prof. dr hab. inż. Andrzej Kotecki
dr hab. Magdalena Szymura, prof. uczelni
p>The Base of Knowledge of UPWr
Biologist, PhD dissertation entitled ‘Morphological differentiation of epidermis of selected species from Asterace family’ she defended in 2004, habilitation she obtained in 2016 on the basis of publication cycle entitled ‘Invasion of goldenrods (Solidago L. and Euthamia Nutt.) in south-western Poland’.
She has been working at the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences in since 2004. Her research is focused mainly on invasive species, their impact on environment, methods of elimination and habitat restaration, particularly grasslands habitats. She also studies methods of meadows and pastures biodiversity maintaining.
She is a member of International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS), Polish Botanical Society, Polish Association of Landscape Ecology, Polish Grasslands Society.
Non-scientific interests: Baroque music and impressionist painting, as well as mountain tours.
prof. dr hab. inż. Józef Sowiński
prof. dr hab. inż. Anna Karczewska
Professor in the Institute of Soil Science and Environmental Protection. A specialist in soil and environmental sciences.
Scientific interests: properties of contaminated soils, examination of forms, mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals and metalloids (arsenic, antimony) in soils under different environmental conditions; environmental risk assessment, ecotoxicity and phytotoxicity of polluted soils, in particular in the sites affected by historical and contemporary ore mining and processing. Soil reclamation and remediation, including phytoremediation, relationships between soil contamination and transformation of organic matter.
Several other issues: the rules of soil monitoring, dynamics of nutrients and trace elements in soils, properties of mountain soils, anthropogenic transformations of soils in urban and industrial areas.
dr hab. inż. Jacek Twardowski, prof. uczelni
He is an entomologist and specialist in the field of plant protection against pests. Obtained his doctoral diploma in 2002 and postdoctoral degree in 2011 on the basis of achievements and the monograph "The effect of reduced tillage systems in winter wheat crop on the assemblages of epigeal and soil arthropods". Since 2014 he is employed as associate professor in the Department of Plant Protection.
In scientific work he is involved in research on integrated plant protection against pests and on beneficial organisms in various ecosystems. Scientific experience gained during a long-term internship in the Netherlands and short stays in other foreign research centers. He was the head and executor of numerous grants financed from external funds. He cooperates with companies from the sector of plant protection, biocides and agricultural production. Leads courses on plant protection and performs entomological expertise. He popularizes knowledge as an author of books and popular science articles.
dr Iwona Gruss
She received her master's degree in biology in 2010 at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, University of Opole. From 2010, associated with the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław, obtaining a PhD in agricultural sciences (specialty: agronomy) in 2014. From 2015, she has been working as an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Protection.
In her scientific work, she focuses on applied entomology and applied soil zoology, considering the impact of various anthropogenic factors (including agriculture) on the occurrence of invertebrates. Current research mainly concerns the impact of climate change on soil organisms conducted as part of international cooperation.
She gained scientific experience as a contractor of projects implemented at the University of Natural Sciences and Technology and as part of international cooperation, including foreign internships (Germany, Czech Republic).
Non-scientific interests: logical tasks, mountain
dr inż. Bartosz Kozak
Master of Science in Applied Biotechnology, specialization Plant Biotechnology, University of Agriculture in Krakow. In 2014, he completed his doctoral studies at the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Faculty of Life and Technology, where he carried out his doctoral thesis at the Department of Genetics, Plant Breeding and Seed Science, under the supervision of prof. dr hab. Ewa Sawicka- Sienkiewicz. In 2015, he completed an internship at the University of Hohenhemi in the group of prof. Karl Schmid in Germany, and in 2016 an internship at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in the group of Dr. Simone Castellarini. In 2019, he completed an internship at the University of Munster in the group of prof. Wojciech Makałowski (Germany). Since 2015, he has been an assistant professor at the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław.
His research interests are related to gene mapping for functional traits in narrow-leaved lupine. In his work, he uses the techniques of molecular biology, PCR, RT-PCR, electrophoresis and sequencing. In its research, however, it also uses bioinformatics tools for data from next-generation sequencing, primarily RNAseq.
dr hab. inż. Kamila Nowosad, prof. uczelni
dr Marta Preisner
Marta Preisner from April 2017. is an assistant professor in the Department of Genetics, Plant Breeding and Seed Production. Earlier she gained experience in research work as a research assistant/assistant professor in projects implemented by the University of Wrocław and Wrocław Research Center EIT+. She graduated in biotechnology at the Wrocław University of Technology. She obtained a PhD in biological sciences in the field of natural sciences in 2015 at the Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Wrocław.
Research conducted by Dr. Preisner concerns the perception of environmental factors by crop plants. In particular, this applies to molecular mechanisms through which plants receive environmental factors. She is the author of several scientific papers, she took several internships abroad (China, Germany, the Czech Republic). Dr Preisner is the manager and principal investigator of the SONATA research project financed by the National Science Center "Variable electromagnetic field as a factor regulating gene expression in plants on the example of flax."
dr hab. inż. Daniel Pruchniewicz, prof. uczelni
The title of Doctor of Agricultural Sciences was obtained in 2013 with a dissertation entitled “The influence of environmental factors and management on the vegetation of mesic grasslands in the middle part of the Sudetes Mts”. In 2019 the applicant obtained habilitation for a publication entitled “Selected aspects of Calamagrostis epigejos L. ecology as a species degenerating mountain mesic meadows”. In the same year the applicant was employed as a professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Ecology at the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences.
The applicant obtained experience in numerous post-doctoral projects and internships in academic centers in Germany, North Macedonia, Portugal and the Czech Republic.
Other interests include sports and traveling.
dr Piotr Stępień
I am currently an adjunct, based in the Department of Plant Nutrition. I completed my PhD in Biology at the University of Wrocław, in which I examined the impact of salt stress on the photosynthetic activity of C3 and C4 plants. Afterwards, I worked for 3 years as a Marie Curie EU-funded research associate at University of Manchester. After returning to Poland, I continued my research under the aegis of the EU Reintegration Grant. In 2014-15 I revisited Manchester as an EMBO-funded fellow.
In the coming years, climate change is predicted to have a significant impact on crop productivity globally. This, combined with growing world population, means that agriculture is facing unprecedented challenges. The need to ensure on-going food security in the face of changing climates is widely recognised as a major concern and is prominent amongst the recently defined European and global priorities. My research is focussed on identifying strategies that can be used to increase the tolerance of plants, in particular examining how the process of photosynthesis is regulated in response to stress. A better understanding of those mechanisms improves our knowledge and opens new possibilities for developing stress tolerant crops.
dr hab. inż. Przemysław Bąbelewski, prof. uczelni
A graduate of the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław with a specialization in "Shaping green areas". From the second year of studies, he is associated with the Department of Horticulture, where he currently works at the Department of Ornamental Plants and Dendrology, University of Life Sciences in Wrocław as a professor. In 2004, he defended his doctoral dissertation entitled "Distribution, ecology and phenology of Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle in Wrocław." He habilitated in 2018 in the research topic: Synanthropization of selected tree species from North America growing in Wrocław.
Lecturer in dendrology and subjects in the field of ornamental plants. His research interests include ecology of woody plants in the urban environment, analysis of the Silesian dendroflora, care and selection of ornamental trees and shrubs for the urban environment, including taxa that purify the air. He also conducts research in the field of ornamental nursery. His interests are also focused on the cultivation of trees and shrubs to obtain biomass and the evaluation of health-promoting, ornamental and utility taxa of trees and shrubs for the purpose of obtaining functional food. He is a member of the Polish Dendrology Society, the Polish Society of Horticultural Sciences and the Polish Botanical Society. A promoter of gardening knowledge, he conducts lectures and trainings, is the author of numerous works (about 400) of popular science and popular in the field of growing horticultural plants, especially ornamental trees and shrubs.
Hobbies: an avid canoeist has sailed entirely on numerous Polish rivers. Mountain excursion enthusiast, nature observer. A collector and breeder of plants, in his free time he deals with their cultivation in the garden and the nursery of ornamental plants.
dr hab. inż. Bogdan Stępień, prof. uczelni
Research and teaching employee employed at the current Institute of Agricultural Engineering since 1988. PhD thesis „Research on rheological properties of triticale grain based on deformation hysteresis loop” in 1996. Habilitation based on a monograph „Modification of mechanical and rheological properties of selected vegetables occurred during drying using different methods” in 2010. Since 2017, head of the Fundamentals of Technology Department. The scope of scientific interests includes issues related to drying of raw materials of plant origin and product quality, special in the context of changes in mechanical and rheological features. Author or co-author of 58 original research papers, 2 scripts and utility model. Contractor of 7 research projects financed from external sources, including one as a project manager.
In the years 2011-2016 he was the deputy dean of the Faculty of Life Science and Technology deals with the fields of study: economics, management and production engineering. Since 2016, he has been the dean of the Faculty. A member of the UPWr Senate and many faculty and senate commissions.
Non-scientific interests: music, sport, politics
