30th Anniversary Conference of the Polish Society for Biomaterials "Biomaterials in Medicine and Veterinary Medicine" was held on 14-17 October 2021, in Rytro, Poland. The event was organized by the Polish Society for Biomaterials (PSB) in cooperation with the Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics at AGH (WIMiC AGH). The Organizing Committee was chaired by prof. Elżbieta Pamuła (President of the Polish Society for Biomaterials, Vice-Dean for Science, WIMiC AGH). This year's conference was dedicated to the memory of prof. Jan Chłopek – Chairman of the Annual Conferences "Biomaterials in Medicine and Veterinary Medicine", former PSB President, former Head of the Department of Biomaterials and Composites, and former Dean of WIMiC AGH. The conference was attended by a total of 140 delegates, both from Poland and abroad. The conference was an opportunity to exchange experiences between scientists from various research centres, as well as to establish cooperation between materials science engineers and the medical community.
The conference began with a memorial session of prof. Jan Chłopek. The representative of the professor's family – his daughter – Magdalena Ostasz took part in the ceremony. Professor Chłopek’s scientific, didactic and organizational achievements were presented by prof. Elżbieta Pamuła. Prof. Jan Chłopek’s contribution to the development of materials science, as well as his achievements in creating new fields of study, in particular biomedical engineering, were emphasized. His activities in organization of international scientific conferences, e.g. ESB2015 - 27th European Conference on Biomaterials, were also appreciated. As the President of PSB, Prof. Pamuła stressed Professor Chłopek’s great involvement in the foundation and development of the Polish Society for Biomaterials and the organization of annual (since 1990) biomaterial conferences in Rytro. Then, the on-line speeches of foreign guests – Professor Joachim Kohn (New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, Rutgers University, USA) and Professor James Kirkpatrick (University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany) were presented. The memories of prof. Chłopek were also shared by the invited guests and conference participants. Everyone highlighted the fundamental influence of Professor Chłopek on the development of biomaterials engineering in Poland and his activity at the international arena, as well as outstanding personality and sense of humor. At the end of the session, the alumni of Professor Chłopek talked about their PhD research under his supervision, conferences they attended together, or the Professor's influence on their further career.
During the conference, the latest research on biomaterials science was presented by 3 distinguished Plenary Lecturers:
Prof. Michał Wszoła in his Keynote Lecture (sponsored by this year's exhibitor - Polbionica) discussed the biomaterials- and biotechnology-related cure for type I diabetes. The conference program included also 31 oral presentations, 78 poster presentations and 8 Rapid Fire presentations, part of the Best Poster Competition. The winner of the Best Poster and Rapid Fire Competition organized under the auspices of the Young Scientists Forum of the European Society for Biomaterials was MSc Konrad Kwiecień from the AGH. The winner received a prize funded by the sponsors – Sygnis and Cellink.
During this year’s conference, we celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Polish Society for Biomaterials. On this occasion, the Gala Dinner with live music was held, at which special thanks to MSc Augustyn Powroźnik, the former Treasurer of the PSB and the Secretary of the Conference in Rytro, were given.
Social events were in the conference program as well. It all started with the Welcome Reception at the cottage bar “Nad potokiem”, followed by previously mentioned Gala Dinner. Finally, on Saturday morning, an adventurous trip to the observation tower in Krynica and Sensory Gardens in Muszyna were organized.
More information about the conference are available at: http://www.biomat.agh.edu.pl
