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New president of the Polish Academy of Sciences

National members of the Polish Academy of Sciences has elected new president. Professor Marek Konarzewski will lead the Academy in the 2023-2026 term.

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During the 147th session of the General Assembly of the Polish Academy of Sciences, members of the Academy elected Prof. Marek Konarzewski as new president of the Polish Academy of Science. In secret elections, Prof. Konarzewski received 105 votes, while his opponent, Prof. Paweł Rowiński received 102 votes. In total, 217 ballots were cast, two abstentions and eight votes were invalid.

The newly elected president of the Academy emphasized that the change within the Academy must result from joint actions. He called the academics to end divisions and speak in one voice. He also highlighted the need to raise the voice of science in policy-making process.

Prof. Marek Konarzewski is a biologist. His scientific interests revolve around issues that combine the disciplines of evolutionary ecology, physiology and genetics of animals. He works at the Faculty of Biology at the University of Bialystok and at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales” at the University of Warsaw. He has been a corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Sciences since 2010. He is also the vice-president of the PAS Branch in Olsztyn and Białystok.

He is a graduate of the University of Bialystok, where he defended his doctorate in 1990 and completed his habilitation in 1996. He was awarded the academic title of professor of biological sciences in 2004. In 1991-1993 he held a scholarship at the University of California in Los Angeles, where he was a member of Jared Diamond’s research team. Parallel to his research work, Prof. Konarzewski gained experience in diplomacy, as a science and technology advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as science advisor at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington.

He actively promotes cooperation between such fields as the humanities and natural sciences, which is reflected in his popular science book "First There Was a Famine". He is also an ardent nature photographer and co-author of the album entitled "Ścieżkami Puszczy Knyszyńskiej – Along the Path of the Knyszyn Forest".

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According to the Act on the Polish Academy of Sciences, Prof. Konarzewski will formally become the new president of the Polish Academy of Sciences at the time of his appointment to this position by the Polish Prime Minister. The appointment is based on the selection of the General Assembly of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Source of information and photos: Polish Academy of Science