The renowned teaching and research institute MPRI (the Metal-Polymer Research Institute in Gomel, Belarus, named after Academician V. A. Belyi) of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences awarded the ÖTG President Prof. Dr. Friedrich FRANEK the title and dignity of “Honorary Doctor of Science”. The Doctor of Science is the highest academic degree in the Belarussian tertiary education system, awarded on an honorary basis it is comparable to an “honorary lectureship”. This award recognizes the many years of professional work of Prof. FRANEK in the field of friction and wear sciences.
Prof. FRANEK is an academic teacher at the Vienna University of Technology and the Danube University Krems, deputy chairman of the Association for the Promotion of the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences and has repeatedly been a lecturer at the Wiener Neustadt University of Applied Sciences for Economics and Technology, most recently for teaching subjects in the field of tribology. Friedrich FRANEK continues to work as Principal Scientist for AC2T research GmbH in Wiener Neustadt, of which he is co-founder and co-owner. From 2002 to autumn 2016 he was scientific head of this Centre of Excellence for Tribology, in which research projects were worked on together with the MPRI in the city of Gomel, Belarus.
Recently, the diploma and the plaque of honour were officially handed over to Prof. FRANEK. The occasion and framework was the opening of the international conference “Polycombtrib 2019” organized by the MPRI in a conference camp near Gomel. The ceremony was attended by the Director of MPRI and Chairman of the Science Council Prof. Dr. Andrei GRIGORIEV, in the presence of the former Director of MPRI, Academician Prof. Dr. Nikolai MYSHKIN, a long-time colleague and cooperation partner of Friedrich FRANEK. In his address of thanks Prof. FRANEK emphasized the importance of tribology research for today’s challenges in the fields of technology, industrial development and the environment and referred to the necessity of international cooperation especially for the education of young scientists.