28.122023
It is with deep regret that we inform you that on December 28, 2023, at the age of 87, Prof. Ph.D. Aleksander Guterch, an outstanding geophysicist, a long-time employee of the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences passed away.
Prof. Aleksander Guterch was associated with our Institute for almost his entire professional life. He started working here in 1963. For over 40 years, he was the head of the Deep Structures Laboratory, and then the Department of Seismic Lithospheric Research.
He was an outstanding geophysicist dealing with the structure of the Earth's crust and upper mantle, the "father" of seismic research of the lithosphere in Poland. Professor Guterch was the organizer, leader and participant of six geophysical expeditions to the Arctic and five geodynamic expeditions to West Antarctica. He was also the organizer and manager of a number of seismic experiments carried out in Poland and neighboring countries, as well as the manager and co-organizer of large international seismic experiments in Central and Southern Europe, from the Baltic to the Adriatic Sea (POLONAISE’97, CELEBRATION 2000, SUDETS 2003, ALPS 2002).
Results of the scientific activity of prof. Guterch were presented in over 250 publications, mainly in international and domestic journals and monographs. These works are highly valued by the Earth Science community, as evidenced by the high number of citations.
Professor was leading many scientific projects and programs in Poland. He was a full member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, member of the Academia Europaea, a member of the Warsaw Scientific Society, the Polish Geophysical Society, an honorary member of the Hungarian Society of Geophysicists, as well as a member of many national and international Scientific Committees and Associations. He was also the winner of many awards and distinctions, as well as the holder of several state decorations, including: Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1973), Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1998) and the Bene Merito honorary badge (2015). In 2018, during the ceremony of the Institute's 65th anniversary, he was awarded a medal named after Prof. Adam Dziewoński.
Prof. Guterch was the President and honorary member of the Association of Lovers of Ancient Arms and Uniforms. He was a holder of the Title of the Honorary Citizenship of the Sękowa Commune.
We lost not only a great scientist, but also a mentor of many generations of geophysicists in Poland and abroad and a kind colleague.
May He rest in peace!
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Prof. Aleksander Guterch
