Biography

Adrian Mróz (aka abenteuerzeit), Ph.D., is a Polish-American scholar, musician, and full-stack developer, known for his diverse and extraordinary career. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1988, Mróz is a polyglot, speaking English, Polish, and French and with elementary proficiency in Latin and German. He also has professional working proficiency in Ancient Greek. He holds several certifications in web development, Teaching English as a Foreign Language (specializing in teaching online), and other programming languages such as C# and JavaScript.

His journey began at Eastern Tech High School, where he majored in Computer-Aided Drafting and Design. His passion for music led him to the Community College of Baltimore County in 2005, where he studied Applied Voice, Classical & Popular Guitar under the care of Professor Robert Winter and Applied Music Studies.

In 2006, Mróz moved to Poznan, Poland, to study at the I. J. Paderewski Academy of Music under the supervision of Dr. Bartek Marusik. During this time, he played guitar for the punk rock band Babayaga Ojo from 2006 to 2010, publishing music on the CDs Siła (2007) and Singiel II (2008). His musical talent was recognized with awards such as the grIndie Award for Best New Music in the Independent Artist Music Awards, the Number 1 Punk Show for PBS FM in Australia, and the Gold Artist Award from RadioIndy.com. On December 5, 2019, he published the album Décompositions—Lo-Fi Série, Vol 1 with the band SmoGGG, where he plays saxophone and guitar. He is a member of the Polish Musicians’ Labor Union (ZZWRP), represented by the Polish Society of Authors and Composers (ZAiKS), a Polish collective management organization in charge of protecting rights for artistic performances of music and words-and-music pieces (STOART), Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), and TAXI Artist & Repertoire.

Mróz’s practical experience as a musician and sound engineer has significantly informed his academic work. He was a popular music coordinator and teacher at the Conservatory of Music in Poznan, where he taught students the necessary musical know-how and techniques to succeed and prepare them for ABRSM and RSL exams. He studied classical guitar at the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań. Not only that, but he has Polish State vocational certification to work as an Assistant Sound Operator, Technical Assistant Sound Engineer, Audio Mixer, and Sound Editor.

Mróz’s teaching career began in 2008 as an intern supervised by Rafał Wiśniewski at the Henryk Wieniawski Elementary Music School No. 1 in Poznań. After completing his studies, he worked at the Conservatory of Music in Poznan from 2009 to 2012 as a guitar instructor and later as a member of the board and coordinator of popular music education, where he prepared students for exams by ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London, UK). In 2010, he signed a deal with Simon Pitt (CEO) of RSL Awards (rockschool), working for five years as Poland’s representative and coordinator of popular music exams.

In 2011, Mróz earned vocational qualifications as an Assistant Sound Operator, Technical Assistant Sound Engineer, Audio Mixer, and Sound Editor. The Poznan District Examination Board issued his certificate. In 2012, he earned credentials as an Educator of recreational activities for school children and youth by the Greater Poland Board of Education. He worked as a counselor specializing in music education for Vogue Travel for the summers of 2012 and 2013, especially for Rock Camps, where he taught young musicians to perform a show in under 12 days. He also worked as an English language tutor abroad in Ukraine for Boyar Camp in 2016, and in 2017 he volunteered to work for Angloville. Today, he continues to work as a translator, proofreader, and teacher.

Mróz began studying philosophy at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan in 2012. He joined a student research group in 2015 led by Dr. Hab. Piotr Przybysz. The research project title was The Mind in the Environment of Artificial Intelligence: The Influence of Digital Technologies on Mental Functions. He wrote his first thesis on behavioral aesthetics titled The Axiology of Music: Systemic Irrationality in Judging the Performance of Music under Dr. Anna Ziółkowska-Juś. In 2015, he moved to Kraków, where he wrote his master’s thesis under the supervision of Dr. Hab. Krzysztof Guczalski on music, titled The Significance of Music with Reference to Plato and the Notion of ‘Pharmakon.’

In 2015, with Dorota Tomaszewska, who came up with the idea, they jointly founded the Philosophy of Technology Research Group of the Jagiellonian University’s Students Circle, with Mróz serving as the chair under the alias abenteuerzeit until graduation. Later, under Mariusz Markiewicz’s leadership, the group expanded into the Polish Society of Ethics and the Philosophy of Technology, officially registered on December 4, 2019.Mróz’s research interests have evolved, focusing on how technology changes our lifestyles, behaviors, and perceptions. His research, conducted at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków under the supervision of Sidey Myoo, is framed within Bernard Stiegler’s philosophy of art and aesthetics. Mróz’s doctoral dissertation is titled Behavioral Aesthetics: The Art of Thought Control, Regulating Conduct and Constituting Agency in the Philosophy of Bernard Stiegler.

In addition to his research, Mróz has made significant contributions to the field of aesthetics through his publications. His articles cover a wide range of topics, from the role of art in times of war and conflict to the exploitation of aesthetic norms in political marketing. He has also edited volumes on behavioral aesthetics and new materialism. He has translated several works from Polish and French to English. As of 2019, Mróz is a member of the Roman Ingarden Digital Archive research project and was a student of Bernard Stiegler in the 2019/2020 seminar. He has held various positions at Jagiellonian University, most notably as a lecturer and IT support specialist who assisted the Jagiellonian University in transferring to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, he is responsible for implementing the manuscript submission system of the Polish Journal of Aesthetics, where he works as an editor. He works as a webmaster for other academic journals as well.

Mróz lectures on state-of-the-art technology and aesthetics with elements of the psychology of perception at the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. He has amassed considerable experience in the tech industry, with his most recent role as an Azure App Service Development Engineer at Microsoft and a .NET Support Engineer at LTIMindtree, providing technical support for Azure cloud and infrastructure services. Mróz is keenly interested in artificial intelligence and machine learning, as evidenced by his philosophical critique of projects involving AI-driven solutions for various applications.

Mróz’s commitment to education extends beyond academia, as he has taught English as a Second Language to clients at various language schools and served as a mentor in English language proficiency, proofreading, and editing linguistic materials for academics and professionals. A prolific writer and presenter, Mróz authored numerous articles and conference papers addressing topics ranging from the philosophy of music to the ethics of AI, with a particular emphasis on behavioral aesthetics. He has been invited to speak at international conferences, sharing his insights with peers and fostering interdisciplinary dialogue. As a result of his commitment to open-access knowledge, many of his works are available for public consumption through various online platforms.

Mróz is also dedicated to community engagement and has organized and participated in numerous cultural and artistic events, such as concerts, workshops, and public lectures. His passion for music has led him to perform in various ensembles and collaborations, and he is known for his ability to engage diverse audiences through his performances.

With a unique combination of academic and technical expertise, Dr. Adrian Mróz is a valuable contributor to behavioral aesthetics, philosophy, music, and technology. His dedication to advancing knowledge, fostering collaboration, and promoting open access makes him an esteemed colleague and partner in various interdisciplinary projects and endeavors.

For more detailed information about Adrian Mróz’s research and publications, please visit the research and publication pages.