Professor Jan Kiciński, born in 1948, Ph.D., D.Sc., is the Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs and the Head of the Rotor Dynamics and Slide Bearings Department at the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS) in Gdansk. He was the head of a large Government Project PBZ 038-06 (completed in 1998) which focused the activity of six research teams from all over the country on developing the vibration monitoring system in large power turbosets, the first initiative of this type in Poland. In the next Government Project PBZ-KBN-025/T10/2000 (completed in 2005 he was the chief co-ordinator of activities of over ten research teams. At present, he is the head of the Government Project "DIADYN", with about 40 research teams involved in its realisation. The above projects were mainly oriented on diagnosing and modelling of processes taking place in large power objects. He was also the head of tens of project directly commissioned by the industry, mainly the power industry. In 2004 he was appointed to the post of the Managing Director of the all-Polish Centre of Advanced Technologies "RIMAMI" and the Scientific Net "ECO-ENERGY". In 2003 he became a member of the PAS Committee for Mechanical Engineering and was elected to the post of the Chairman of the Exploitation Section.

For years Professor Kiciński has been involved in modelling dynamic interactions taking place in complex systems having the rotor-bearings-foundation structure, and modelling properties of slide bearings. He developed a three-dimensional elasto-diathermal model of heat transfer in bearing centres, and a package of computer codes oriented on analysing dynamic properties of rotating machines, in particular large power turbosets. Professor J. Kiciński has published over 100 scientific works in Polish and international journals, and 6 monographs (2 individual and 4 as collective works). He is also the editor of a voluminous and unique monograph issued by PAS and being the effect of research activities of tens of authors. He successfully supervised 7 candidates on their way to doctor's degree, with four more PhD theses in progress being supervised now. He is the winner of the widely appreciated SIEMENS research award, the award of the PAS Scientific Secretary (twice), and the individual award of the Polish Society of Tribology. In 2005 he was the winner of the annual research award granted by the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Professor J. Kicinski is also an academic lecturer at the University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, where he gives lectures on the fundamentals of machine construction technology and supervises interterm projects and Master's theses on engineering applications of computers.