History

Department of Mineralogy, Petrography and Geochemistry is the oldest Earth science department at the AGH University of Science and Technology. It was created in 1919 as one of the first six departments of the Academy of Mining and was initially named as the Department of Mineralogy and Petrography.

The Department was organized by Professor Józef Morozewicz (1865-1941) who chaired the Organizing Committee of the Mining Academy. In the early years the Department belonged to the Faculty of Mining, the sole Faculty of the Academy of Mining at that time. In 1951 the Department became a part of just formed Faculty of Geology and Mineral Exploration which was renamed in 1992 to the Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection. Since 1929 the Department has possessed its own space in the main building of the University.

The Department was chaired by Dr. Stefan Kreutz (1919–1920), Dr. Zygmunt Rozen (1920–1936), Prof. Walery Goetel (1936–1939), Prof. Andrzej Bolewski (1945–1969), Prof. Witold Żabiński (1969–1992), Prof. Andrzej Manecki (1992–2002), Prof. Tadeusz Ratajczak (2002–2011), Prof. Krzysztof Bahranowski (2011–2012), Prof. Tomasz Bajda (2012-2020). At present, the Head of the Deparment is Dr. Grzegorz Rzepa, who has performed this function since 2020.