Global Initiative to Celebrate the Forefather of the Silicon Age

Website launch paves the way for history center, films, books, and scholarships acknowledging Polish chemist Jan Czochralski’s contribution to technology

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES, October 29, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The JanCZ Project today announces the official launch of its new global website, JanCZ.org, celebrating the incredible story and scientific legacy of Polish chemist Jan Czochralski, the "unsung hero" of modern technology.

Often overlooked despite his foundational contribution to virtually all modern electronics, Czochralski’s 1916 discovery of the Czochralski (or CZ) method for producing single silicon crystals is the bedrock for 95% of the world’s chips that power semiconductors and integrated circuits — the "hearts and brains" of our connected world, from mobile phones and laptops to autonomous cars and spaceships.

The JanCZ Project is an expansive initiative encompassing a dedicated website, feature films, documentaries, books, scholarships, and even plans for a history center to be housed in Czochralski’s last Polish home. This effort is spearheaded by Czochralski’s grandson, Fred Schmidt, and his great grand nephew, Sylwester Czochralski, in close collaboration with Dr. Pawel Tomaszewski, a Polish physicist who has dedicated over four decades to researching and championing Czochralski's legacy.

Rediscovering a Scientific Giant: The Man and His Method

Born in 1885 in Kcynia, then part of the Prussian empire, Jan Czochralski was a self-taught scientist and entrepreneur. His accidental yet monumental discovery occurred in 1916 while working in his metal science laboratory in Frankfurt. After a tiring day, he mistakenly dipped his quill pen into a well of molten tin instead of ink. Upon withdrawing it, he observed a long metal thread hanging from the nib, a phenomenon that led him to discover a method for producing a single crystal (monocrystal). Czochralski further studied, developed, and wrote papers on his method, describing it extensively in scientific publications. This "crystal-pulling" technique would ultimately prove revolutionary.

Czochralski never witnessed the full integration of his work into so many technical devices, as it wasn't until 1958 — five years after his death — that Bell Labs and Texas Instruments began applying the Czochralski Method in their creation of integrated circuits. Over the next 50 years, this process was refined to produce the ultrapure silicon wafers essential for microchips, forming the backbone of all modern electronics.

Pat Gelsinger, former CEO and CTO of Intel, affirms: "Czochralski’s elegant crystallization process remains the foundation upon which so much of our world stands.” Stanford University professor Srabanti Chowdhury said its reproducibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, transformed silicon into "the cornerstone of modern technology.”

Beyond the Czochralski Method, Czochralski was a polymath. He invented "metal B," an alloy crucial for the nascent railroad industry. He also built a radio microscope, published over 100 scientific papers, filed around 20 patents, and even developed a recipe for shoe polish and a remedy for colds. He socialized with musicians and artists, and penned poetry under a pseudonym.

A Legacy Buried and Reclaimed

Czochralski’s story is one of both immense scientific achievement and profound personal adversity. Despite being invited to the United States by Henry Ford for a research and development role, Czochralski declined, choosing to return to Poland from Germany, where he’d established his career — a fateful decision that would shape his later life. When Germany invaded Poland, Czochralski used his German connections to navigate dangers and support the Polish resistance movement, saving Poles and Jews. However, after World War II he was unjustly charged with collaborating with the Nazis. Although eventually cleared, his academic career was destroyed, his possessions seized, and he was banished to his small home in Kcynia, where he died in obscurity in 1953 after continued harassment by the communist secret police in Poland.

For decades, Czochralski’s achievements remained largely unknown outside of specialized academic and scientific circles. His grandson, Fred Schmidt, who was born Klemens Jan Borys Czochralski and emigrated to the U.S. as a political refugee, initially suppressed his Polish identity and dismissed his grandfather's stories as "family myth.” However, a 2014 Polish television documentary featuring Dr. Pawel Tomaszewski propelled Schmidt into confronting his grandfather’s legacy. Tomaszewski, hailing from the same region of Poland as Czochralski, had spent 40 years uncovering his story from scattered archives and combating the silence that had buried the professor’s good name.

The JanCZ Project aims to give Czochralski the recognition he deserves in the West and globally. Fred Schmidt said: "Here was a man that went from being heralded as one of Poland’s greatest scientists to finding himself contending with the brutality of the Nazis and then ushered into obscurity by the Soviet communists. This project seeks to rectify that historical injustice. The Czochralski name is to electronics and computers what Ford is to cars, Edison is to electricity, and Bell is to the telephone.”

Key initiatives include:

JanCZ.org Website Launch: The new website will serve as a comprehensive global resource, featuring contemporary content.

Feature Film Development: A script for a feature film is underway to dramatically portray Czochralski's life, including his love for Poland in the face of immense adversity.

JanCZ History Center in Poland: A cornerstone of the project is the plan to acquire Jan Czochralski’s last Polish home in Kcynia — the same house where Fred Schmidt was born — to establish a history center.

Ongoing Advocacy and Education: Through books, documentaries, scholarships, and continued research into German archives, the project will ensure Czochralski’s story is widely known and his impact understood.

Jan Czochralski’s achievements have already begun to receive belated recognition. In 2013, Poland declared it "The Year of Czochralski.” In 2019, the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) honored him with its highest award, the Milestone, placing him in the esteemed company of Thomas Edison, Guglielmo Marconi, Nikola Tesla, and Alexander Graham Bell. Most recently, in 2024, Czochralski was inducted into a Polish "Academy of Superheroes," a recognition set to expand globally.

"Without Czochralski’s achievements, there would be no Silicon Valley," said Dr. Tomaszewski. “By recognizing his achievements, the JanCZ Project not only honors his legacy but also seeks to inspire future generations to pursue scientific exploration, regardless of the obstacles they might face.”

Rob D'Amico
Nofiction
damico@nofiction.com

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