Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowships
The Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowships Programme is aimed at scientists in the early stages of their careers. The Programme was designed to provide optimal research conditions for promising young academics. Fellows are given the unique opportunity to conduct ambitious and innovative research projects that combine knowledge from different fields of science and require international cooperation.
To become a fellow you need to submit an application for an open call announced by the UW IAS. A winner is offered an employment contract in one of the University’s faculties / research centres (depending on the proposed project). Research topics are not defined by the Institute but chosen by the candidates. However, proposed project must refer to one of the disciplines listed in the call for applications.
The fellowship includes a salary, as well as a budget for travel and equipment.
Details about the requirements for candidates, as well as the terms and conditions of the fellowship can be found in the call for applications.
Laureates of the competition in 2021
He works in the group of Dr. Habil. Bartosz Trzaskowski. He conducted postdoctoral research at such institutions as the Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw; the Theoretical Chemistry & Biology Laboratory, KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden); and the Laboratory of Chemistry of Novel Materials, University of Mons (Belgium).
His research at the University of Warsaw was recognised by an award “For young, outstanding scientists under 35 conducting high-quality research with impressive international academic records” from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, as well as an award from the Rector of the UW for “Extraordinary scientific achievements, considered as a breakthrough in the discipline and contributing significantly to the prestige of the society, thus increasing the reputation of our University”.
He was a Principal Investigator of the NAWA Bekker grant, the NCN SONATA grant, and the Marie-Curie COFOUND POLONEZ grant. He was also awarded the BEETHOVEN 2 grant. He is currently Principal Investigator of the OPUS-LAP 20 NCN grant.
He is a member of the Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences association and the Computing π-Conjugated Compounds society, as well as a Topic Editor board member of Nanomaterials journal (MDPI publisher).
His research focuses on multiscale computational methods to study (i) novel 2D functional materials for photovoltaic applications and solar-fuel production with emphasis on the production of molecular hydrogen and the conversion of CO2 into more valuable chemicals, with particular focus on 2D-MOF; (ii) (non)-linear optical properties of fluorescent molecules in biological environments such as lipid bilayer membranes and proteins; (iii) hybrid bio-organic interfaces consisting of graphene, self-assembly monolayers (SAM) and a small light harvesting protein to enhance the electron transport along the complex interface.
Laureates of the competition in 2022
Currently working in the group of Prof. Piotr Szymczak. He obtained his Ph.D. from Utrecht University, where he worked on charged colloidal suspensions with Prof. René van Roij. He conducted postdoctoral research as part of the Ulam programme at the Institute of Physical Chemistry in Warsaw with Prof. Robert Hołyst on diffusion in complex fluids. Before that, he was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie individual fellow at the University of Ljubljana with Prof. Miha Ravnik, working on the electrostatics of nematic electrolytes. In 2022 he received an Award for Outstanding Young Scientist from the Polish Ministry of Education and Science. His current research interests include charged soft matter, liquid crystals, and microhydrodynamics. More information can be found at his personal website.