Professor Andrzej Lasota (1932–2006) was a great mathematician and an exceptional man. Anyone who met him could not remain indifferent. He exerted a great influence on those who had the honor and pleasure to work with him. According to one of the leading American specialists, James A. Yorke, Professor Lasota’s approach to probabilistic treatment of dynamical systems “was adopted by the Berkeley school of dynamics and became one of the foundations of nonlinear dynamics.” In recognition of his achievements he received many awards, including a Władysław Orlicz medal, a Wacław Sierpiński medal, the Honorary Membership of the Polish Mathematical Society (of which he was also an ordinary member). He was also a full member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He was invited to give a talk on an International Congress of Mathematicians, which took place in 1983 in Warsaw. By a decree of May 22, 2001, Senate of the University of Silesia bestowed on Professor Andrzej Lasota the title of Doctor honoris causa of the University of Silesia.
To honor his memory, since 2008 the University of Silesia has been holding commemorative lectures. Three booklets about him have also been published. Dr hab. Henryk Gacki has the honor and pleasure of being the organizer of those lectures and the author of those booklets.
This year, 2016, on the tenth anniversary of Professor Andrzej Lasota’s passing away, we present you with this book devoted to His memory. The book consists of three parts. It begins with the Professor’s biography, illustrated by numerous pictures, written by dr hab. Henryk Gacki. Part two contains reprints of texts and interviews with Professor Lasota. Part three consists of recollections of Professor Andrzej Lasota, written by his family, friends, colleagues, collaborators and students.
The book will be given free of charge to the participants of the XLV Conference of the Applications of Mathematics (Zakopane 2016 - https://www.impan.pl/pl/dzialalnosc/konferencje/konferencje-zastosowan-matematyki/xlv-konferencja/program), the biggest conference in that field in Poland, and to the participants of the IX Annual Andrzej Lasota Commemorative Lecture, organized at the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry of the University of Silesia in Katowice. More information about the lecture will appear soon on the website http://www.math.us.edu.pl/wyklad_lasoty/WykladLasoty.html.
