Department of Physical Chemistry

Brief History of the Department

The Department of Physical Chemistry (DPC) was founded in October 1945. Despite problems with the premises and equipment, the staff under the direction of Prof. dr hab. Andrzej Waksmundzki, conducted intensive research in the fields of electrochemistry, chromatography, adsorption, solution theory and broadly understood interfacial phenomena. This work led to the term "Lublin School of Chromatography" appearing in world literature. In 1972, the department was moved to the Collegium Chemicum building (1st and 2nd floors). In 1975, in cooperation with Professor Zenon Szpigler from the Warsaw College of Technology, the first optical fibers in Poland were produced at the DPC. A few years later, the first functioning optical fiber system was installed (the seventh in the world at the time). With the growing level of knowledge and constantly developing research projects, employees dealing with specific topics began to establish their own departments, such as: Department of Chemical Technology, Department of Radiochemistry and Colloid Chemistry, Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Laboratory of Fiber Optics Technology and Department of Chromatographic Methods. In 1997, three departments were founded within the DPC, namely the Department of: Interfacial Phenomena, Physical Chemistry of Solids and Adsorption and Planar Chromatography. In 2001, the Department of Adsorption and Planar Chromatography was split into the Department of Adsorption and the Department of Planar Chromatography. The heads of the individual departments, which have been part of the department since 1997, were:

In 2019, the Department of Interfacial Phenomena separated from the DPC to form the Department of Interfacial Phenomena, while the remaining three departments merged to form the current Department of Physical Chemistry. The heads of the Department of Physical Chemistry from the beginning of its existence and in the following years were:

1945 – 1980 prof. dr hab. Andrzej Waksmundzki,
1980 – 1993 prof. dr hab. Jarosław Ościk,
1993 – 2012 prof. dr hab. Emil Chibowski,
2012 – 2019 prof. dr hab. Lucyna Hołysz,
2019 – 2023 prof. dr hab. Anna Deryło-Marczewska,
2023 – to the present dr hab. Elżbieta Grządka, prof. UMCS.

Further reading:

Separations Scince in Poland by B. Buszewski (link)