Józef Lisowski has been a professor of automation at Gdynia Maritime University (then Gdynia Maritime Academy), Gdynia, Poland, and was Head of the Department of Ship Automation. He received his MSc, PhD and DSc degrees from the Electrical Engineering Faculty of the Technical University of Gdansk in 1967, 1973 and 1979, respectively. From 1989 to 1996, he was Rector of the then Gdynia Maritime Academy. In 2002, he was re-elected as Rector and continues in this position today.

He has published widely and held various key positions for conferences in engineering education. His research interests include control theory applications in shipping and the synthesis of optimal, adaptive and safety elements in ship steering systems. He also undertook a research project to develop methods for computer safe ship control.

Prof. Lisowski is a member of the UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education (UICEE) and a Deputy Chairman of the UICEE Academic Advisory Committee (AAC). He is also a Fellow of the Polish Merchant Navy Officers’ Association of London, the Polish Society for Measurement, Automatic Control and Robotics, and the Maritime Club of Poland.

Prof. Lisowski was awarded the UICEE Silver Badge of Honour at the 90th Anniversary Jubilee Seminar on Engineering Education in Wismar, Germany, in 1998, and received the prestigious UICEE Gold Badge of Honour at the 9th Baltic Region Seminar on Engineering Education, held at Gdynia Maritime University in 2005.