CAS CONNECT 2022

4 CONNECT 2022 D r. Jacek Tyminski was all alone. In 1979, he was a world away from home, having traveled more than 5,000 miles fromElblag, Poland, to Stillwater. Tyminski was a refugee. He had to find somewhere new to pursue his Ph.D. because of deteriorating conditions in his home country. Arriving at Oklahoma State University, he felt completely disoriented, with no connections and no direction. But thanks to the kindness of a physics professor, Tyminski soon found a family. Dr. Richard Powell was a complete stranger to Tyminski. The two had never met or even spoken, but Powell was the reason Tyminski decided to apply for an assistantship at OSU. “While working on my master’s degree, I was doing some research and got familiar with Powell’s work,” Tyminski said. “My motivation was to join a researcher and a scientist whose work I knew and admired.” Shortly into the fall semester, Tyminski went into Powell’s office to introduce himself. After a brief chat, Powell offered Tyminski a research assistantship in his lab. What Tyminski didn’t knowwas that becoming part of Powell’s lab also meant becoming part of his family. STORY GRANT RAMIREZ | PHOTOS OSU FOUNDATION STAFF AND PROVIDED Mentor of Merit Tyminski honors former professor with Richard C. Powell Graduate Fellowship Dr. Jacek Tyminski (left) and Dr. Richard Powell (center) in the lab in 1982. Tyminski set up a graduate fellowship to honor Powell in 2021.