PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Pavel Pudil

Pavel Pudil was a Czech researcher in statistical pattern recognition who worked on feature selection, on reducing the dimensionality of decision problems, and on machine learning and artificial intelligence methods. A native of Jindřichův Hradec who graduated from Czech Technical University in Prague, he joined the Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the Academy of Sciences in 1964 and later spent five years at British universities, including Cambridge and Surrey. His papers include a 1998 review of feature selection methods with floating search and the 2002 "Feature selection toolbox" with Petr Somol. In 2000 the International Association for Pattern Recognition made him a Fellow, the first scientist from the Czech Republic to receive the honour, and from 2002 to 2008 he was dean of the Faculty of Management of the University of Economics in Prague, in Jindřichův Hradec. He died in 2022.

Works
121
Citations
5,699
h-index
21
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1958

    Control theory at ČVUT

    A native of Jindřichův Hradec, he finishes the town's gymnasium in 1958 and goes on to graduate from the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering of Czech Technical University in Prague, in control theory.

  2. 1964–1993

    UTIA, Cambridge and Surrey

    In 1964, he joins the Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the Academy of Sciences (UTIA), and he becomes a leading research fellow there in 1975. From 1970 to 1972, he is a Research Fellow of King's College at the University of Cambridge, and from 1991 to 1993 he works at the University of Surrey and the University of Cambridge, five years at British universities in all. His awards include the BMVC'93 Science Prize of the British Machine Vision Association and Society for Pattern Recognition.

  3. 1995–2002

    Faculty of Management and SALOME

    From 1995, he works at the Faculty of Management of the University of Economics in Prague (VŠE) in Jindřichův Hradec, and from 1997 until January 2002 he is its vice-dean for science and research. He founds SALOME, a joint scientific laboratory of the faculty and UTIA.

  4. 1998–2002

    Feature selection papers and toolbox

    His research covers statistical pattern recognition, the selection of the most informative variables, and machine learning and artificial intelligence methods. In 1998, he coauthors "Conceptual base of feature selection consulting system" in Kybernetika with Jana Novovičová, Petr Somol and Radek Vrňata, a review of feature selection methodology that includes the computationally effective floating search methods. In 2002, he and Petr Somol publish "Feature selection toolbox" in Pattern Recognition.

  5. 2000

    An IAPR Fellowship

    In 2000, the International Association for Pattern Recognition elects him a Fellow, the first scientist from the Czech Republic to receive the honour, for contributions to the theory of statistical recognition and to reducing the dimensionality of decision problems. Its president, Horst Bunke, presents the award, and UTIA's pattern recognition department lists his research interests as statistical pattern recognition, feature selection and classification.

  6. 2002–2008

    Dean of the Faculty of Management

    From February 2002 to January 2008, he leads the Faculty of Management for two terms as its third dean. During his deanship, the faculty gains accreditation for a doctoral study programme, one of the successes of his term.

  7. 2018

    Křišťálová růže for science

    In 2018, in the first year of the Jindřichův Hradec mayor's awards, called Křišťálová růže (Crystal Rose), he receives the highest award in the science category.

  8. 2022

    Death after a long illness

    He dies in 2022 after a long illness, having published more than 200 papers, most of them abroad. The Faculty of Management announces his death in November 2022.

Career

  1. 1995–2002Prague University of Economics and BusinessVice-dean for science and research, Dean
  2. 1991–1993University of Surrey
  3. 1970–1993University of CambridgeResearch Fellow
  4. 1964–1993Czech Academy of SciencesLeading research fellow
  5. SALOMEFounder

Education

  1. From 1958Czech Technical University in Prague

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Floating search methods in feature selection1994 · Pattern Recognition Letters · 3,107 citationsWith Josef Kittler
  2. Floating search methods for feature selection with nonmonotonic criterion functions2002 · IAPR International Conference on Pattern Recognition (ICPR) · 354 citationsWith Josef Kittler
  3. Comparative study of techniques for large-scale feature selection1994 · Machine intelligence and pattern recognition · 307 citationsWith Josef Kittler
  4. Adaptive floating search methods in feature selection1999 · Pattern Recognition Letters · 304 citations
  5. Fast branch & bound algorithms for optimal feature selection2004 · IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence · 250 citationsWith Josef Kittler

From OpenAlex, as of 21 October 2026.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Cambridge. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of Cambridge. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. Companies supply the most prior-work hires at 7 of the 9 frontier AI labsIncludes University of Cambridge. Our estimates of the organizations where 550 people worked directly before joining 9 frontier AI labs across 620 career transitions, comparing the main feeder organizations per lab.
  4. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes University of Cambridge. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Pavel Pudil yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Zemřel prof. Pavel Pudil – Fakulta managementu – Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze fm.vse.cz. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Kybernetika 34 no. 4, 451-460, 1998: Conceptual base of feature selection consulting system kybernetika.cz. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Feature Selection Toolbox - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. IAPR Fellow Award 2000 | Department of Pattern Recognition ro.utia.cas.cz. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Pavel Pudil | Department of Pattern Recognition ro.utia.cas.cz. Checked 20 October 2026.