Jan Marian Kaczmarek

Jan Marian Kaczmarek (February 2, 1920 – October 18, 2011) was a Polish engineer and University Professor. Kaczmarek was married to Olga; he has two children (Elzbieta and Andrzej), four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Life
He was born in the town of Pabianice, Poland. He obtained a pilot license prior to starting his studies in Warsaw (1938). He took part in 1939 homeland defense against German aggression as a pilot of the Polish Air Force. He was wounded; next – upon treatment at a military hospital in Vilnius – he joined the Lithuanian Resistance Movement, and in 1942 – the Polish underground Home Army (Armia Krajowa) where he served till the end of the war.

In 1945, he moved to Cracow to resume his studies at the Academy of Mining (currently: AGH University of Science and Technology. While still a student, he was employed by Professor Witold Biernawski as a teaching assistant. In 1948, Kaczmarek received the M.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering, and started his professional career in Cracow industry.

While practicing engineering, he earned his Ph.D. degree (1958) and D.Sc. degree (1962), and was appointed to the Reader (1959), Associate Professor (1962) and Full Professor (1969) positions. In the period 1957–1968, he acted as the Managing Director of the Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies in Cracow; he fostered the quick growth of this institution and strengthened its role in the development of new technologies.

In 1965–1968, he also acted as a Vice-Rector and Rector in 1968 of Cracow University of Technology.

In 1961, he became a member of International Institution of Production Engineering Research (CIRP) where he served as President in 1973–1974, and received the title of Honorary Fellow in 1990. In 1965, he was elected a Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

In 1968, Kaczmarek moved to Warsaw. In the period 1969–1974, he acted as Chairman of the National Committee for Technical Progress, and next as Minister of Science, Higher Education and Technology.

He fostered the policies aimed at broader use of research outcomes and inventions in Industrial and social practice: several complex research programmes were initiated at that time, and international co-operation was partly re-established. Poland started to be perceived as a country with important potential of science and higher education – thus, becoming an important country for Europe of the future.

In the next nine years, Kaczmarek served at the Polish Academy of Sciences as its Scientific Secretary. It was a period when numerous research institutes of the Academy attained the highest European recognition and prospects for further development.

Research work
In 1981, Kaczmarek returned to research work in the area of surface-layer engineering at Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences. His direct contributions to the development of this area – in the form of books, papers and applications – are exceptional.

Kaczmarek research activities have been always closely connected with measurement science and technology. The development of a system for measuring machine tools vibrations was his first metrological project (inspired by Professor Stanislaw Ziemba) that he completed just after graduation. He continued to work on measurement-related issues at Cracow University of Technology, at Institute of Metal Cutting, and later – at the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences.

In this field, he co-operated with many researchers, to mention only most prominent Professors: Witold Biernawski, Andrzej Sadowski, Leszek Nawara and Bogdan Nowicki. Special interest was given by him to the metrology of surface layer; he contributed – in particular – to the establishment of the first Polish standard in this domain.

By the end of the 20th century, referring to the Abbott-Firestone curve analysis, he proposed the application of the symmetrical curve for a geometrical contact. The total literary output of Kaczmarek includes 14 scientific books, almost 200 research papers, and more than 230 journal papers for general public.

Among his former students and co-workers, 29 are holders of D.Sc. degrees and six are holders of the Professor title. He directly supervised a few dozens of Ph.D. students. Kaczmarek is the author of highly appreciated technical solutions and patents applied mainly in manufacturing of machine elements, especially in their forming and refining by cutting, erosion and implantation.

Publications
Among his numerous publications, which appeared around this period, three books are worth being mentioned, viz.: “Principles of Machine Cutting” (1956, in Polish), “Principles of Cutting” (1969, in Polish; 1976, in English), and “Abrasion and Erosion” (1969, in Polish; 1976, in English). Due to their fundamental and innovative character, those books have been for years considered research and teaching classics in many branches of production engineering; the total number of their readers has exceeded half a million. Their English editions quickly gained recognition in many countries; therefore, shortly after their appearance, Kaczmarek was invited to the US National Academy of Engineering.

Memberships
Foreign Academy's
 * National Academy of Engineering, USA, Foreign Associate since 1977
 * The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (BRASLA), foreign Associate since 1978
 * Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Foreign Associate since 1977
 * Central European Academy of Science and Arts (CEASA), member since 1998
 * International Institution for Production Engineering Research (CIRP), Paris: member in 1961-90, honorary fellow since 1990; vice-president and president in 1972-75, member of Senat „for life” since 1976
 * Groupement pour l’Avancement de la Mécanique Industrielle (GAMI), France, honorary fellow since 1979.

Polish Academy's
 * Polska Akademia Umiejętności (PAU), since 1989
 * Akademia Inżynierska w Polsce: member 1992-98, vice-president 1994-98, honorary fellow since 1998.
 * Polish Society of Mechanical Engineers and Technicians : member since 1949; vice-president 1961-63, president 1980-87, honorary fellow since 1978, honorary president since 1998.
 * Polish Federation of engineering associations (Naczelna Organizacja Techniczna - NOT): vice-president 1972-74, chairman 1975-78; Board vice chairman 1980-84, president 1984-90.
 * SIGMA-NOT publishing house, Chairman of the Board, since 1992.

He is one of the founders of the Polish Academy of Engineering (1992) – being an institution similar to the National Academy of Engineering in USA. He was its Vice-President (1994–1999), and since 1998 has been its Honorary Member.

Kaczmarek was the founder of several scientific schools of world–wide importance. He is an international scientific authority and – at the same time – an exceptional man of personal qualities, such as creativity, diligence, reliability, persistence, culture and organisational efficiency, kindness and determination, optimism and cheerfulness. Such people set standards and examples for us to follow.

Honours and Awards
The international recognition of Kaczmarek's achievements has been confirmed by entrusting him the highest positions in international scientific and engineering organizations, and by honoring him with awards and distinctions. He received honorary doctorates from Bauman Moscow State Technical University (1973), Chemnitz University of Technology (1974), Poznan University of Technology (2001) and Koszalin University of Technology (2003). He is the holder of French Medaille des Palmes d’Or Academiques and Grand Officier de la Legion d’Honneur, as well as Polish Crosses: Polonia Restituta Commander’s Cross, Polonia Restituta Officer’s Cross, Polonia Restituta Knight Cross, a series of Medals of Merit, military medals, Copernicus Medal, and Award of National Commission of Poland.
 * Honoris causa:
 * Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany (1973)
 * Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Russia (1974)
 * Poznan University of Technology, Poland (2001)
 * Koszalin University of Technology, Poland (2003)
 * Honorary Scholar - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, IIASA, Luxemburg (1993)

Awards

 * Officier, Golden order, Ordre des Palmes Académiques, France (1971)
 * Grand Officer Legion of Honour, France (1972)
 * Order of Marin Drinov, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgary (1969)
 * Order of Polonia Restituta, Poland
 * Commander's Cross (1974)
 * Knight's Cross (1962)
 * Medal im. M. Kopernika, PAN, Poland (1977)
 * Honorary citizenship
 * Pabianice, Poland