Dr. Konečný is a Professor of Cartography and Geoinformatics at the Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. He has been a Guest Professor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Henan University in Kaifeng, and the Shenzhen University in Guangdong (China), the Vienna University (Austria), the D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan State Technical University (Kazachstan), and the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra (Slovakia). He is a co-author (with K. Rais) of the first book on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Europe (1985) and author or editor of several books and special issues of international scientific journals on the subjects ranging from geographic information (GI), geovisualization, and cartography for risk and crisis management to data infrastructures for spatial information society. His latest efforts aim at the realization of the GI Sciences’ potential in the context of the UN Disaster Risk Reduction (DDR) efforts, linkages between the DDR concept and sustainable development, and smart cities’ development in the Big Data era. Professor Konečný has been awarded several prizes and honorable titles, including: Knight of Brazilian Cartography; Dr.h.c., University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy (Sofia, Bulgaria); Honorary Professor, Siberian State Academy of Geodesy (Novosibirsk, Russia); Honorary Member of the Spanish Society for Cartography, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing; International Cartographic Association Honorary Fellow; Yellow River Friendship Award (Henan Province, China); and Life Fellowship of the International Society for Digital Earth.