On October 1, a ceremony was held at our facility to mark the 55th anniversary of the beginning of scientific activity by Prof. Dr. Jan J. Rybczynski. The lecture on this occasion was a kind of time travel through the career and achievements of the jubilarian. Honoring the professor's rich scientific path was reflected, among other things, in congratulatory letters from the director of the PAN Botanical Garden, Prof. Dr. habil. Arkadiusz Nowak, and the chairman of the Scientific Council of the PAN OB - CZRB, Prof. Dr. habil. Romuald Zabielski.

Professor Rybczynski graduated from the Faculty of Biology and Earth Science at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, majoring in biology. After graduation, his professional career was associated with the Polish Academy of Sciences, starting work at the Department of Plant Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznan on October 1, 1970. Meanwhile, since 1984, he has been a researcher at the PAN Botanical Garden - CZRB in Powsin. As the head of the department and deputy director for scientific affairs of the Botanical Garden of the Polish Academy of Sciences - Professor has made a significant contribution to the scientific development of the institution. The direction he took - concerns the experimental biology of plants. He carried it out by working with in vitro culture methods and biotechnological tools.

To date, Professor Jan J. Rybczynski has been researching the morphogenetic abilities of organs, tissues, cells and protoplasts of plants belonging to various groups, e.g., Gramineae, Solanaceae, Fabaceae, Gentianaceae and, more recently, Cyatheaceae. For many years, he has directed special attention to the study of the process of somatic embryogenesis and the development of cell suspensions as a source of totipotent cells and secondary metabolites.

Prof. Dr. Jan J. Rybczynski has been awarded a number of international scholarships funded by: Fulbright Foundation, British Council, International Atomic Agency, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (AN), Indian AN, South African AN, Taiwan AN and Research Council. As an outstanding specialist in the field of experimental plant biology, he shared his achievements by organizing many national conventions and conferences in Poland and participating in international scientific conferences. In the Polish Botanical Society, he brought to life the section "in vitro cultures" - serving as its chairman for many years. Meanwhile, he served as President of the Polish Botanical Society from 2004 to 2010.

As he himself points out - an important issue in the professor's achievements is the training of doctoral and master's students. Alumni - remembering his didactic craftsmanship - represented by Prof. Anna Miku³a (head of the Plant Biotechnology and Micropropagation Unit) offered congratulations to the jubilarian and wished him many more years of challenges in the field of science and education.

Prof. Dr. Jan J. Rybczynski among the many honors he has received in his scientific career - he most appreciates the Prof. Wladyslaw Szafer Medal, the Michal Oczapowski Medal and the Honorary Membership of the Polish Botanical Society.