Professor Stefan Turnau was a retired professor at the University of Rzeszów. In the years 1995-2006, he worked as an associate professor at the Institute of Mathematics at the WSP in Rzeszów (since 2001, the University of Rzeszów). He was the head of the Department of Computer Science, as well as the Department of Methodology of Research on Mathematics Education.

 

Stefan Turnau was born on Nov 17, 1931 in Kraków. He spent the first years of his life in Mikulice near Przeworsk. He was the first doctoral student of Professor Anna Zofia Krygowska. In 1979, he obtained a postdoctoral degree at the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry of the University of Wrocław for his thesis "The role of a textbook in the education of mathematical concepts and reasoning at the level of the first post-primary grade". He was the first person in Poland to hold a postdoctoral degree in mathematical sciences in the field of mathematics didactics. Professor Turnau supervised 7 doctoral dissertations, about 260 master's theses and 100 bachelor's theses. For his scientific and teaching activities, he was awarded the Medal of the National Education Commission (1983) and the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1984), as well as four ministerial awards.

 

The professor left behind a rich scientific legacy. He is the author or co-author of over 250 publications. His most famous work is "Lectures on Teaching Mathematics", which are an invaluable source of knowledge for future mathematics teachers. In the years 1991-2011 he was the editor-in-chief of the journal “Dydaktyka Matematyki” (annual of the Polish Mathematical Society, series V).