"The Voice of Science" is a podcast series designed to popularize various fields of knowledge. Across six episodes, scientists from Maria Curie-Sklodowska University (UMCS) in Lublin – renowned for their discoveries and achievements both in Poland and internationally – will present their research in an engaging and accessible manner.
The guest of this episode is Prof. Dr. Jaco Vangronsveld from the Department of Plant Physiology and Biophysics at the Institute of Biological Sciences. Professor Vangronsveld will share the story of how his collaboration with scientists from UMCS began, how he divides his professional life between our University and Hasselt University in Belgium, and his involvement in ecological education for young people. We’ll also explore an intriguing question: Do plants experience stress – and if so, what does it look like.
Photo: Bartosz Proll
Prof. dr Jaco Vangronsveld is a scientist, an environmental biologist, and a pioneer in broadly understood phytoremediation, both its study and implementation - as well as in the study of plant-microbe interactions. Until 2024 he lead the Environmental Biology group at Hasselt University, where the main research focus was on understanding influences of the environment on living organisms. From 2000 until 2020, he was the director of the Research Institute – Centre for Environmental Sciences at Hasselt University. On prof. J. Vangronsveld initiative and under his leadership, the Field Research Centre was established at Hasselt University. As part of this initiative, the second and the most advanced Ecotron system in the world was constructed. He has been recognized as a highly cited researcher in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
"The Voice of Science" podcast series was produced as part of the project "The Power of Relations – Activities Aimed at Strengthening the Potential of UMCS in Serving Foreign Students". This initiative is financed by the National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) under the NAWA Welcome to Poland Program.
