It is outlined the third phase of the development of the journal Prace Komisji Historii Nauki PAU(Proceedings of the PAU Commission on the History of Science). The goal of the Editorial Board of the “Proceedings of the PAU Commission on the History of Science” is to build a modern journal in the field of broadly understood history of science, which will refer to both Polish and foreign achievements with appropriate respect.

The article describes synthetically the achievements of Professor Katalin Éva Vámos, Habilitated Doctor (22 May 1950 – 25 July 2015), a historian of science, museologist of science and technology, a longtime director of the Hungarian Museum of Science, Technology and Transport in Budapest (MTESZ).

In the debate on scientometrics and bibliometrics, taking place in Poland in the last 25 years, a very serious methodical and methodological mistake has been committed by neglecting the reflection about the science of science, especially of historical and methodological character. The following article discusses this issue. This aim was achieved with the use of a method of interdisciplinary research originating from the scope of the science of science and the history of the science of science. This method was applied to the analysis of selected major publications on scientometrics and bibliometrics in the past 25 years, with special emphasis on Polish context. The results are discussed in the article, i.e. a) the context of the current debate on scientometrics and bibliometrics in Poland; b) the history of Polish scientometric analyses based on foreign indexation databases; c) the current discussion on scientometrics and bibliometrics in Poland and d) the key aspect ignored in the current debate, namely the inseparable connection of scientometrics and bibliometrics with the science of science. The study leads to the following conclusions: it is postulated that the informetric (scientometric, bibliometric, Webometric, etc.) studies return to the scientific discourse, which would be consciously developed in the context of the integrated science of science. This knowledge should be utilized in the development of the current science policy, i.e. the organizational structure of science and higher education and the formation of rules of appraisal of scientific institutions, individual employees and scientific journals.

Remarks on the critical comments regarding the contents of the paper published after the presentation delivered by the biographer of Prof. Jan Czochralski. Unfortunately, Prof. Kokowski used an incorrect historical approach to such a short paper. The remarks are presented in four main points.

The text presents a selection of bibliography on scientometrics, bibliometrics and informetrics. The bibliography was chosen in the context of the author’s research of: a) the current debate on scientometrics, bibliometrics and informetrics in Poland, b) the history of these disciplines, and c) the history of the science of science. This selection has an important advantage because it includes many publications that a) represent the views both of Polish and foreign authors, b) discuss serious methodological limitations of scientometrics, bibliometrics and informetrics and c) show the inseparable connection between the disciplines and the science of science. This bibliography was already used in two of the author’s articles published in Prace Komisji Historii Nauki PAU, volume 14 (2015).

The article briefly presents the scientific achievements of Karol Olszewski (1846– 1915), who was born when Poland did not exist on the map of Europe and Polish science was developed mainly in Krakow, Lviv and at some European Universities. In 1883 Karol Olszewski and Zygmunt Wróblewski were the first in the world to liquefy oxygen, nitrogen and carbon oxide from the atmosphere in a stable state. In 1884 Olszewski was also the first person who liquefied hydrogen in a dynamic state, achieving a record low temperature of 225 °C (48 K). In 1895 he succeeded in liquefying argon. In January 1896 Olszewski replicated the Roentgen’s set‑up for obtaining X‑rays and successfully obtained this newly‑ discovered radiation for the first time in Krakow, initiating the foundation of the university’s department of radiology. Olszewski died on 25 March 1915. In March 2015 the Faculty of Chemistry of the Jagiellonian University organized a special celebration to commemorate the life and achievements of Karol Olszewski.

The paper gives an overview on the history and present state of the edition of the complete works of Leonhard Euler (1707–1783). After several failed initiatives in the 19th century, the project began in 1907 with the edition of Euler’s printed works. The works were divided into three series: I. Mathematics (29 volumes); II. Mechanics and Astronomy (31 volumes); and III. Physics and Miscellaneous (12 volumes). After several ups and downs due to two World Wars and economic problems, the publication of the printed works with a total of 72 volumes is nearly finished. Only two volumes on perturbation theory in astronomy are still missing. The publication of series IV (manuscripts and correspondence) started in 1967 as a joint project of the Swiss and the Soviet academies of sciences. The manuscript edition was postponed, and the project focussed on Euler’s correspondence which contains approximately 3000 letters, 1000 of them written by Euler. The correspondents include famous mathematicians of the 18th century like d’Alembert, Clairaut and the Bernoullis, but also many less-known people with whom Euler corresponded on a great variety of subjects. A major problem is to find and to finance appropriate editors who are able to read French, Latin, and the old German handwriting, and who are acquainted with history, culture and science of the 18th century. During the last 50 years, the editors gathered copies or scans of most of the preserved Euler’s letters. The original letters addressed to Euler were made available to the editorial group in Switzerland by the Russian Academy of Sciences before World War I, and before their restitution in 1947 the editors made fairly good photographs that are now an important part of the material basis of the edition. Each volume of the letter series (VIA) contains Euler’s correspondence with one or more of his contemporaries, presented in a chronological order. Up to the present day, four volumes of the correspondence have been published, in addition to an inventory of all known letters to and from Euler, including short summaries and useful information about the date, language and location of the existing copies, and former publication. Four more volumes are in progress and will be published in 2016 or 2017. The remaining letters that are not intended for publication in the printed volumes are planned to be made available in an online edition.

The article presents a critical review of the form and content of the Polish translation of Hans-Jörg Rheinberger’s book entitled Epistemologia historyczna (Historical epistemology) (Warsaw: Oficyna Naukowa, 2015. Translated [from German] by Jan Surman. ISBN 978-83-64363-20-7, pp. 336), indicating both the substantive advantages of this book and its some (mainly linguistic) shortcomings.

In the last ten years, approximately, we could witness an evolution in informal international collaboration focusing on shared and interconnected history of science in the Habsburg Monarchy and in Central Europe in general. This effort, which includes mainly historians of science from Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, has already produced a number of important results and contributed to the thematization of some timeless topics of history of sciences such as, for instance, nationalization and internationalization of science. In the context of this cooperation, the seminar of Jan Surman, a historian of science of Polish descent, held at the Institute of Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague in May 2015, concentrated on the formation of national scientific terminologies. It also underlined the necessity and usefulness of international collaboration in achieving a deeper understanding of the “national” histories of science, which cannot be separated from the “international” history.

The article is dedicated to high-tech companies founded by Poles at the end of the 19th century in the rural canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. The text is divided into two parts. In the first part, the author attempts to present the economic, social and political reality of Fribourg in a period of intense industrialization in the world and the formation of the liberal free market system. In this rapidly changing reality, the new Catholic-conservative authorities of the canton tried to lead to establishing of a comprehensive, but also different system of a “Christian republic”, whose aim was to achieve social justice consistent with the teachings of the Gospel. In order to complete the project, the cantonal government did not shy away from using the possibilities and measures offered by the contemporary world. Decision-makers, led by Georges Python, needed support from the society, who was aware of the changes. Due to this fact, it became necessary to establish a university capable of shaping new attitudes and views. However, the costs significantly exceeded the financial capabilities of the agricultural and relatively poor canton of Fribourg. In these less favourable circumstances, a conscious policy of industrialization was the way out of the deadlock. Newly created industrial institutions were to contribute to an increase of cash inflows to the canton and thus allow for the financing of the university, which would also become an intellectual foundation for the emerging industry. The activity of Polish scientists, which is the subject of the second part of the article, matched this philosophy perfectly. The Poles invited to cooperate with Python, i.e. Józef Wierusz-Kowalski, Ignacy Mościcki and Jan Modzelewski, created the foundations of the Faculty of Mathematical and Natural Sciences at the University of Fribourg. As members of the faculty, in addition to teaching, they conducted research into, among other things, nitric acid synthesis and construction of electrical capacitors. Convinced of the need to put their innovations into wide production, they financed and built the first experimental factories and, over time, led to the development of a nitric acid factory and a high-voltage capacitor factory on an industrial scale. Although after the First World War the commitment of the Poles stopped, the 30 years of academic research and experience clearly showed that a conscious cooperation of policy-makers and highly qualified scientific personnel can bring surprising and unexpected results.