11.05.2016 change 11.05.2016

Michał Kleiber, longtime president of the Polish Academy of Sciences, awarded the Order of the White Eagle

Photo: PAP 2016 / Radek Pietruszka Photo: PAP 2016 / Radek Pietruszka

Prof. Michał Kleiber - longtime president of the Polish Academy of Sciences, expert in the use of computer technology in science, Minister of Science and Informatization in the governments of Leszek Miller and Marek Belka, and adviser to President Lech Kaczynski - received the Order of the White Eagle on May 3rd Constitution Day.

Prof. Kleiber was honoured by President Andrzej Duda "in recognition of his contribution to the development of Polish science, for outstanding achievements in the public and state work". President Duda thanked him for his years of presiding over the Polish Academy of Sciences, representing Poland in a number of scientific institutions and bringing "glory to the Republic with his attitude".

Michał Kleiber was born January 23, 1946 in Warsaw. He graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Warsaw University of Technology and the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics of the University of Warsaw. He specializes in the use of computer technology in scientific research - technology and medicine.

In 1995 he was appointed director of the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research PAS, where he had headed the Department of Computer Science since 1986. He taught at the Faculty of Mathematics and Information Science of Warsaw University of Technology.

In 2001-2005 he was Minister of Science and Informatization (in the government of Leszek Miller and then Marek Belka) and the Chairman of the Committee for Scientific Research. For two terms, in 2007-2015, he served as President of the Polish Academy of Sciences. On March 19 he was replaced by Prof. Jerzy Duszyński.

In the years 2006-2010 he was a social adviser to President Lech Kaczynski for education, science and innovation.

Summarising his work as head of the PAS in an interview with PAP, Kleiber named as his successes bringing the PAS institutes to the forefront of scientific institutions in Poland, the involvement of the Academy in the preparation of expert opinions and increasing the international role of PAS stations in the promotion of Polish science. Among the failures of the past eight years he named, among others, insufficient increase in funding of scientific institutes and the lack of interest of the Polish authorities in the Polish research station in Antarctica - a continent which, because of the wealth that may be hiding there, will soon be the subject of strategically important international negotiations.

Prof. Kleiber is the author of 250 scientific publications and several books devoted to the application of modern computer methods in scientific research, technology and medicine.

In 2001 Prof. Kleiber received the Award of the Foundation for Polish Science (the so-called Polish Nobel Prize) in technical sciences.

The professor has also been awarded the Medal of the Kingdom of Belgium for innovative achievements and the title of doctor honoris causa of the universities of Lublin, Kraków, Warsaw, Darmstadt (Germany), Mons (Belgium) and the Polish University Abroad in London, as well as the title of engineer honoris causa of the Ecole Nationale D \'Ingenieurs in Metz (France).

He was elected a foreign member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Salzburg and a member of the Academia Europaea in London; a member of the Warsaw Scientific Society.

He lectured and conducted research during long-term stays at many universities. In the years 1976-1981 he worked at German universities in Stuttgart, Hannover and Darmstadt. From 1983 to 1984 he was a visiting professor at the University of California, and 1992-1993 at the University of Tokyo.

Prof. Kleiber is a member of the Scientific Council of the International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering of Barcelona (Spain) and of the International Scientific Committee that grants research fellowships of Microsoft Corporation in Redmond (US) to eminent scholars in the field of computer science and its applications.

In 1998-2001, he represented Poland in the Council of Governors of the Research Centre of the EU and was a Polish delegate to the "Sustainable Growth" Steering Committee in the 5th Framework Programme.

In 2012, the scientist received the French National Order of Merit for scientific achievements and cooperation with the French science. The distinction awarded by the President of France was presented in Warsaw by the French Ambassador Francois Barry Martin-Delongchamps.

In the same year he was honoured by the government of Japan with Japan\'s oldest distinction: the Order of the Rising Sun. He received the Golden and Silver Star from the Japanese ambassador for supporting the Polish-Japanese scientific exchange.

Kleiber worked in support of this cooperation since his first contact with Japan 1990. At that time he received a Japanese award for a book published in the United States, devoted to computer modelling of processes, which are affected by random events, using probability theory. He was offered a year\'s stay at the University of Tokyo.

Later, he worked for several years at that university as a visiting professor, led the research at the Centre for Research on Sdvanced Technology. Japanese ambassador reminded that already at that time he actively supported scientific cooperation between the two countries.

In 1991, Kleiber proposed to create a school of computer science, which would teach the Japanese information technology. In 1994, his idea was brought to life in the form of the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology in Warsaw.

In addition, Kleiber was one of the initiators of the Science and Technology in Society Forum (STS Forum) established in 2004 in Japan. As a permanent member he participated in four conferences organized in Japan, supporting Japanese efforts for international scientific cooperation.

Although he remains on the sidelines of the political scene, over the last few years his name as a possible candidate for the prime minister of the so-called government of experts appeared several times in unofficial statements of politicians and in media speculation. The professor himself denied participating in any discussions on the subject.

He did not hide, however, that he has the good of the state at heart. In the beginning of 2011 he even published his Decalogue for the public, entitled "Wise Poland". In this publication he declared without prudent state, enlightened leadership, intelligent public debate and a turn towards innovation, Poland would not go far.

In April of 2013 he proposed a substantive meeting of experts of both teams that analysed the TU-154M disaster, that is, the team led by Maciej Lasek and the parliamentary team for Smolensk disaster led by Antoni Macierewicz (PiS).

In August he sent a letter to both teams, in which urged both sides to participate in expert debate on the crash of Tu-154M in Smolensk. In mid-October, however, he announced that he suspended his initiative to hold a scientific conference. He believed that the discussion was impossible, among others, because of lack of dialogue.

In 2014 on the occasion of the 10th edition of the competition Science Populariser, the editorial team of PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland presented Prof. Kleiber with Anniversary Award - recognizing that he was one of the initiators of the competition and a long-term chairman of the competition jury.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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