On 19 June 2026, a ceremony was held at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, to name the Institute Library after Prof. Leszek Kuźnicki — a pioneer of protozoology, a senior figure in the history of the Nencki Institute, and President of the Polish Academy of Sciences from 1993 to 1998.

The event was accompanied by the opening of a commemorative exhibition dedicated to Prof. Leszek Kuźnicki. The exhibition was opened by its initiator and curator, Prof. Adam Szewczyk.

The exhibition provided an opportunity to recall the life and work of a scientist who remained connected with the Nencki Institute for more than 70 years and played a lasting role in shaping its scientific and institutional identity. As President of the Polish Academy of Sciences, he played an important part in guiding Polish science through the period of political and economic transformation. The Institute community also remembers him as the author of the monograph The Marceli Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology: History and Present, one of the important sources of knowledge about the history of the Institute.

Naming the Institute Library after him is an expression of remembrance, gratitude, and respect for a scholar who shaped successive generations of researchers and helped create the ethos of the Nencki Institute.

Prof. Adam Szewczyk expressed his thanks to the Director of the Nencki Institute, Prof. Agnieszka Dobrzyń, and to the Marceli Nencki Foundation for their support in organising the event. He also thanked the exhibition’s co-curators, Dr hab. Hanna Fabczak and Dr hab. Dorota Dymkowska, for their contribution to creating this unique “story” about the Professor’s life.

The event was attended by members of the Professor’s family. During the ceremony, the Professor’s son, Prof. Jacek Kuźnicki, shared a personal memory of his father. He also donated a copy of Prof. Leszek Kuźnicki’s biography to the Institute Library.

The exhibition will be open to visitors at the Nencki Institute for the coming month. We warmly invite you to visit.