Professor Jan Jarosz was born in Zurawica in 1939. He graduated
from the Institute of Microbiology at Maria Curie Sklodowska University
in Lublin in 1964. He became assistant at the Department of Plant
Physiology. In 1971 he defended his PhD thesis and PD thesis in
1979.
Since 1981 he was the head of the Department of Insect Pathology,
the first one in Poland. He conducted original scientific research
on the pathology and immunology of insects. Results of his research
on hypersynthesis of haemolymph lysozyme and induction kinetics
of cecropins and attacins in insects have been regarded as classical
papers in the field of insect immunology. His research concerning
the interaction of entomopathogenic nematodes with the immune
system of insects has been included in the integrated project
COST Action 819 - Entomopathogenic nematodes.
Prof. Jan Jarosz was a member of the International Society for
Invertebrate Pathology. He was a member of the Committe of Microbiological
Plant Control of the International Organization for Biological
Control. Since 1995 he was managing editor of Entomonematologica.
He received the title Man of the Year 1995 by American
Institute of Biography.
Prof. J. Jarosz was the author of almost 200 scientific publications,
including 7 monographs. Even though myriapodology was not prof.
J. Jarosz's main research interest, he cooperated with prof. K.
Gromysz-Kalkowska, dr W. Jaskiewicz and dr G. Kania, and was a
member of the CIM from 1990 to 1999. Thanks to his acceptance
and full assistance Grzegorz Kania finished his PhD thesis on
Antibacterial immune defence mechanisms of O. sabulosus
which introduced new data to the microbiology and immunology of
millipedes. In his scientific research prof. Jarosz cooperated
with prof N. Boemare of the Department of Comparative Pathology
at the University of Montpellier, France. He also cooperated with
the Institute of the Plant Protection at Poznan, Poland and the
Forestry Research Institute of Belarussian Academy of Science
in Homel.
Apart from his research commitments, he was involved in teaching
students. Prof. Jarosz initiated and delivered lectures and classes
in environmental toxicology and invertebrate pathology. He supervised
several dozens of MSc papers and conferred 6 doctors degrees.
Prof. Jan Jarosz will be remembered as a modest, hard-working
and helpful person who devoted a lot of time to young researchers.
Prof. Jan Jarosz died tragically at the car accident on 3th January
2000.
Grzegorz Kania, April 2000