Prof. Dr. hab. Henryk Bala - till 2018 – Head of Chemistry Department, Faculty of Production Eng. and Materials Technology, Czestochowa University of Technology (CUT). He obtained his MSc degree in chemistry at Mat-Phys-Chem. Faculty, Jagiellonian University of Kraków in 1971. Directly after having a university degree, he started the scientific-teaching work at the Division of General Chemistry of the CUT as the assistant. In 1979 he obtained an ScD degree after a dissertation concerning acid corrosion inhibitors of carbon steels at the Metallurgical Faculty of CUT. In 1988 he turned over habilitation examination at the Department of Non-ferrous Metals, Academy of Mining and Foundry in Cracow. His PhD thesis concerned the egzo- and endogenic stimulation of acid corrosion processes of iron alloys. In 1997 the President of Poland honoured him with a title of professor in a scope of technical sciences. In 1989 he got the position of assistant professor, from 1991 - associate professor, and from 1999 till now he works as full (ordinary) professor. The scientific/research interests of Prof. H. Bala are focused on kinetics and mechanisms of electrochemical processes mainly on ferrous alloys, the role of inhibition and catalysis in these processes, as well as the corrosion resistance of advanced materials. From 1990’s, for over 10 years he was dealing with the electrochemistry of high-coercivity magnetic materials and from 2000’s, for over 20 years, with alloys absorbing hydrogen, based on rare-earth/transition metal intermetallics. After habilitation, he directed with 14 MEN/KBN/MNiSW research projects and in 15 further he was a main contractor. From 2005 he also directed with 4 international research projects. For over 30 years he is conducting a close scientific collaboration with many research centers of Russia, Ukraine, Denmark, France, Germany, USA, Switzerland, Tunisia and China. From 1994 till 2017 he was a chairman of traditional, annual All-Polish Corrosion Conferences - APCS (including International "Corrosion' 99") - numbered events of European Federation of Corrosion, organized by the Department of Chemistry of CUT.
Prof. Bala chaired numerous scientific sessions during many international congresses/conferences and presented lectures, including invited lectures, at many prestigious scientific parties. He actively participated, with oral presentations, in such scientific international events as 11-th World Corrosion Congress in Firenze (1990), in international topical meetings (electrochemistry /corrosion/ materials engineering) in Lyon (1991), Espoo (1992), Bourmemonth (1994), Clausthal (1994), Ferrara (1995), Lisbon (1998), London (2000), Sao Paulo (2003), Ankara (2004), Indore (2005), Pretoria (2013) and Ningbo (2015). From 2002 he is a consultant of Applied Magnet Technology (Chicago IL, USA), from 2008 he actively cooperates with Texas Institute of Science (TxIS), Richardson, USA, being a member of Global Research Alliance, and consulting professor of TxIS (from 2011). In 2013/14 he was also a scientific consultant of Lonza Ltd Company, Basel (Switzerland). Three times he obtained the Ministry Awards for the scientific and teaching activities and also more than 40 awards from the Rector of CUT.
He promoted 12 Doctors of technical sciences. He was a member of several sections at the Polish State Committee for Scientific Research (Warsaw), National Science Centre (Cracow) and of two working parties within the European Federation of Corrosion. He was a referee of 25 proposals for professor’s promotion, 40 - ScD thesis and habilitation (PhD) applications. Prof. Bala is the author or co-author of nearly 500 publications (260 in reviewed journals), including 160 papers in worldwide English-language journals of Philadelphia list (JCR). His papers are widely cited in world literature: over 1350 times cited (up to March, 2021) - according to the Web of Science database, with a Hirsch factor being H = 21. Prof. Henryk Bala is also a co-author of 3 patents and 16 course academic- and teaching textbooks. In 2003 he published an academic book “Introduction to Materials Chemistry” (in Polish) edited by the WNT (Warsaw) publisher. Honoured, among others, with the Medal of the Committee of the National Education (2003) and with Bachelor OOP Cross (2005).
From 2018 he is employed at Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa.
Bala Henryk