Jan Dylik

Jan Dylik (19 June 1905 – 6 June 1973) was a Polish geography professor at the University of Łódz.
Prior to World War II Dylik was an archaeologist. During the occupation of Poland he was part of the Polish Resistance in Warsaw. Soon after the University of Łódz was created in 1945 Dylik was appointed head of the geography institute. From there he exercised an enormous influence in the development of periglacial geomorphology. He led the Periglacial Commission of the International Geographical Union from 1952 to 1972. He established the journal "Biuletyn Peryglacjalny" in 1954 and served as its editor-in-chief until 1972. In addition to his role in the Periglacial Commission and "Biuletyn Peryglacjalny" he had extensive contacts among Eastern Bloc scientists. In particular Jan Dylik had regular contact with Soviet scientists such as Konstantin Markov and Aleksandr Popov. Knowing Russian allowed Dylik to overcome the language barrier and access the rich Soviet literature on permafrost. From Dylik's links with the Soviet Union a regular student exchange between the University of Łódź and Moscow State University emerged.