A PhD student at the Silesian University of Technology became a member of The Explorers Club in New York
Mateusz Wrazidło - a PhD student at our University - has been admitted to the membership of The Explorers Club in New York. He received the highest rank - Fellow, i.e. a real member, awarded for his documented contribution to expanding knowledge about the world through participation in field expeditions and publications.
The Explorers Club is an association founded in New York in 1904. Its purpose is to support and popularize the research of the Earth, the depths of the sea, outer space and care for the preservation of the world's natural and cultural heritage. You cannot join the club, you must be selected by the Board of Directors from among the invited and recommended candidates. The overall achievements of the candidate decide about admission to the club.
The main area of interest for the PhD student is the Guiana Highlands in South America. In 2019, an expedition to the Waukauyengtipu plateau in Guyana, which he co-organized, resulted in a scientific publication about inaccuracies on South America maps.
- “Joining the club was my dream from my childhood when I was reading the stories of great discoveries and heroic expeditions at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of my personal idols, incl. Roald Amundsen, Edmund Hillary and Neil Armstrong were members of The Explorers Club. It is a great joy and honour for me that at such a young age my achievements were appreciated enough to be able to join an association with such a rich history “- said Mateusz Wrazidło.
Admission to the Explorers Club supports projects and helps to promote your activities in the public sphere.
- “More significant expeditions may apply for the flag of The Explorers Club. Each of these flags has a history and has been involved in projects of particular importance. The club's flags were placed during the so-called "Famous Firsts" to both poles, to the highest peak on Earth - Mount Everest, to the bottom of the Marian Trench, and even to the surface of the moon by the Apollo 11 crew”, - said the PhD student.
Mateusz Wrazidło perfectly combines his passion with scientific work. He is pursuing his doctorate at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
- “My affiliation with the Silesian University of Technology contributed to this success, because largely thanks to our University, I was able to combine my passions in nature with the engineering skills and transform them into a scientific job. As part of my doctorate, I am currently working on the development of equipment for the cultivation of sensitive species of mountain tropical plants, mainly those from South America. I hope that this type of work will contribute in the near future to the protection of endangered species in the era of mass extinction and rapidly advancing climate change “- summed up our PhD student.
Members of The Explorers Club were or are, among others. polar explorers Roald Amundsen and Ernest Shackleton, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, ocean director and explorer James Cameron, and the first Mt. Everest - Edmund Hillary.
In 1920, the first Pole was admitted to the club - Henryk Arctowski, a polar explorer, participant of the first Antarctic winter expedition. The members of the Club were also - among others- Dariusz Bogucki - polar sailor, climbers Andrzej Zawada and Krzysztof Wielicki, presenter and traveller Martyna Wojciechowska and Tony Halik.
