One of the world’s most widely acknowledged experts in science, technology and sustainable energy systems is Brock University’s newest employee.

Janusz Koziński, an internationally renowned higher education leader, researcher and entrepreneur who has worked in the U.S., Canada and Europe, has started a three-year term at Brock as Special Advisor to the President.

“He is a leading academic scholar in the area of merging sciences with arts and humanities and has written and spoken broadly in the area of humanistic engineering,” Fearon said. “He joins the University at an amazing time as Brock is at a significant transition point and opportune position to be able to use its broad strengths in liberal arts and science and advances in science and technology to deliver outstanding opportunities for students, faculty and staff as well as the region, and to advance its national excellence and international reputation.”

Koziński’s role will see him working with administrators, faculty and staff across the institution on transformational initiatives for advancing the University’s mission and reputation.

Koziński comes to Brock having most recently served as Founding President and Professor of Britain’s Hereford University of Technology and Engineering, a new independent, world-class university where he designed, launched and fundraised for an entirely new concept of an academic program. He also served as the Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan and was the Founding Dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University.

“My own experience as a researcher, an administrator and as an educator is driven by an unshaken belief in the power of bringing together people from a variety of backgrounds who see the same challenge differently,” Koziński said. “The students who will go on to change our world for the better and the researchers who will guide our journey into the unknown, are those who respect differences, who embrace ambiguity and who seek out the dissonance that generates radical breakthroughs. I believe that’s Brock.”

Added Fearon, “current projects such as the Provost’s task force on engineering and other activities will be aided by his experience and engagement.”

Koziński said he accepted Fearon’s invitation to join the University “with great humility and enormous respect for the challenge and opportunity of helping the entire Brock community.”

“Clearly, this is a transformative moment in the University’s history. I see my role as an exhilarating and exacting challenge that I am prepared to embrace with passion, with positivity and with immense pride for the collaborative work ahead with faculty and staff across the University,” he said.

Educated in Krakow, Poland, Koziński studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology then spent the majority of his academic career at McGill University, where he was a Sir William Dawson Scholar and served as Associate Vice-Principal, Research and International Relations.

Koziński held the International Chair in Bioenergy at France’s Institute for Advanced Studies and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. He has organized many multi-disciplinary research teams and programs linking energy, environmental, public health and security issues. An author of more than 400 papers, books and conference proceedings, he had the unique experience of being the only Canadian scientist at the time invited by the European Space Agency to take part in a series of zero-gravity flights in ‘space.’

Through those varied experiences, Koziński said he learned to appreciate the benefits that broad consultation, involvement, innovation and collegial dialogue bring to the academic community.

Koziński said he and his wife Roma are looking forward to immersing themselves in the Niagara community.

“The region is uniquely positioned to be a place and that reflects not simply the diversity of Canada, but something even more powerful,” he said. “It offers people the opportunity to live and to discover in an environment that truly represents the diverse, complex and multidimensional world in which we live.”

Koziński will also be engaging with stakeholders across the region, province and country as Brock furthers its efforts to contribute to Niagara’s capacity and vitality.