Prof. Wieslaw Ostachowicz was born in 1947 in Zabrze in Silesia. In years 1966-1970 he studied at the Gdansk University of Technology, where in 1970 he was graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. He started his scientific career at the Szewalski Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery in Gdansk, where he worked as a research assistant on various problems of gas dynamics in years 1970-72. Next he worked a design engineer in the Navy Shipyard in Gdynia in years 1972-73.

In 1973 he started working a senior lecturer at the Gdansk University of Technology, and in years 1982-87 also as the Dean of the Department of Mechachanics and Strength of Materials at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. In the meantime, in 1975, he obtained his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. 5 years later, in 1980, he obtained a D.Sc. degree from the same faculty also in Mechanical Engineering. In 1986 he has started working at the Szewalski Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery in Gdansk, where in years 1986-1992 he was the Deputy Director of the Institute. In 1989 he was awared the title of Professor in Applied Mechanics.

Prof. Wieslaw Ostachowicz has been the Head of the Centre of Machine Mechanics in the Szewalski Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery in since 1998, as well as the Head of the Department of Mechanics of Intelligent Strucutres. Since 2004 he has also been working as a full professor at the Gdynia Maritime University at the Faculty of Navigation.

His scientific interests are focused on various problems of applied mechanics like dynamics of machines, fracture mechanics, vibration analysis, numerical methods in mechanics, finite and spectral element methods, composite materials, the use of multi-functional materials, structural health monitoring, damage detection and identification. He is also a member of the Polish Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.

In year 2005 he was awarded a prestigious professorial grant by the Foundation for Polish Science for "Investigation of composite structures of controllable properties (by the use of multi-functional materials)". Substantial grants under this scheme are awarded annually to fifteen eminent representatives of a designated field of study and are provided for three years. They are aimed at intensifying ongoing research or undertaking new research projects. This scheme is targeted at those who successfully combine their own research activity with educating the younger generation of scholars.

Prof. Wieslaw Ostachowicz has published as the author or co-author more than 350 research papers, including more than 100 published in top international scientific journals. He is also the author or co-author of many monographs, student textbooks, as well as scientific books. Until now he has been the supervisor of more than 50 M.Sc. theses and 14 Ph.D. theses.

International research experience:

• 9-month visiting scholarship, IREX, USA, 1980-1981
• 2-week research scholarship, British Council, UK, 1992
• 1-week research scholarship, US Army and US Air Force, USA, 1992
• 2-week research scholarship, M. Sklodowska-Curie, USA, 1992
• 2-week research scholarship, DFG, Germany, 1993
• 1-month research scholarship, British Council, UK, 1993
• 1-week research scholarship, The Royal-Society, UK, 1994
• 1-month research scholarship, British Council, UK, 1995
• 1-week research scholarship, The Royal Society, UK, 1995
• 2-week research scholarship, US Army, USA, 1995
• 4-week research scholarship, British Council, UK, 1996
• 4-week research scholarship, USA Army, USA, 1996
• 2-week, research scholarship, KOSEF, South Korea, 1996
• 2-week, research scholarship, The Royal Society, UK, 1996
• 2-week, research scholarship, US Army, USA, 1997
• 2-week, research scholarship, The Royal Society, UK, 1997
• 2-week, research scholarship, The Royal Irish Society, Ireland, 1998
• 2-week, research scholarship, FRD, South Africa, 1998
• 2-week, research scholarship, US Army, USA, 1998
• 2-week, research scholarship, The Royal Society, UK, 1998
• 1-week, research scholarship, The Royal Irish Society, Ireland, 1999
• 1-week, research scholarship, US Army, USA, 1999
• 2-week, research scholarship, The Royal Society, UK, 1999
• 2-week, research scholarship, FRD, South Africa, 2000
• 1-week, research scholarship, The Royal Irish Society, Ireland, 2000
• 1-week, research scholarship, KOSEF, South Korea, 2000
• 1-week, research fellowiship, The Royal Irish Society, Ireland, 2001
• 3-month, visiting scholarship, EPSRC, UK, 2000-2003

• Editorial Board of Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C, Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, UK
• Chairman of the DAMAS-2005 Conference (Damage Assessment of Structures), Gdansk, Poland, July 2005
• Chairman of the ECCOMAS-2007 Conference (Smart Structures and Materials), Gdansk, Poland, July 2007
• Co-Chairman of the DAMAS-2007 Conference (Damage Assessment of Structures), Turin, Italy, July 2007
• Co-Chairman of the EWSHM-2008 Conference (European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring), Cracow, Poland, July 2008
• Co-Chairman of the DAMAS-2009 Conference (Damage Assessment of Structures), Beijing, China, August 2009
• Lecturer at the Advances Courses on Structural Health Monitoring Sponsored by EC Specific Support Action ASA6-CT-2006-044636 (Madrid, Siegen, Sheffield, Cracow, Lisbon, Patras and Copenhagen)
• Member of the Committee on Mechanics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 2004-2010<\li>
• Award of the Minister of Science and Higher Education for scientific achievements: 1976, 1980, 1982, 1985
• Award of the Rector of the Technical University of Gdansk for scientific achievements: 1975-1987 (10 times)
• KBN Grants (State Committee for Scientific Research): 1992-1994, 1991-1993, 1994-1996
• British Council Grant (1993-1996)
• US Army Grant (1994-1997)
• EPSRC Grant (Engineering and Physical Science Research Council), UK, 2000-2003
• EADS Grant (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company), Germany, 2002-2006
• Professorial Grant (the Foundation for Polish Science), 2005-2008
• Marquis Who's Who in the World (12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th 17th, 18th, 19th Edition)
• Marquis Who's Who in Science and Engineering (4th, 5th, 6th , 7th Edition)
• The Contemporary Who’s Who (American Biographical Institute): 2002/2003
• Dictionary of International Biography (26th Edition); Int. Biographical Centre, Cambridge, UK
• Editorial Board of Composites Part B: Engineering, USA
• Editorial Board of Strain, UK
• Member of the Committee on Machine Building, Polish Academy of Sciences, 1987-1990
• Member of the Committee on Mechanics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 2004-2007