Academician Marius Andruh, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry, the University of Bucharest, was honoured with the Docteur Honoris Causa Award from the University of Angers, France. The ceremony was held on Tuesday, the 23rd of January, 2018.
The award was given to academician Marius Andruh for outstanding international work in the field of inorganic chemistry, coordinative chemistry and molecular materials.
Marius Andruh, Ph.D. has been a member of the Romanian Academy since 2001 and the president of the Chemical Sciences Department since 2009. Professor Andruh’s fields of research are chemistry of complex combinations, the chemistry of supramolecular, crystalline engineering and molecular magnetism. The results of his research are published in over 259 scientific articles, amounting to over 6900 quotations worldwide. His research has been rewarded with a large number of awards and honorary distinctions, including: Gauss Professorship by Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen (2006), Nenitzescu-Criegee Conference by the German Society of Chemistry (2009), the “G. Spacu” Medal by the Romanian Society of Chemistry, the title of Doctor Honoris Causa at the West University of Timișoara (2013) and at the ,,Babeș-Bolyai” University of Cluj (2015).
Moreover, Andruh, Ph.D. has a collaboration which is over 15 years long with the University of Angers, coordinating 17 joint publications, with a thesis in co-tutelage, and conducting several research stages.
”The award rewards a great, talented specialist in molecular chemistry, both an Europhile and a Francophile. The decoration contributes to creating the conditions for an increased cooperation between researchers in Bucharest and Angers, and brings chemists from the East and West of Europe closer”, says the laudatio for the academician Marius Andruh.
Attending the ceremony at the University of Angers, professor Mircea Dumitru, Rector of the University of Bucharest, described Andruh, Ph.D. as “one of the most important and creative Romanian chemists of our times. (…) His talent in chemistry relates to a genuine and profound artistic personality. Those who may think a priori that scientific rigor necessarily goes together with a non-imaginative and non-artistic personality are definitely proven wrong by this wonderful combination that Marius Andruh shows, of scientific prolificacy and fruitfulness with deep interest and inclination for the arts, especially those arts which are built, or which unfold or stretch out in space: architecture, acting, as well as music.”
Finally, Rector Mircea Dumitru recalled in his speech about Academician Marius Andruh, his determination to defend academic integrity. ”But most importantly for our scientific community in Romania today, which undergoes the tribulations of a confused and even vexing period of time, is a trait of his personality that I shall mention in the end: the integrity and courage of Professor Andruh’s public pronouncements and attitudes in what concerns the fight against plagiarism and corruption in the academia and in the universities. Professor Andruh has spoken in the last five years or so extremely clearly and loudly against every form of intellectual fraud and imposture, which, as you can very easily imagine, did not bring him too much public accolade or strong praise. Had there been more academics in Romania nowadays who would dare to openly fight the scientific cheat and imposture, for sure the situation of teaching and research in higher education would be significantly better! As someone who has stood up and fought against this phenomenon together with Professor Andruh, I can testify that his public commitment and genuine consciousness have been an inspiration for those amongst us who now understand that if we do not step out the “comfort zone”, we cannot have a positive impact upon our academic and scientific milieu”, professor Mircea Dumitru added.
The speech by professor Mircea Dumitru, Rector of the University of Bucharest, at the ceremony of awarding the distinction of Doctor Honoris Causa to professor Marius Andruh can be accessed here.
