Maria Agata Olech (born 1941) is a Polish
Antarctic
The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
researcher, known for her work on
lichenology
Lichenology is the branch of mycology that studies the lichens, symbiotic organisms made up of an intimate symbiotic association of a microscopic alga (or a cyanobacterium) with a filamentous fungus.
Study of lichens draws knowledge from several ...
and
mycology
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, as ...
of the Antarctic and Arctic.
Olech was base leader for the
Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station
Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station (Polish: ''Polska Stacja Antarktyczna im. Henryka Arctowskiego'') is a Polish research station on King George Island, off the coast of Antarctica.
History
The station is named for Henryk Arctowski (1871 ...
and the Olech Hills in the
Three Sisters point area of Antarctica was named in her honour.
Early life and education
Olech was born in Nowy Sącz (Southern Poland) in 1941.
She graduated in biology (1963) from the Department of Biology and Earth Sciences at the
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
with her MSc in 1963.
She then completed a PhD in lichenology (1968) in the Institute of Botany Jagiellonian University. The title of her thesis was Stosunki lichenologiczne Beskidu Sądeckiego (Western Carpathians).
Career and impact
Olech has worked extensively on the taxonomy, biodiversity, ecology, biogeography and adaptations of lichenized and
lichenicolous fungi
A lichenicolous fungus is a parasitic fungus that only lives on lichen as the host. A lichenicolous fungus is not the same as the fungus that is the component of the lichen, which is known as a lichenized fungus. They are most commonly specific to ...
in mountains and polar regions. She has also worked on heavy metals and radionuclides contaminants of the Antarctic environment and other human impacts on terrestrial Antarctic ecosystems. She has described about 100 algae, lichens, fungi, lichenicolous fungi new to science.
Olech was a research assistant at the Institute of Botany Jagiellonian University (1968-1971), where she organized the laboratory and herbarium of lichens. She was then appointed assistant professor at the Institute of Botany Jagiellonian University (1971-1986) and was promoted to associate professor (1986-1992) at the Institute of Botany Jagiellonian University, where she organized Department of Polar Research and Documentation.
She became a full professor of biology at the Jagiellonian University in 1992. She is also the curator of the Jagiellonian University Cryptogamic Herbarium, is the president of the editorial board of ''Polish Polar Research'', the president of Team of Biology and Development of Polar Landscapes within the Committee on Polar Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Olech was the head of the Polish Antarctic Station from 1991-1993 and then again from 2005-2006.
She was the head of the Zdzisław Czeppe Department of Polar Research and Documentation, Jagiellonian University (1996- 2011).
She has participated in and led several Arctic and Antarctic expeditions.
Awards and honours
Olech became a member of
The Explorers Club
The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...
in 2001.
In addition the Olech Hills in the Three Sister point area of Antarctica was named in her honour.
Further reading
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olech, Maria
1941 births
Living people
Antarctic scientists
Women Antarctic scientists
Polish women academics
20th-century Polish scientists
21st-century Polish botanists
21st-century Polish women scientists
Polish lichenologists
Mycologists
Women mycologists
Jagiellonian University alumni
Academic staff of Jagiellonian University
20th-century Polish women
Women lichenologists