With great sadness, I inform the readers of Drying Technology of the demise of Prof. Stefan Jan Kowalski on April 27, 2022. He was a great contributor to the drying community, a true friend and mentor and, above all, a remarkable human being.
Prof. Kowalski was a well-known and respected specialist in the field of chemical engineering and applied mechanics, especially in the field of modeling processes of simultaneous heat and mass transport in capillary-porous media. His greatest achievements include the development of the drying theory in terms of thermo-mechanics, the use of the acoustic emission method in drying processes monitoring and the development of hybrid drying methods, in particular drying of biological materials.
Prof. Kowalski obtained his doctorate in 1975 at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Poznań University of Technology. In 1980 he obtained his habilitation at the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw and in 1992 he was awarded the title of professor. In 2013, by the decision of the General Assembly of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Prof. Kowalski became a Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Prof. Kowalski worked for many years at the Faculty of Chemical Technology, where he was the founder and head of the Division of Process Engineering. He was also a member of the Chemical Engineering Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the founder and member of the Polish Drying Society and the guest member of the EFCE Working Party on Drying. He was a valuable member of the editorial team of Drying Technology as well as the Advisory Panel of the International Drying Symposium (IDS) series.
Prof. Kowalski was the author of 12 scientific books and chapters in books, 5 academic textbooks and nearly 250 scientific publications. He was the manager or main contractor in many research projects. He conducted lectures and projects for 1st and 2nd degree students and doctoral studies. He was the supervisor of over 100 MSc and of 13 PhD theses.
Prof. Kowalski was honored with the prizes of the Minister of National Education, Medal of the National Education Commission, Medal “Societas HumboldtianaPolonorum,” honorary badge “For Merit in the Development of the Poznań Province” as well as the Silver and Gold Cross of Merit. For a particularly important medal he was awarded, Prof. Kowalski considered the Arun S. Mujumdar Medal as the highest global recognition of excellence in drying research and development.
For us, his students and colleagues, Prof. Kowalski was a great Master, and at the same time a Father and Friend.
On behalf of colleagues from the research team of Prof. Stefan Kowalski.
Poznań University of Technology
[email protected]