A scientist from the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Physics will head a new MAB Centre of Excellence

Professor Ryszard Buczyński from the Institute of Geophysics at the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Physics will head the new MAB Centre of Excellence.

One of the four selected projects is the Centre of Excellence for Structured Optical Fibres and Applications (SOWA), which will be established at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw. The new unit will be headed by Professor Ryszard Buczyński, Deputy Director of the Institute of Geophysics at the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw. Under the MAB FENG programme, support is provided for the creation or development of specialized, world-leading research teams capable of achieving scientific excellence and international competitiveness. The total amount of funding awarded in this call reached nearly PLN 120 million. Out of 23 submitted proposals, four projects were selected for funding – three to be implemented in Warsaw and one in Poznań.

The new centre at the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, will focus on developing a new class of structured optical fibres designed for use in lasers, sensors, and other photonic devices operating across a broad optical spectrum, with particular emphasis on the mid-infrared range. The goal of the SOWA Centre of Excellence is to achieve a world-leading position in the research, development, and fabrication of nanostructured free-form optical fibres, opening up new possibilities in photonics technologies.

The Centre will be led by Professor Ryszard Buczyński, physicist and Deputy Director of the Institute of Geophysics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw. Professor Buczyński specializes in optics, photonics, and micro- and nano-optics. He earned his PhD in physical sciences in 1999 from the Warsaw University of Technology, his habilitation in 2012 at the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, and the title of Professor of Physical Sciences in 2018. His scientific work encompasses research on special optical fibres, complex glass materials, micro- and nanostructured optical systems, as well as the applications of metamaterials and plasmonics in optoelectronic devices. In recent years, he has also conducted research on integrating quantum effects into optical materials.

Professor Buczyński has led and participated in numerous national and international research projects funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW), the National Science Centre (NCN), the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP), and the European Commission (including within the NEMO – Network of Excellence for Micro-Optics, 6th EU Framework Programme). His scientific achievements include numerous publications in prestigious journals in the fields of photonics, applied optics, and optical materials science.

Other projects selected under the MAB FENG programme:

Centre for Quantum-Assisted Computations – the first research unit in Poland specializing in the use of quantum technologies for advanced computations. The centre will operate within the Center for Theoretical Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) and will be led by Dr. hab. Eng. Remigiusz Augusiak.

Centre for Physics and Technology of Nitride Semiconductors “GaN-Unipress” – a centre developing next-generation gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technologies, headed by Prof. Dr. hab. Eng. Michał Boćkowski.

Project “Development of Therapeutic Strategies for Human Genetic Diseases Caused by Nucleotide Repeat Expansions”, to be carried out at the Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, under the direction of Prof. Krzysztof Sobczak, which will establish a research platform supporting the development of therapies for rare diseases.

We sincerely congratulate all the laureates and wish them fruitful scientific work and success in their research endeavours!