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Prof. Ing. Zdeněk Vostracký, DrSc., dr. h. c., IEEE Senior Member, FEng., was born on 15 May 1941 in Pilsen. He graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Pilsen and received his doctorate from the Czech Technical University in Prague. He specialised in power engineering and plasma physics.

After graduation, he worked at Škoda Plzeň as a designer of high-voltage and electric traction equipment; after 1989 he became a senior researcher at the company and in 1989–1992 served as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

He started working at the UWB in 1967, first as an external lecturer and from 1992 as a professor.  In 1998, he was elected Rector and served for two terms, until 2004.

“Professor Vostracký was a multi-faceted man who combined the qualities of a scientist, teacher and manager, and also a person who was deeply dedicated to his work. We are grateful that he tied most of his professional life to the University of West Bohemia and made an enormous contribution to its development as its second rector,” said UWB Rector Miroslav Lávička.

Zdeněk Vostracký was a frequent speaker at foreign universities and conferences and the author or co-author of six books, several textbooks and over 120 scientific papers and 47 inventions, of which 15 were accepted abroad. In 2001, Brunel University London awarded him the honorary degree of “doctor honoris causa”. For his teaching activities, he received among other accolades the First Degree Medal of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in 2012 and the Werner von Siemens Prize for the best teacher in 2018, granted for his promotion of comprehensive education in engineering. In 2014, he received the Professor List Medal “For Merit in the Development of the Czech Energy Industry”. In 2011, the Mayor of Pilsen Martin Baxa presented him the historical seal of the city of Pilsen.