Michał Heller

A Catholic priest belonging to the Diocese of Tarnów, Heller was ordained in 1959. In 2008, he received the Templeton Prize for his works in the field of philosophy.

Michał Heller studied at John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, John Paul II Secondary School in Tarnów and Higher Theological Seminary in Tarnów. the recorded working language is Polish. The field of work recorded is theology, philosophy and physics. Employment is recorded with University of Arizona, The Catholic University of America and University of Leicester. Distinctions recorded are Order of the White Eagle, Templeton Prize, Idzi Radziszewski prize and Saint George medal.

• Name — Michał Heller • Honorific Prefix — The Reverend • Born — 12 March 1936 • Birthplace — Tarnów, Poland • Occupation — Philosopher, theoretical physicist • Alma Mater — Catholic University of Lublin • Awards — Templeton Prize (2008) Order of Polonia Restituta (2009) Order of the White Eagle (2014) • Region — Western philosophy • Polish philosophy • Main Interests — * History of science • Philosophy of science • Theology • Theoretical physics • General relativity • Era — 20th-century philosophy 21st-century philosophy • School Tradition — Thomism

Michał Heller attended high school in Mościce, graduated from the Catholic University of Lublin, where he earned a master's degree in philosophy in 1965 and a Ph.D. in cosmology in 1966. After beginning his teaching career at Tarnów, he joined the faculty of the Pontifical Academy of Theology in 1972 and was appointed to a full professorship in 1985. He has been a visiting professor at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium and a visiting scientist at Belgium's University of Liège, the University of Oxford, the University of Leicester, Ruhr University in Germany, The Catholic University of America, and the University of Arizona among others. His research is concerned with the singularity problem in general relativity and the use of noncommutative geometry in seeking the unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics into quantum gravity.

Honorary degrees from: • AGH University of Science and Technology (1996) • Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw (2009) • University of Life Sciences in Poznań (2010) • Warsaw University of Technology (2012) • Jagiellonian University (2012) • University of Life Sciences in Lublin (2014) • University of Silesia in Katowice (2015) • Pontifical University of John Paul II (2016) • Rzeszów University of Technology (2018) Other distinctions: • Cross of Merit (Poland) (2006) • Order of Polonia Restituta (2009) • Order of the White Eagle (Poland) (2014)

• The Origins of Time, in: The Study of Time IV, ed. by J.T. Fraser, N. Lawrence, D. Park, Springer Verlag, New York–Heidelberg–Berlin 1981, pp. 90–93, • Algebraic Self-Duality as the "Ultimate Explanation", Foundations of Science, 9, 2004, pp. 369–385

Michał Heller worked in theology, philosophy, physics and cosmology. He was employed by University of Arizona, The Catholic University of America, University of Leicester, Ruhr University Bochum and University of Liège. He belonged to Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Polish Astronomical Society, International Society for Science and Religion and International Astronomical Union.

In March 2008, Heller was awarded the $1.6 million (£820,000) Templeton Prize for his extensive philosophical and scientific probing of "big questions". His works have sought to reconcile the "known scientific world with the unknowable dimensions of God". On receiving the Templeton Prize, Heller said: Heller used the prize money to establish the Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Studies – an institute named after Nicholas Copernicus aimed at research and popularisation of science and philosophy. He also serves as director of the annual Copernicus Festival held in Kraków.

• Polish Academy of Learning • Pontifical Academy of Sciences • European Physical Society • International Astronomical Union • International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation • International Society for the Study of Time • International Society for Science and Religion