Professor Jerzy Małecki, a former member of the editorial board of ‘Phase Transitions’ and a Research Staff Member at the Institute of Molecular Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznań, Poland, passed away on 2 July 2018. Professor Małecki was born in 1933 in Swarzędz, a small town not far from Poznań. After the outbreak of World War II his family moved to Warsaw. In 1945, after leaving the Nazi prison, his parents moved with the children to Poznań. In the years 1951–1955 Jerzy Małecki studied physics at the University of Poznań. After graduating, he started working at the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. At this Institute, he progressed through the stages of seniority until he became a full professor in 1983. His expertise was in the field of molecular and condensed matter physics. Professor Małecki was a world-class authority in the field of molecular interactions in liquids and liquid crystals. He made particular contributions in the field of nonlinear dielectric effect research methods, also known as dielectric saturation. The techniques he developed have been widely used in many national and foreign laboratories. Professor Małecki’s interests focused on the phenomena of molecular orientation and transport in liquids and liquid crystals. This research, carried out with his students, resulted in contributions of great importance in the field of molecular biology, such as in molecular association in liquids and the proton transfer process in molecular complexes with hydrogen bonding. This work has contributed to our understanding of point mutations and the aging process. The results of this research were published in over 140 papers and formed the basis of the scientific careers of many of his students, work which resulted in 13 dissertations and 9 habilitations. Six of his students have received the title of professor. Professor Małecki had a keen interest in technological applications. The project co-directed by him on the technology of electret microphone production was particularly successful. This cooperation with industry resulted in the large scale production of high-quality microphones, which satisfied the needs of the electronics industry of Eastern Europe in the 1970s and 1980s. Following on from this cooperation, a number of well-respected books on the physics and technology of electrets have remained. Professor Jerzy Małecki has left a lasting legacy in both the physics of condensed matter and in its technological applications. As a valued friend, colleague, and teacher he will be greatly missed by those who knew him.
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