The Professor already holds two other honorary degrees awarded by Polish institutions, including one by Lodz University of Technology where he had started his university education and later earned a postdoctoral degree from. The Professor has also received honorary degrees from 10 scientific research institutes across Europe, Japan, and Israel.
Professor Matyjaszewski is affiliated with the Department of Molecular Physics at the Faculty of Chemistry of Lodz University of Technology. Many guests attended the special session ceremonial meeting of the Senate of the Rzeszów University of Technology, among them was the incumbent rector of TUL, prof. Krzysztof Jóźwik.
The laudatio was delivered by dr hab. Paweł Chmielarz, prof. of PRz. Therein he stated that the research pursued by prof. Matyjaszewski is best understood as macromolecular engineering, a field in which precise synthesis and processing of polymers allow researchers to achieve the desired functional properties.
The Professor's most important achievement is the development of Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP), which enables controlled synthesis of well-defined macromolecules as well as copolymers that are impossible to obtain with any conventional method. ATRP inspired tremendous interest in the world of science and in industry.
Prof. Paweł Chmielarz explained: ‘The variety of arrangements that ATRP allows you to obtain has led to the process being regarded as the method with which you can practically tailor-make polymers. Unquestionably, prof. Matyjaszewski's research work should be viewed as macromolecular engineering. The field encompasses a significant portion of nanotechnology, technology, and also biomaterials science. In other words, macromolecular engineering is the process whereby precise synthesis and processing of polymers make it possible to achieve intended properties and, consequently, transmute them into particular applications. The discipline is universally expected to grow vigorously, since many pertinent problems still have not been fully understood. The resulting materials may as well successfully be used, for example, in new generations of paint coatings for cars and household appliances, in electronics and cosmetics, as well as in biomedical disciplines.’
The impact of prof. Krzysztof Matyjaszewski's research is evidenced by the number of citations reaching over 131,000 according to the Web of Science (>134,000 according to Scopus, >178,000 according to Google Scholar), which accounts for the h-index of 174 according to the Web of Science (176 according to Scopus, 204 according to Google Scholar) - a figure in the top ten for all chemists worldwide.
Following the conferral of the honorary doctorate, prof. Krzysztof Matyjaszewski delivered a keynote lecture on his research. In closing, he referred to the value of collaboration, emphasizing in particular the ties with Polish scientists, including prof. Jacek Ulański of the TUL Department of Molecular Physics, with whom he had completed two collaborative research projects.