Erwin Wąsowicz

Prof. dr hab. Erwin Wąsowicz
Rector of the August Cieszkowski Agricultural University of Poznań
(2002-2005, 2005-2008)

BIOGRAPHY

Erwin Wąsowicz received the post-doctoral degree in 1989 and the title of professor in agricultural sciences in 1998.

RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Professor Wąsowicz is acclaimed in Poland and abroad for his studies on the isolation and characteristics of volatile aroma substances in food, volatile metabolites of fungi and bacteria and their application as indicators of development of microflora, as well as oxidation processes in lipids during processing and storage of food.

SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY

He has been employed at the position of regular professor since 2004. He took long-term scientific stays in Canada (1975 – 1976, Post-doctoral Fellowship) and the USA (1990—1992, Visiting Professor). Since 1997 he has been head of the Department of Food Concentrates at the Institute of Technology of Plant Origin Food. He was the head of seven grant projects financed by the Committee for Scientific Research and a project commissioned by the Department of Agriculture, the USA. He was the promoter in five completed doctorate conferral procedures. Two of his employees at the Department received the post-doctoral degrees and one — the title of professor. He participated in international conferences organized in Poland and abroad, delivering plenary papers, as well as national symposiums and seminars. He headed seven editions of a course on “The application of gas chromatography in food analysis” addressed to employees of universities, industry and other research units.

SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS

Professor Wąsowicz is an author or co-author of 232 publications, including 88 original research papers, 128 conference papers and short communications, 6 scientific review papers and 10 chapters in scientific books as well as two patents. Among original scientific papers 40 were published in journals for the Philadelphia List. Five chapters in scientific books were printed by prestigious world publishers, such as e.g. Elsevier, CRC Press or Marcel Dekker. The total number of citations of works by Professor Wąsowicz, according to the ISI Web of Knowledge, is 729, while the Hirsch index is 14. He reviewed 22 doctoral dissertations, wrote seven reviews of the scientific achievements for the post-doctoral degree, three post-doctoral dissertations for publication, four applications for the conferral of the professor title as well as two applications for appointment to the position of regular professor.

ORGANISATIONAL ACTIVITY

Important functions at the university:

1993—1996 vice-dean at the Faculty of Food Technology,
1996—2002 Vice-Rector for science at the Agricultural University of Poznań,
2002—2008 Rector of the Agricultural University, renamed the Poznań University of Life Sciences.

Major functions outside the university:

since 2002 — member of the Committee of Food Sciences PAS,
vice—president of the Scientific Council of the Central Laboratory f Food Concentrates,
member of the Scientific Council of the Institute ofAgricultural and Food Biotechnology,
2005—2008 member of the Scientific Committee KRASP,
Chairman of the Scientific Council of COBRABiD,
member of the Programme Council of a journal „Rośliny Oleiste i Żywność”, „ Nauka, Technologia, Jakość”,