Professor Stefan Witold Alexandrowicz was born on April 29th, 1930 in Kraków. After graduating from a State High School and Gymnasium in Kraków, he began studying geology at the Faculty of Geology and Surveying at the Kraków University of Science and Technology (AGH). After completing the first two semesters, he continued his education at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of the Jagiellonian University from which he graduated in 1953, receiving a master’s degree in geology. He began his professional career while still being a student. In the years 1951–1954, he was employed first as a junior assistant and then as an assistant at the Department of Geology at the Jagiellonian University. In 1954 he started working as a senior assistant in the State Institute of Geology and continued working for the Institute in 1958 as an assistant professor. He also worked at the AGH with which he remained associated for the rest of his professional life. He worked first as an assistant from 1953 to 1958 and then from 1958 continued as a senior assistant. As of 1961 he worked there as an assistant professor. In 1967 he was promoted to the position of an associate professor and in 1983 a full professor.

Professor Stefan Alexandrowicz received his doctoral degree in 1961 on the basis of his doctoral dissertation “Stratygrafia i tektonika miocenu w Zagłębiu Górnośląskim [Stratigraphy and tectonics of the Miocene in the Upper Silesian Basin]” written under the supervision of prof. S. Doktorowicz-Hrebnicki at the State Institute of Geology in Warsaw. In 1967 he received his post-doctoral degree based on his post-doctoral (habilitation) dissertation “Stratygrafia środkowej i górnej kredy w polskiej części pienińskiego pasa skałkowego [Stratigraphy of the Middle and Upper Cretaceous in the Polish part of the Pieniny Klippen Belt]”. In 1975 he received the academic title of an associate professor and in 1983 a full professor. In 1992 he was awarded the title of a corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (PAU), and since 1996 has been PAU’s active member.

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At the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków he was entrusted with the functions of the head of the Department of Historical Geology, and then from 1968 to 1984 as the head of the Department of Stratigraphy and Palaeontology and between 1984 and 1992 as the head of the Department of Stratigraphy and Regional Geology, renamed later the Chair of Stratigraphy and Regional Geology (1992–2000). He also held the position of deputy director for scientific affairs at the Institute of Regional Geology and Coal Deposits in the years 1969–1974 and deputy director of the Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources from 1979 to 1984.

Professor Stefan Alexandrowicz was a member of the Commission of Geological Sciences at the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Kraków Division since 1967, and of the Committee on Quaternary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (since 1981). He served as vice-chairman (1991–1994) and as the chairman (1994–2003) of this Committee. He was also a member of the Committee on Geological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (1972–1977, 1981–1989) and of the Committee on Environmental Engineering of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (1994–1996). In the years 1981–1995, he chaired the Commission on Quaternary Paleogeography of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, and then contributed significantly to the transfer of this Committee to the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Prof. Stefan W. Alexandrowicz during a scientific meeting of the Commission on Quaternary Paleogeography of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (12.03.2010). Photo: Adam Walanus

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Professor Alexandrowicz was also active in national and international scientific societies. He became a member of the Polish Geological Society in 1953, where he functioned as its secretary (1961–1963) and a member (1981–1984) of the Main Board (1981–1984). In 1962, he became a member of the Polish Copernicus Society of Naturalists, and between 1978 and 1981 was a member of the Polish Mineralogical Society. He was also a member of the Deutsche Malakozoologische Geselschaft since 1984 and a member of the Société Française de Malacologie (since 1989). He was also active in editorial offices of scientific journals, and worked as the editorial secretary of the Geology Section of the AGH Scientific Journals (1964–1969), editor of the AGH Quarterly – Geology (1969–2002) and co-editor of Quaternary Studies in Poland (1994–2000). Moreover, he was a member of the editorial committees of Folia Quaternaria, Studia Quaternaria and Wszechświat [The Universe].

Professor Alexandrowicz completed a dozen foreign research internships, including those in the Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Austria and Hungary. He was a valued academic teacher and gave program lectures at the AGH in 10 subjects (including General Geology, Historical Geology, Palaeontology, Regional Geology of Poland, and Ecology) as well as in 8 optional subjects such as Nature Protection, Climate and Extreme Phenomena, lectures commissioned at the Jagiellonian University and at the Universities of Hanover, Cologne and Münster. He supervised 18 doctoral dissertations, and was a reviewer of nearly 90 doctoral and post-doctoral dissertations and proceedings for the academic title of professor. He also had great achievements in the field of the popularization of knowledge. Professor Alexandrowicz has authored 21 television films on geology and tourism (as part of the Kraków Television Broadcast Series – “Podpowiedz w plenerze [Hint in the open air]”) and 240 radio broadcasts on the history of science (as part of the series “W kręgu nauki [In the circle of science]”, broadcast by Radio Kraków). These publications were included in the electronic record published twice under the title “Godni pamięci – znani i nieznani [Worthy of memory – known and unknown]”. On top of it, there were also a dozen or so radio broadcasts on geology and tourism authored by Professor Alexandrowicz.

Professor Alexandrowicz remains an authority in the field of paleogeography, paleoecology and malacology of the Quaternary. He has published over 560 scientific papers of various types – including 6 books, 8 monographs (authored or co-authored), 350 scientific articles and popular science articles and communications. His numerous papers concern the stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous and Miocene of the Kraków area, conditions of the deposition of Holocene sediments, especially calcareous tufas of the Kraków Upland, determining the age of faults in the southern part of the Upper Silesian Basin based on characteristic foraminifera associations, reconstructing the stages of tectonic development of the Carpathian Foredeep, determining many lacustrine chalks of western and northern Poland, their fauna and stratigraphic position, distinguishing and defining the stratigraphic position of Paleogene sediments of the Kraków Upland. He also conducted research on the age of landslides based on an original method of faunistic and chronostratigraphic analysis of sediments of stagnant lakes. His publications in the field of malacology and malacofauna were of particular importance.

Prof. Stefan W. Alexandrowicz during a joint scientific meeting of the Commission on the History of Science and the Commission on Geography of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (27.10.2011). Photo: Adam Walanus

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To answer the question “what were Professor Stefan Alexandrowicz’s main scientific achievements” it should be mentioned that he:

  • – determined the stratigraphic scheme of the sediments of the southern Polish basin and defined foraminifera assemblages as indicators of regional correlation of layers;

  • – developed the stratigraphy of the Pieniny Klippen Belt Cretaceous based on the micropaleontological analysis;

  • – description of the malacofauna of the Upper Quaternary lacustrine chalks of northern Poland;

  • – introduced the malacological analysis as a standard procedure for research on the Quaternary and a monographic description of research methods on Quaternary molluscs, including the methodological manuals “Analiza malakologiczna w badaniach osadów czwartorzędowych [Malacological analysis in research on Quaternary sediments]” (AGH Geology Quarterly, 1987) and “Analiza malakologiczna. Metody badań i interpretacji [Malacological Analysis. Methods of Research and Interpretation]” (together with Witold P. Alexandrowicz, Proceedings of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Volume 3, 2011);

  • – created a stratigraphic scheme of the Vistulian loess and loess-like formations of southern Poland based on the malacofauna;

  • – distinguished molluscan communities of Holocene tufas and fluvial deposits and slope formations in the vicinity of Kraków and indicated a possibility of using these communities as a stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental indicator;

  • – dated Carpathian landslides and contributed to research on determining the relationships between the activation of landslide processes and climate changes in the Holocene;

  • – researched migrations and invasions of mollusc species in connection with anthropogenic transformation of the natural environment and application of malacological analysis to assess the state of the natural environment;

  • – initiated current research on thanatocoenoses and a monographic description of research methods and interpretation of contemporary shell fragments;

  • – undertook historical studies on excavations in Starunia and contributed to the role of Polish researchers in establishing the International INQUA Association and stages of development of Quaternary research;

  • – worked in the field of nature conservation.

In the field of nature protection, Professor Alexandrowicz took action to establish the protection of selected inanimate nature objects and mollusc fauna sites. On his initiative, projects were implemented to create and develop documentation for several protected objects (natural monuments, inanimate nature documentation sites, nature and landscape complexes). Stefan Alexandrowicz was the author of geological and geomorphological chapters in the protection plans for several nature reserves and the Babia Góra National Park. Since 1996, he has served as the vice-chairman of the Provincial Nature Protection Commission of the Małopolska Province.

Prof. Stefan W. Alexandrowicz after receiving the Honorary Member Diploma of the Association of Polish Malacologists during the 12th National Malacological Seminar (25–27.04.1996). Photo: Beata M. Pokryszko

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Of particular importance is Professor Stefan W. Alexandrowicz’s contribution to the development of world and Polish malacology. He headed the Malacological Commission established in 1985 at his initiative at the Committee for Quaternary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The Commission activated the cooperation of Polish malacologists dealing with the fauna of contemporary and subfossil molluscs. In 1985, at the Professor’s initiative, Polish malacologists met for the first time at the National Malacological Seminar in Krościenko on Dunajec, and initiated annual scientific meetings. For seven years between 1985 and 1991, Professor Alexandrowicz organised these scientific meetings held in Krościenko. Since 1992, more and more scientific centres have undertaken the organisation of subsequent seminars (in 2024, the 38th National Malacological Seminar was held in Siedlce – see Folia Malacologica 32(3): 195–221, 2024). As long as Professor’s health allowed him, he participated in these seminars and always encouraged organisers to convene a discussion of participants in the form of round table during which young malacologists presented their research under the supervision of experienced researchers, who provided them with advice and suggestions regarding their work. In 1987, on the Professor’s initiative, the only Polish malacological scientific journal was established. Named Folia Malacologica, the journal was published in the years 1987–1995 as part of the AGH Scientific Journals. In those years, Professor Alexandrowicz worked as the editor of the journal. In 1998 the journal became the official journal of the Association of Polish Malacologists, published as a quarterly to this day, and the Professor Alexandrowicz chaired the Advisory Board of the journal until his death. Professor Alexandrowicz was also one of the initiators of the establishment of the Association of Polish Malacologists in 1995, and was one of the founding members of this scientific society. In the years 1995–1998, Professor Alexandrowicz was a member of the Association’s Awards Committee, a committee recognising the best publications, as well as master’s and doctoral theses, whose authors were members of the Association.

In recognition of his contribution to the development of malacology, in 1995 the Association of Polish Malacologists awarded Professor Stefan Alexandrowicz the title of Honorary Member of the Association, the first member to be so distinguished.

For his work he was awarded, among others, the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1976), the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2001), the Medal of the Commission of National Education (1988), the Badge of Merit for Polish Geology (1983), the “Kraków 2000” Medal (2001), Golden Regional Badges, the Golden Badge of the Polish Teachers’ Union, Individual Scientific Awards of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Awards of the Minister of Science and Higher Education, the Team Award of the Minister of the Environment for scientific and research work, Individual Awards of the AGH Rector for achievements in his scientific work and teaching activities.

Professor Stefan Witold Alexandrowicz died on August 8, 2024. He was buried on August 19, 2024 at the Rakowicki Cemetery in Kraków.

Andrzej Lesicki

on behalf of the Folia Malacologica editorial board

The following publications have been used for the purpose of creating this obituary/article:

Andrzej Kołodziejczyk: Prof. dr hab. Stefan W. Alexandrowicz – laudation delivered during the Twelfth National Malacological Seminar in Łódź. In: Riedel A., Pokryszko B. M., Malakologia Polska – historia, stan obecny, perspektywy [Polish Malacology – history, current state, perspectives]. Association of Polish Malacologists, commemorative volume published on the occasion of the 15th National Malacological Seminar, Poznań 1999, pp. 58–59.

Marek Krąpiec: Jubileusz 75-lecia Profesora Stefana Witolda Alexandrowicza [Jubilee of the 75th Anniversary of Professor Stefan Witold Alexandrowicz]. Przegląd Geologiczny 53(6): 461–463, 2005.

the Internet sources:

https://historia.agh.edu.pl/wiki/Stefan_Witold_Alexandrowicz

https://www.pgi.gov.pl/aktualnosci/display/15511-zegnamy-prof-dr-hab-stefan-witolda-alexandrowicza.html

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Witold_Alexandrowicz