Personal data:

      Born 1957 in Kromeriz, Czech republic
      Married with Viera, children: Eva and Martin

Education (dates, degrees):

• 1981: M.S. in Classical and Relativistic Astrophysics, Charles University, Prague.
• 1989: Ph.D. in Stellar Astrophysics, Thesis: "Spectroscopic and photometric investigation of the symbiotic star CH Cygni". Astronomical Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Tatranska Lomnica (AISAS, TL).
• 2001 D.Sc. in Stellar Astrophysics, Thesis: "Processes of interaction in symbiotic stars". (AISAS, TL).

Career (positions, dates, places):

• Research Assistant: October - November 1982: Astronomical Institute, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Ondrejov.
  December 1982 - January 1989: AISAS, TL.
• Research Fellow: February 1989 - November 1992: AISAS, TL.
• Senior Research Fellow: December 1992 - May 2000: AISAS, TL.
• Chief Research Fellow: June 2000 - present: AISAS, TL.
• A delegate of the AISAS at the Board of scientists of the SAS (1998--2001).
• Head of the Scientific Board of the Institute (1998--2001, 2008--2012).
• Chair of the board for defence of DSc. thesis (since 2015).
• Guarantee of the PhD. study at the AISAS (since 2016).

Research activities:

• Fields: Stellar astrophysics, interacting binaries, symbiotic stars.
• Aim: Physical processes nature of outbursts, fundamental parameters.
• Methods: Multifrequency observations, modeling basic processes.
• Main achievements: (i) Basic structure of the hot component in symbiotic stars during outbursts (Skopal, A. 2005, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 440, 995-1031).
  (ii) Multiwavelength modelling the SED of supersoft X-ray sources (Skopal, A. 2015, New Astronomy, 36, 116-127).

Awards / Funded projects:

• The Royal Society Fellowship.
  Place: Liverpool, John Moores University.
  Duration: 1992 November - 1993 October.
  Project: "Physical parameters of symbiotic stars."
  
• JSPS Fellowship for priority-area Research in Japan.
  Place: Tohoku University, Sendai.
  Duration: 1996 March - April.
  Project: "Understanding the nature of symbiotic stars CH Cyg and BF Cyg".
• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellowship. Place: Astronomical Institute University of Erlangen-Nuernberg in Bamberg.
  Duration: 1997 March-1998 May, 1999 April-June, 2001 August--October.
  Project: "Spectroscopic and photometric investigation of circumstellar matter in symbiotic stars".
• NATO Collaborative Research Grant (AISAS - Athens University).
  Duration: 1996 - 1998, 1999 - 2001.
  Project No. 960322: "Physical Processes in Interacting Binaries".
• NATO Science Programme, EXPERT VISIT.
  Project: "Understanding the outburst stage of the symbiotic binary Z And".
  Place: INAF in Naples during 2004 April-May.

Memberships:

• Slovak Astronomical Society (since 1985)
• International Astronomical Union (since 1994)
• The Royal Astronomical Society (elected on 2000 February)
• Member of the Board of Directors of the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal (since 2006)