Prof. dr hab. Grzegorz Węgrzyn has been awarded an honoris causa doctorate for the second time. This highest academic distinction was awarded to the professor by the Senate of the University of Rzeszów in recognition of his outstanding scientific achievements and his contribution to the development of science.

The ceremony of awarding prof. Grzegorz Węgrzyn with the title of doctor honoris causa took place on 11 June 2024 during a ceremonial meeting of the Senate of the University of Rzeszów.

At the outset, the Vice-Rector for the College of Natural Sciences, prof. dr hab. Idalia Kasprzyk, presented the course of proceedings for the conferment of the honoris causa doctorate of the University of Rzeszów on prof. dr hab. Grzegorz Węgrzyn and introduced the Professor's profile. ‘Professor Węgrzyn is a timeless scientist and researcher, and his personality traits and scientific achievements can undoubtedly be counted among those which stand out in the arena of world science,’ she concluded.

The laudation was then delivered by prof. dr hab. Maciej Balawejder. ‘Prof. Węgrzyn is not only an outstanding scientist, but also a person of great influence on the development of young scientists. His promotion of 57 doctoral students, many of whom have gone on to achieve the highest scientific degrees, is evidence of his commitment to training future generations of researchers. Thomas Edison said, “genius is one per cent inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration”. Prof. Grzegorz Węgrzyn is living proof of the truth of these words, combining extraordinary inspiration with great diligence and perseverance. His contribution to science and medicine is invaluable, and his achievements will have a long-lasting impact on future generations of researchers. Today, it is with pride and gratitude that we award prof. Grzegorz Węgrzyn an honorary doctorate from the University of Rzeszów. His outstanding scientific achievements, commitment to education and passion for exploring new horizons are a role model for us all. We congratulate the Professor on this honour and wish him further success in his extremely valuable work,’ said the laudator.

The laudation was followed by the culminating part of the ceremony. The Rector of the University of Rzeszów, prof. dr hab. Sylwester Czopek, read out the text of the diploma for the doctor honoris causa.

The culmination of the ceremony was the delivery of an occasional lecture by the doctor honoris causa, prof. Grzegorz Węgrzyn, entitled ‘Lecture on... science and important people’. ‘Science is about discovering the unknown, but also about the people who create it. I referred to the research as my research, because I thought about it a bit, but in fact there are a whole lot of people behind it who worked on it. In the presentation, I showed the individuals, the teams that work with me. When I receive such an honourable title as an honorary doctorate, I feel a little bit like - let me make a comparison, because the European Football Championship is coming up - it's like winning some competition, but only the coach was honoured. So these are the players who took part. I am receiving this diploma today as such a coach, but let us remember that there is a whole group of players who have earned what you have heard today. I would like to thank all these people from prof. Taylor, my wife and the whole team for these years of working together. It seems to us that we have done something interesting and good,’ concluded prof. Grzegorz Węgrzyn.

Finally, congratulatory letters were read out from the Chairman of the Polish Accreditation Committee, prof. Janusz Uriasz, and from the Mayor of Rzeszów, Konrad Fijołek. The Rector of the UR, prof. Sylwester Czopek, then closed this part of the ceremony.

We invite you to watch a video recording of the ceremony.