID 5728.

## Why They Matter
Dvořák’s work bridges pure graph theory and practical algorithm design.  By proving that many NP-hard problems become tractable on minor-closed or bounded-expansion graph classes, he influenced both theoretical computer science and applied algorithm engineering.  His techniques—especially the use of low-tree-width partitions and density-based arguments—have been adopted by researchers studying social networks, computational biology, and statistical physics.  Without his coloring and minor results, the current understanding of sparse-graph algorithms would be significantly narrower, and several recent industrial routing and scheduling tools would lack theoretical guarantees.

## Notable For
- European Prize in Combinatorics (2015)
- Neuron Prize for young promising scientists in mathematics (2011)
- Neuron Impulse prize (2016)
- Doctoral student of Jaroslav Nešetřil, a leading Czech discrete mathematician
- International Mathematical Olympiad contestant before his research career

## Body
### Early Life and Education
Zdeněk Dvořák was born on 26 April 1981 in Nové Město na Moravě, then Czechoslovakia.  He showed early mathematical talent, competing in the International Mathematical Olympiad.  He entered the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University, earning a magister degree in computer science in 2004 and completing his Ph.D. in 2007 under the supervision of Jaroslav Nešetřil.  He obtained the habilitation (docent) title in 2013.

### Academic Appointments
Since his doctorate, Dvořák has held research and teaching positions at Charles University, primarily within its Faculty of Mathematics and Physics.  He is also affiliated with the Second Faculty of Medicine, illustrating the interdisciplinary reach of discrete-mathematics methods.  He advises graduate students and teaches courses on combinatorics, graph theory, and complexity.

### Research Output
Dvořák’s publications span top journals such as *Journal of Combinatorial Theory Series B*, *SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics*, and *Algorithmica*.  His ResearcherID (K-5453-2015) and Scopus ID (57200303139) index dozens of peer-reviewed papers.  He maintains an active DBLP profile under “d/ZdenekDvorak”.

### Awards and Recognition
- 2011 Neuron Prize for young promising scientists (mathematics section)
- 2015 European Prize in Combinatorics
- 2016 Neuron Impulse prize for continuing excellence

These honors mark him as one of the most visible Czech researchers in modern combinatorics.

## References

1. Czech National Authority Database
2. [Source](https://iuuk.mff.cuni.cz/~rakdver/index.php?which=cv)
3. [IS VaVaI](https://api.isvavai.cz/)
4. [doc. Mgr. Zdeněk Dvořák, Ph.D.. Neuron Foundation for the Support of Science](https://www.nfneuron.cz/person/zdenek-dvorak-397)
5. [doc. Mgr. Zdeněk Dvořák, Ph.D.. Neuron Foundation for the Support of Science](https://www.nfneuron.cz/person/zdenek-dvorak)
6. Virtual International Authority File
7. [ORCID Public Data File 2020](https://pub.orcid.org/v3.0_rc1/0000-0002-8308-9746/external-identifiers/329770)
8. [ORCID Public Data File 2020](https://pub.orcid.org/v3.0_rc1/0000-0002-8308-9746/external-identifiers/1357548)
9. [SciGraph](https://scigraph.springernature.com/person.016201177201.22)