Jacek Sawicki completed his master's studies in Materials Engineering in 1999 at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Lodz University of Technology. In the same year, he began doctoral studies in Machine Construction and Operation. He started his professional career in 2001 as an assistant at the Institute of Materials Engineering and Chipless Technologies at Lodz University of Technology, advancing to the position of assistant professor after obtaining a PhD in technical sciences in 2003, defending his doctoral dissertation titled “Optimization of the Technological Surface Layer for Applications Under Cyclic Contact Load Conditions.” In 2013, the Faculty Council awarded him a postdoctoral degree after defending his monograph entitled “Modeling Multiphase Systems in Materials Engineering Issues.”
During his research activities, Jacek Sawicki completed internships at ECAM de Lyon (France) and the Technical University of Liberec (Czech Republic), which allowed him to be promoted to associate professor in 2017 and subsequently obtain the title of professor of engineering and technical sciences in the field of materials engineering in December 2022.
Professor Jacek Sawicki's scientific interests mainly focus on the use of numerical methods in materials engineering, creating algorithms for predicting and minimizing quenching deformations, as well as expert and decision-making systems to support, regulate, and manage technological processes. In addition to his main research focus, he is involved in producing lightweight functional materials and developing new technologies using the synergistic effect of modern methods of mechanical, thermo-chemical, and subtractive processing. His research also concentrates on processing elements manufactured using 3D printing technologies.
The results of his scientific work include authorship or co-authorship of over 140 peer-reviewed articles and authorship, or co-authorship of over 80 communications, presentations, and papers delivered at national and international conferences. He has been the leader of two national research grants, twice a task leader, and six times a head of task teams in EU projects under POIR, as well as the main contractor or participant in over 19 other projects co-financed by European funds, targeted funds, and commissioned projects. He is a co-author of 13 patents.
Professor Jacek Sawicki promotes the university and its employees through regular meetings with representatives from industrial companies. As part of this collaboration, five solutions have been commercialized through non-exclusive license sales and nine technological implementations that he co-created. As an expert providing pro-innovation services within the POIR project “Professional Pro-Innovation Services Guaranteeing Success in Business,” conducted by BKPPT Sp. z o.o., he also performed 23 pre-implementation technological-economic audits.
Jacek Sawicki is a co-owner of the spin-off company PŁ - Hart-Tech Sp. z o.o., which operates in advanced heat treatment technologies and thermo-chemical processing. In 2022, another spin-off PŁ – C CUBE P.S.A. was established, where he was a co-owner and served as a board member until selling the company to an investor in May 2024. The company's service activities were based on NDT research on composite materials.
As a co-author of innovative solutions presented at International Invention Fairs and Exhibitions, he has received: 32 medals (1 platinum, 19 gold, 7 silver, 5 bronze), 7 special awards, and 3 diplomas from the Minister of Science and Higher Education. In 2017, Professor Jacek Sawicki was honored with the Honorary Medal from SPWiR named after Tadeusz Sendzimir for inventive achievements in shaping technological surface layers using modern thermo-chemical processing methods. In 2019, he was awarded an honorary badge “For Services to Inventiveness” by the Prime Minister for his significant contributions to industrial property protection and innovation development in Poland.
Since the beginning of his career at the university, he has been deeply engaged in developing and modernizing educational processes by implementing and developing modern and innovative teaching methods where students work under the supervision of company representatives based on Problem-Based Learning.
Professor Jacek Sawicki actively participates in organizational work at the university as well as scientific associations. He is a member of the Engineering Academy in Poland, the Polish Society for Materials Science, the Committee on Surface Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences Branch in Poznań, and the Association of Polish Mechanical Engineers and Technicians (SIMP), where he served as President of the SIMP University Circle at TUL from 2006 to 2018.
Since 2009, he has held the position of Head for Education at the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering at TUL, and since 2014 he has been head of the Department of Numerical Methods in Materials Engineering. From 2019 to 2024, he served as Chairperson of the Council for Materials Engineering, Materials and Technologies, as well as Materials and Technologies of the Future. From 2020 to 2024, he was a member of the Council for Academic Degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Engineering. In 2019 he was appointed a member of the Materials Engineering Discipline Council, and in 2024 he was elected a member of TUL's collegial body for Materials Engineering.
In March 2019, he was appointed a member of the Council of Lodz University of Technology, serving until August 2024. In 2024 he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering by the Rector of Lodz University of Technology.