Events

A Life Devoted to Science: Juras Požela – 100

04 12 2025

On December 5, we mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the President of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences (LMA), Academician Juras Požela, who led the Academy from 1984 to 1992. As Jonas Rudokas, the author of the book about the academician writes, “While heading the Academy, J. Požela continued many of the good traditions established by his predecessor. These included maintaining and developing the Academy as a national scientific center, as a base for Lithuania’s intellectuals and scientific creativity; supporting both established and newly emerging scientific schools; strengthening ties between science and industry; improving working conditions for scientists—new buildings, laboratories, equipment—and actively promoting science in society.”

We must also thank the academician for successfully preserving the national character of the LMA by continuing the work begun by his predecessor Juozas Matulis and wisely nurturing Lithuanian scientific intelligentsia. As J. Požela recalls, “In the first postwar decades, many young and talented scientists went to scientific centers in Russia and Ukraine and, upon returning to Lithuania, soon became academicians. Time showed that such a strategy by J. Matulis was correct—we were able to resist the influx of newcomers, and therefore our Academy remained Lithuanian, unlike that of Latvia, which attracted many assimilated Latvians from Russia and ethnic Russians.”

As we remember this remarkable anniversary, we can rejoice and take pride in the fact that the work of Academician J. Požela has been both successfully continued and enriched with new ideas by other leaders of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. 

Translated by AI