Wojciech Dziembowski

It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Wojciech Dziembowski, an eminent scientist and pioneer in the study of solar and stellar pulsations. His visionary work and major contributions to helio- and asteroseismology leave an enduring mark on the scientific community. Wojciech was a full member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and a corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences. From 2003 to 2006, he served as President of Commission 35 (Stellar Constitution) of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Born on 14 January 1940 in Warsaw, he completed his undergraduate studies at Jagiellonian University in Kraków. In 1967, Wojciech obtained his PhD from the University of Warsaw, where he also received his habilitation in 1977. He was awarded the title of full professor in 1988. He was a postdoctoral associate at Columbia University (1967–69), where he focused on the study of stellar pulsations. Wojciech played a key role in the formation of the Copernicus Astronomical Center (CAMK), jointly developed by the Polish Academy of Sciences and the US NSF.

In 1969, he began working at the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, and he served as its director from 1987 to 1992. He became a corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 1989, distinguished by his revolutionary research on stellar pulsations and the internal structure of stars. Beginning in 1997, Wojciech worked at the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw, and in 2007, he became a full member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He was deeply committed to advancing astronomy in Poland and served on numerous committees toward that goal.

Wojtek, as all collaborators and friends called him, was a towering scientist with unparalleled intellect, insatiable curiosity, and extraordinary intuition. He was the author or coauthor of many pioneering works in stellar pulsation theory and was among the scientists who laid the foundation for the theory of helio- and asteroseismology. His works on the interpretation of stellar variability and the study of solar and stellar interiors left a lasting mark on world science.

During his career, Wojtek published about 150 refereed papers, most of them dedicated to the understanding of stellar oscillations. He developed one of the first nonadiabatic codes for stellar oscillations, which has been evolving since 1970, including the introduction of “Dziembowski variables,” a formalism still widely used in the community through open-source codes. In 1977, he derived an analytical formula for light and radial velocity variations due to nonradial pulsations, his most cited paper, a formalism still applied in modern interpretations of oscillations observed through space photometry and ground-based spectroscopy. He also profoundly advanced the study of nonlinear resonant mode coupling (1982–85). His notable works include studies on the oscillations of various types of stars, including giants and supergiants (1977, 2001), white dwarfs (1977), B-type stars and their excitation mechanisms (1993), β Cephei stars (2004), RR Lyrae stars and the Blazhko effect (1999, 2004), and the magnetic effects on rapidly oscillating Ap stars (1985, 1996, 2002).

His research extended to the Sun, where he investigated the solar neutrino flux problem (1990, 2000), co-developed the theoretical framework for inferring differential rotation (1989, 1992) and magnetic fields (1989), and contributed to fundamental studies on solar cycle impacts on eigenmode frequencies (1991, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005), which are now used for seismic investigation of stellar cycles observed with the Kepler/TESS missions and the future PLATO mission.

Over his long career, Wojtek was honored with numerous prestigious awards, including the Médaille de l’Adion from the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (2000), the Gold Medal of the University of Wrocław (2005), an honorary doctorate from the University of Zielona Góra (2014), and the Bohdan Paczyński Medal of the Polish Astronomical Society (2019). The IAU Symposium 301, Precision Asteroseismology, was dedicated to celebrating the scientific opus of Wojtek Dziembowski.

Beyond his remarkable scientific achievements, Wojtek remained a humble and kind person, qualities greatly appreciated by those who knew him. He was attentive, patient, and affectionate with students, preserving their motivation while gently guiding them toward scientific rigor and precision.

He was happily married for 60 years to his wife, Anna, and was enormously proud of his sons, Stefan and Andrzej, both professors at the University of Warsaw with distinguished research careers in informatics/cryptography and molecular biology, respectively.

Wojtek passed away on 10 February 2025, but his scientific legacy and humanity will endure. He will be remembered as an exceptional researcher, a valued collaborator, an inspiring mentor, and a dear friend.

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