Jan Dobrowolski (1919-1998)
Head of Department of Inorganic Chemistry, 1976-1989.
Jan Dobrowolski was born in Tarnow on July 13, 1919. He started to attend high school in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski and continued his education in high school in Tarnow where his family moved to. From 1938-1939 he studied chemistry at the Lwow Polytechnic (two years). The WW II interrupted his studies and he was forced to work for German occupier.
In 1941 J. Dobrowolski was arrested by Gestapo for resistance activities and imprisoned in Auschwitz concentration camp and later transferred to Mauthausen concentration camp. In 1945, after liberating the camp by American army, he returned to Poland and worked as a civil servant in Repatriation Office in Gdansk.
In 1946 he decided to continue his academic education and studied chemistry at Technical University of Gdansk. After graduation he was an assistant in the Department of Inorganic Chemistry and later was promoted to a lecturer position. In meantime, J. Dobrowolski additionally taught chemistry at Pedagogic College and at Medicine Academy and helped to organize the Departments of Inorganic Chemistry there.
From 1954-1955 he was in Vietnam as a Polish delegate to the International Supervisory Commission. In 1961 he earned a doctoral degree in chemistry for research on chemistry of tellurium (promotor W. Rodziewicz). Then he spent one year as a postdoctoral research associate at L'Ecole Superieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles in Paris and at Paris University (with Prof. J. Amiel). In 1966 he completed his habilitation work titled “Study on halogenocomplexes of four-valence tellurium”. In 1972 J. Dobrowolski was promoted to the post of associate professor and from 1982 he was full professor.
His research interests included chemistry of tellurium, analysis of high purity materials, chemistry of rare earth metals and coinage metals. It is worth-while to mention his involvement in co-operation with industry and designing several technological processes.
The co-author of nine textbooks for students, he was also regarded as a one of the best lecturers. He promoted many MSc Eng. graduates and 11 doctors. J. Dobrowolski held several academic positions: Head of Department of General Chemistry (1967-1976), V-ce Director of Institute of Inorganic Chemistry & Technology (1974-1980), Head of Department of Inorganic Chemistry (1976-1989) and Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry (1981-1984). The member of several scientific societies, he helped to organize national and international scientific conferences. J. Dobrowolski retired in 1989. He died on Jan. 25, 1998 in Gdansk.
Author: Wiesław Wojnowski
English version: Stanisław Konieczny
