LANL physicist Wojciech Żurek recently received two Doctor Honoris Causa honors in Kraków Poland. Courtesy photo
Prof. Wojciech Żurek accepts one of two Doctor Honoris Causa honors recently in Kraków Poland. Courtesy photo
Staff Report:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) theoretical physicist Prof. Wojciech Żurek recently received two Doctor Honoris Causa honors.
AGH University of Science and Technology presented Żurek with his first Doctor Honoris Causa Oct. 22 in in Kraków Poland.
Jagiellonian University also presented Żurek with a Doctor Honoris Causa honor during an award ceremony Oct. 25, in Collegium Novum Assembly Hall during a JU Senate special session, also in Kraków Poland.
Żurek received the JU honorary doctorates for his fundamental research on decoherence, quantum physics and astrophysics; for his work on non-cloning theorem together with William Wooters and Dennis Dieks; for developing the theory of what is now known as the Kibble-Zurek mechanism in collaboration with Tom W. B. Kibble; and for his long-standing efforts to support the Polish academic community, particularly for helping young Jagiellonian University researchers.
Żurek’s interests span two distinct areas of physics. Since 1981, he has been investigating the fundamental properties of quantum physics, such as decoherence, the Born rule and quantum system measurements. His work is not only important in the context of basic research, but also forms the basis of construction of quantum computers. He also is a leading authority on phase transitions, especially dynamic phase transitions.
Aside from being an influential theoretical physicist, Żurek is a passionate lecturer. For many years, he has been actively engaged in the collaboration between the Jagiellonian University and LANL. He has contributed to careers of many JU students, who thanks to postdoctoral internships in his scientific teams had the opportunity to achieve their research goals in an international environment.
Żurek conducts an ongoing research project with Prof. Jacek Dziarmaga from the JU Institute of Physics. He has published numerous papers in collaboration with Kraków physicists and frequently attends conferences organized by the Jagiellonian University, such as the Kraków School of Theoretical Physics and Marian Smoluchowski Symposium on Statistical Physics.
