After graduating in Structural Engineering from the Warsaw University of Technology, Stefan studied Simulation Techniques in Mechanical Engineering at RWTH-Aachen (Germany). Subsequently, he worked as a research engineer on rock-shed protective structures over highways in Kanazawa, Japan (2003-05). Dr Szyniszewski then studied for PhD at the University of Florida (2009), where he developed an energy flow approach to the progressive collapse of framed structures. He then spent two years in the industry, working for Bechtel Power Corporation and Areva on the design of a new generation of nuclear power plants in the United States. Dr Szyniszewski achieved a Professional Engineer (PE) status in California (2011), which is equivalent to Chartered Engineer (CEng) in the UK.

Stefan returned to academia as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied cellular metals and 3D woven lattice materials (DARPA funded project). Subsequently, Stefan returned to Europe and joined the University of Surrey as a lecturer in (Hierarchical) Materials and Structures in 2012. Stefan was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Applied Mechanics at Durham University in 2019, where his research is focused on 3D woven composites, bio-inspired ceramic-metallic structures and solutions to inverse problems in engineering mechanics.