Weave-UNISONO – forecasted proposal submission deadline for research projects carried out jointly with research teams from Slovenia

Fri, 12/17/2021 - 14:58
Kod CSS i JS

NCN proposals must be submitted electronically via the ZSUN/OSF submission system as soon as possible following the submission of the joint proposal to the ARRS, within 7 calendar days at the latest.

Please read the important information on the dates and application procedure in the Weave-UNISONO call and the updated call documentation.

2022 NCN Call Timeline now available

Thu, 12/16/2021 - 14:27
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The table below presents a preliminary timeline for calls operated by the National Science Centre in the year 2022.

The call timeline does not include multilateral calls launched by the international networks of research funding agencies, including the NCN, which are announced and pre-announced on the NCN website all year round according to the decisions of the participating agencies.

2022 call timeline

TYPE OF CALL CALL ANNOUNCEMENT CALL DEADLINE CALL RESULTS
WEAVE-UNISONO continous call, in line with partner agencies call timelines depend on the time of publishing results by partner agencies

MINIATURA 6*

continuous call, open from 1 February to 31 July 2021

OPUS 23

PRELUDIUM 21

POLONEZ BIS 2

15 March 15 June December 2022

SONATA BIS 12

MAESTRO 14

15 June 15 September

March 2023

OPUS 24 + Weave

PRELUDIUM BIS 4

SONATA 18

POLONEZ BIS 3

15 September 15 December

OPUS 24+Weave, SONATA 18, POLONEZ BIS 3 – June 2023

Weave – depends on the time of accepting evaluation results by partner agencies, November 2023 at latest

PRELUDIUM BIS 4 – May 2023

SONATINA 7

SHENG 3

15 December 15 March 2023

SONATINA 7 – September 2023

SHENG 3 – November 2023

* calls schedule might be changed in the course of the year

 

Download the 2022 NCN Call Timeline

Five Polish research groups among the winners of the international JPI Urban Europe call

Thu, 12/16/2021 - 08:52
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The JPI Urban Europe network has awarded funding to 16 new research projects within the EN-UTC Urban Transformation Capacities Call 2021 covering the call topics on:

  • Urban circular economies;
  • Community-based developments and urban innovation ecosystems;
  • Robust and resilient urban infrastructure and built environment.

The total budget of awarded projects amounts to 16,8 M EUR, including 4,2 M EUR of European Union co-funding.

The following projects with Polish researchers were awarded within the EN-UTC Call 2021:

U-GARDEN: Promoting capacity building and knowledge for the extension of urban gardens in European cities. Polish Applicant: Group of entities - Warsaw University of Technology (Leader of the group of entities) in cooperation with the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (Member of the group of entities). Polish Principal Investigator: dr hab. inż. Maciej Kazimierz Lasocki. The project will involve research teams from Spain, Romania, and Sweden.

CREST: Climate resilient coastal urban infrastructures through digital twinning. Polish Applicant: Group of entities - National Institute for Spatial Policy and Housing (Leader of the group of entities) in cooperation with the Kołobrzeg Commune (Member of the group of entities) and INnCREASE Sp. z o.o. (Ltd.) (Member of the group of entities). Polish Principal Investigator: dr hab. Bogna Gawrońska-Nowak. The project will involve research teams from France and Norway.

CONTRA: Conflict in Transformations. Polish Applicant: Group of entities - University of Warsaw (Leader of the group of entities) in cooperation with the Municipality of Gdynia (Member of the group of entities) and IDEA Institute Ltd. (Member of the group of entities). Polish Principal Investigator: dr Joanna Monika Krukowska. The project will involve research teams from Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway.

City&Co: Older Adults Co-Creating a Sustainable Age-friendly City. Polish Applicant: Group of entities - Jagiellonian University in Cracow (Leader of the group of entities) in cooperation with the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences (Member of the group of entities). Polish Principal Investigator: dr hab. Jolanta Małgorzata Perek - Białas. The project will involve research teams from  the Netherlands and Romania.

EmbedterLabs: Better Embedded Labs for More Synergistic Sustainable Urban Transformation Planning. Polish Applicant: Gdańsk University of Technology. Polish Principal Investigator: dr inż. Joanna Beata Bach - Głowińska. The project will involve research teams from the Netherlands and Sweden.

The aim of the JPI Urban Europe is to finance international, interdisciplinary research projects that respond to the challenges of modern cities and urban areas. The National Science Centre has been cooperating with the JPI Urban Europe network since 2015.  

The implementation of research projects funded within the EN-UTC Call 2021 will start in 2022. More information and the full list of projects recommended for funding can be found at JPI Urban Europe website.

“Nature” publishes an article by an NCN Award 2020 winner’s research team

Wed, 12/15/2021 - 17:47
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The experimental system, photo by Freiburg UniversityThe experimental system, photo by Freiburg University Scientists from the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw, headed by Dr hab. Michał Tomza, and an experimental team led by Professor Tobias Schaetz at the University of Freiburg, were the first to observe Feshbach resonances between a single ion and ultracold atoms. An article that presents their research results has just been published in “Nature” and even made it to the cover of the magazine.

Dr hab. Michał Tomza is a physicist and chemist specializing in the description of matter at ultralow temperatures, as well as the theory of interactions and collisions between ultracold atoms, ions and molecules. In 2020, he won the NCN Award in physical sciences and engineering for his theoretical description of such phenomena.

Funded under the NCN’s OPUS programme and entitled “Ultracold quantum mixtures of ions with atoms, molecules, and Rydberg atoms: novel hybrid systems and applications”, the research project published by “Nature” was carried out in 2017-2021 by a research team at the University of Warsaw, which also included Dariusz Wiater, a Phd candidate, Agata Wojciechowska, an MSc student, and Dr Krzysztof Jachymski, a member of the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, in cooperation with researchers from the German research centre.

Laboratory at the Faculty of Physics, photo by M. Kaźmierczak/Warsaw UniversityLaboratory at the Faculty of Physics, photo by M. Kaźmierczak/Warsaw University

The microscale quantum world

The world around us has a quantum nature that we cannot see in our daily life. It does come to light, however, at very low temperatures, which allow phenomena such as superfluidity or superconductivity to manifest. A good example of quantum matter can be found in the form of ultracold atom gases cooled down to a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. Under such conditions, interactions between atoms can be controlled by means of electromagnetic fields, using Feshbach resonances. Magnetic Feshbach resonances significantly increase the frequency of collisions when molecular energy states are adjusted to the energy of colliding atoms. The scientists from the University of Freiburg and the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw were able, for the first time, to observe and explain such resonances between a single ion and ultracold atoms.

 

In the experiment, resonances were observed as an increase in the probability of ion loss due to interaction with atom pairs for specific values of the magnetic field. The scientists were also able to demonstrate an increase in the frequency of two-body collisions in the proximity of the resonance, which allows the ion to be cooled down effectively. Through a theoretical analysis, they were also able to determine previously unknown interaction parameters and predict the position of the resonances that were not initially detected by the experiment.

Blazing the trail for next-generation experiments

Ultracold ion-atom systems have a variety of potential applications such as quantum computations and simulations, but they require temperatures much lower than those of neutral atomic gases. Several experimental groups have spent years working toward this success, with the computational support of, e.g. the Warsaw physicists. The results blaze the trail for next-generation experiments, as it will now be much easier to control the quantum state of the ion. A lower energy and a longer lifetime allow new phenomena to be investigated and generate new and interesting quantum matter states which, on the one hand, will help us better understand the quantum nature of our world and, on the other, serve as another element of newly emerging quantum technologies. Ion-atom Feshbach resonances can soon be expected to be observed for other element combinations as well. Research group of M. Tomza, photo by P. KulikResearch group of M. Tomza, photo by P. Kulik

Previously, in tandem with an experimental group headed by Professor Rene Gerritsma at the University of Amsterdam, Dr Tomza’s group successfully cooled down a single ion immersed in an ultracold atomic gas to the quantum regime of ion-atom collisions and observed shape resonances. The results of that cooperation were published by “Nature Physics” last year and formed part of the research record that earned Dr Tomza the NCN Award.

NCN grants and project descriptions.

Acceptance speech during the NCN Award ceremony on 6 October 2021.

The research team (University of Warsaw).

 

 

The sixth edition of the SONATINA call is now open

Wed, 12/15/2021 - 17:08
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The National Science Centre (NCN) hereby announces the SONATINA 6 call for research projects carried out by early career researchers. A total of 25 million PLN is up for grabs.

The main objective of the call is to support the career development of early career researchers by creating opportunities for full-time employment and research in Poland as well as enabling them to gain knowledge and experience during fellowships in first-rate foreign research institutions. Projects may cover both basic and applied research. Project work may be planned for a period of 2 or 3 years and fellowships may last anywhere between 3 to 6 months.

The call is open to researchers who were granted their PhD after 31 December 2018 or will be granted their PhD before the end of June 2022. Proposals may also be submitted by researchers who were granted their PhD before that date but enjoyed a career break, for example to have or adopt children.

SONATINA 6 CALL ANNOUNCEMENT

Proposals may be submitted electronically, via the ZSUN/OSF submission system between 16 December 2021 and 15 March 2022 (4 p.m.). Proposals will be subject to an eligibility check and merit-based evaluation. The experts will evaluate, inter alia, the scientific quality and novelty of research to be performed, project’s impact on the advancement of the scientific discipline and compliance of the research with the research criteria. The results will be published in summer of 2022. 

Success of Polish research teams in the QuantERA Call 2021

Wed, 12/15/2021 - 13:31
Kod CSS i JS

Fifteen research teams from Poland were among the winners of the QuantERA Co-funded Call 2021 for international research projects in the field of quantum technologies.

Ten basic research projects will be funded by the National Science Centre (NCN) and five applied research projects will be funded by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR). The NCN has awarded funding for that purpose of over PLN 7.7 million.

The third QuantERA Call was launched in March 2021 by 36 European Research Funding Organisations and has attracted a lot of attention from scientists at large from its very beginning. 39 international research projects were recommended for funding. The total project value is EUR 43.5 million, of which EUR 12.3 million is co-financed by the European Union.

The following projects involving Polish researchers funded by the NCN have been awarded:

1. DISCODicke-enhanced single-emitter strong coupling at ambient conditions as a quantum resource

  • Polish Applicant: Wrocław University of Science and Technology
  • Polish Principal Investigator: Prof. dr hab. inż. Artur Piotr Podhorodecki
  • The project will involve research teams from Ireland and Germany

2. DQUANTDissipative Quantum Chaos Perspective on Near-Term Quantum Computing

  • Polish Applicant: Jagiellonian University
  • Polish Principal Investigator: Prof. dr hab. Karol Wojciech Życzkowski
  • The project will involve research teams from Portugal, Slovenia, Germany and Norway

3. DYNAMITENext Generation Quantum Symulators: From DYNAMIcal Gauge Fields to Lattice Gauge ThEory

  • Polish Applicant: Jagiellonian University
  • Polish Principal Investigator: Prof. dr hab. Jakub Maciej Zakrzewski
  • The project will involve research teams from Spain, Germany, Italy and Switzerland

4. ExTRaQTExperiment and Theory of Resources in Quantum Technologies

  • Polish Applicant: A group of entities, i.e. the University of Warsaw (Leader) in cooperation with the University of Gdańsk
  • Polish Principal Investigator: Dr Alexander Streltsov
  • The project will involve research teams from Germany and Spain

5. Mf-QDSMicrofluidics Quantum Diamond Sensor

  • Polish Applicant: Jagiellonian University
  • Polish Principal Investigator: Dr Adam Marek Wojciechowski
  • The project will involve research teams from Spain, Germany and Israel  

6. PhoMemtorPhotonic Quantum Memristor Networks

  • Polish Applicant: University of Warsaw
  • Polish Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Magdalena Stobińska
  • The project will involve research teams from Austria and Italy

7. SQUEISSqueezing-Enhanced Inertial Sensing

  • Polish Applicant: University of Warsaw
  • Polish Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Jan Aleksander Chwedeńczuk
  • The project will involve research teams from Italy, Germany and France  

8. STAQSShortcuts to Adiabaticity for Quantum Computation and Simulation

  • Polish Applicant: Jagiellonian University
  • Polish Principal Investigator: Prof. dr hab. Jacek Piotr Dziarmaga
  • The project will involve research teams from Austria, Luxembourg, Germany and Italy

9. TOBITSNon-Abelian anyons for topological qubits

  • Polish Applicant: University of Warsaw
  • Polish Principal Investigator: Prof. dr hab. Jakub Tworzydło
  • The project will involve research teams from Finland, Switzerland and France

10. VERIqTASVERIfication of quantum Technologies, Applications and Systems

  • Polish Applicant: Center for Theoretical Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
  • Polish Principal Investigator: Dr hab. inż. Remigiusz Michał Augusiak
  • The project will involve research teams from Spain, France, Denmark, Austria and Belgium

For more information, including the full list of projects recommended for funding, please visit the quantera.eu website.

The QuantERA Programme is coordinated by the National Science Centre, Poland.

Contact: quantera@ncn.gov.pl   


Results of Weave-UNISONO call for Polish-Czech research projects

Tue, 12/14/2021 - 11:46
Kod CSS i JS

The results of the Weave-UNISONO call for proposals submitted to Grantová Agentura České Republiky (GAČR) as the lead agency are now published. 10 research teams from Poland will soon be able to start their research projects. They will receive almost 10 million PLN from the National Science Centre for their research projects involving partners from the Czech Republic. The ranking lists of projects recommended for funding include five projects in Physical Sciences and Engineering, four in Life Sciences and one in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. The research subjects include microbial food webs, algorithms to identify electrophysiological features of memory encoding and recall in human iEEG as well as fatigue performance of asphalt mixtures.

Full ranking lists

Simplified procedures

The Weave Programme aims at simplifying the submission and selection procedures in all academic disciplines involving researchers from two or three European countries. Winners are selected pursuant to the Lead Agency Procedure according to which only one partner institution is in charge of merit-based evaluation. 

 Under the Weave Programme, partner research teams apply for parallel funding of joint research projects to their respective institutions participating in the Weave Programme. Joint projects must include a coherent research program with the added value of the international cooperation clearly defined.

Research funding institutions from Luxembourg (Fonds National de la Recherche – FNR) and Belgium-Flanders (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – Vlaanderen – FWO) will join the Programme in January 2022.

The ranking list of proposals recommended for funding by the GAČR is yet another list of proposals selected under the Weave-UNISONO call. The first ranking list was published in September 2021 and included project recommended for funding by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Weave-UNISONO call: important information for research teams from Poland

Mon, 12/13/2021 - 12:27
Kod CSS i JS

A short reminder of how to prepare proposals in the Weave-UNISONO call for the Polish research teams. 

  1. The budget of the Polish part of the project in the joint proposal should be  calculated according to the following exchange rate:
    • In joint proposals, for which NCN proposals are processed in and submitted via the ZSUN/OSF submission system by 31 December 2021: 1 EUR= 4.4385 PLN;
    • In joint proposals, for which NCN proposals are processed in and submitted via the ZSUN/OSF submission system from 1 January 2022 onwards: 1 EUR= 4.5315 PLN;
  2. NCN proposals processed in the ZSUN/OSF submission system in 2021, to which the exchange rate of 1 EUR= 4.4385 PLN applies, must be completed in and submitted via the ZSUN/OSF submission system by 31 December 2021 at 23:59:59. Otherwise, the proposal can no longer be edited, in which case a Polish research team must prepare a new proposal and complete it in the ZSUN/OSF submission system, to which the exchange rate 1 EUR = 4.5315 PLN will apply. If a joint proposal has already been submitted to the lead agency, in which the budget of the Polish part of the project was calculated according to another exchange rate, information in the NCN proposal will be inconsistent with information in the joint proposal and may result in the proposal being rejected on the grounds that it does not meet the eligibility criteria.
  3. As of 1 January 2022, the updated Regulations on awarding funding for research tasks funded by the National Science Centre under international calls carried out as multilateral cooperation pursuant to the Lead Agency Procedure shall apply.
  4. Please consult the updated call documentation, including the guidelines for Polish research teams (update will be available soon).

Polariton lattices: a solid state platform for quantum simulations of correlated and topological states

Principal Investigator :
Prof. Dr hab. Michał Matuszewski
Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences

Panel: ST3

Funding scheme : QuantERA
announced on 13 January 2017

The project is devoted to exciton-polaritons, extremely interesting quantum particles with possible applications in various fields, such as high-precision interferometry, ultra-low power lasers and  data processing with low energy losses.

Exciton-polaritons are formed in semiconductors with a specially designed structure as a result of  extremely strong coupling of photons and excitons, which are material particles made up of an electron and a “hole”. Polaritons have a “Schroedinger’s cat” structure, i.e. the quantum state is defined by two alternatives: an alive cat, when the exciton exists, or a dead cat, when the exciton is replaced by a photon in the system.

Prof. Michał Matuszewski, photo by Michał ŁepeckiProf. Michał Matuszewski, photo by Michał Łepecki The InterPol project aims to create polariton lattices as a semiconductor platform for quantum simulations under laboratory conditions. The main goal is to achieve the strong quantum correlation regime, where interactions between individual polaritons will prevail over decoherence associated with photon losses, which will allow us to build simple quantum simulators. The project may play an important role in the development of accessible quantum technologies and contribute to our understanding of nanoscale non-equilibrium systems.

Prof. Michał Matuszewski, photo by Michał ŁepeckiProf. Michał Matuszewski, photo by Michał Łepecki The project was divided into five research tasks. The first one was to create static polariton lattices using special atomic layering methods and to engineer structures with predefined geometries. The second task was to create lattices with variable geometries, thanks to innovative light-matter coupling methods. At the third stage, samples obtained in the earlier tasks were used to create strongly correlated quantum phases. Subsequently, we will employ what is known as topological protection of quantum states to significantly extend their lifetime. Another important task is to design new theoretical models of polariton systems for a comprehensive understanding of experimental observations. The Polish team takes part in the theoretical effort, lending support to experimental studies and developing the theory of quantum phases.

Photo by Michał ŁepeckiPhoto by Michał Łepecki Among the main achievements of the project thus far is the successful synthesis and description of two-dimensional Lieb lattices and micropillars, aimed at testing strong polariton interactions, and creating polariton lattices in an open cavity. These basic systems will allow us to implement quantum simulators. Experiments with the lattice systems allowed us to observe the emission of chiral micro laser light beams, solitons in the energy gap and flat energy bands in polariton systems. In addition, artificial photon gauge fields were created in a lattice with a honeycomb structure, which provides a very useful tool for quantum simulations. The spin-orbit effect, polarization splitting, and topological states were also observed in two-dimensional Lieb lattices. New theoretical developments included a novel method for studying the dissipative Bose-Hubbard model, which led to the discovery of an interesting bistable time crystal.

The most interesting achievements by the Polish team included proposing and reallizing a polariton lattice that allows machine learning to be implemented in quantum systems. The concept is currently being intensively developed in collaboration with experimental groups and has inspired a new NCN project carried out in a consortium with an experimental group from the University of Warsaw.

Niniejszy projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie w ramach programu finansowania badań naukowych i innowacji Unii Europejskiej "Horyzont 2020" na podstawie umowy nr 731473.

Project title: InterPol. Polariton lattices: a solid state platform for quantum simulations of correlated and topological states

Prof. Dr hab. Michał Matuszewski

Kierownik - dodatkowe informacje

Professor Matuszewski earned his PhD in theoretical physics in 2007 at the University of Warsaw and went on to complete a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Australian National University, where he won a prestigious scholarship from the Oliphant Endowment Fund. In 2010, he returned to Warsaw and set up a research group focused on polariton theory in the Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences. He has won a number of awards, including awards for young scientists granted by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Polish Academy of Sciences. He has co-authored more than 80 publications with a total of more than 1800 citations.

Prof. Michał Matuszewski, photo by Michał Łepecki

Molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis in extreme environmental conditions

Principal Investigator :
Dr hab. Joanna Monika Kargul, Prof. UW
Centre for New Technologies, University of Warsaw

Panel: NZ1

Funding scheme : OPUS 8
announced on 15 September 2014

Solar energy powers life on our planet through the fundamental process of photosynthesis. Natural photosystems are made up of large membrane protein complexes, which use spatially organized systems of electron transfer cofactors and pigments to create highly efficient macromolecular nanomachines that convert solar energy into chemical energy. Converting solar power into fuel may serve as the most attractive source of clean energy as the demand for power grows in our time. In an era of global climate change, there is an urgent need to thoroughly study the molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis, especially in extreme conditions similar to those that accompanied the emergence of the first forms of life.

Photo by Michał ŁepeckiPhoto by Michał Łepecki The structure of photosynthetic apparatus of Cyanidioschyzon merolae, an extremophilic unicellular red alga harvested from volcanic hot springs implies that this microalga constitutes an evolutionary link between cyanobacteria and higher plants. Our project studied how the photosynthetic apparatus of this thermophilic and acidophilic microalga regulates its function in extreme environmental conditions. For this purpose, we examined: (1) the pattern of dynamic changes in the structure of antenna systems (systems that capture solar power) connected to photosystems I and II (PSI and PSII) in the cells of C. merolae, as influenced by the quantity and spectral quality of available light; (2) water substrate exchange rates in the catalytic centre of PSII (an enzyme that splits water upon absorption of sunlight); (3) the role of carotenoids, i.e.  pigments, identified in PSI and PSII complexes obtained from C. merolae, which protect the photosynthetic apparatus from excess sunlight. We also looked into (4) the kinetics of the early processes of solar energy conversion, including the solar energy transfer pathways in photosystems isolated from this extremophilic microalga.

Photo by Michał ŁepeckiPhoto by Michał Łepecki Both photosystems isolated from this fascinating extremophile were shown to be exceptionally stable under extreme pH, temperature and light conditions. The quantum efficiency of the water-splitting enzyme (PSII) also remained unchanged regardless of light conditions. Thanks to our highly interdisciplinary approach, which employed biochemical, biophysical, proteomic, and advanced microscopic imaging methods to study individual photosynthetic complexes, we were able to define the following molecular mechanisms by which the photosynthetic apparatus of C. merolae adapts to fluctuating light: (i) the accumulation of photoprotective pigments (zeaxanthin and β-carotene) in antenna complexes and photosynthetic reaction centres; (ii) dynamic changes in the structure of antennae and photochemical reaction centres in PSI and PSII complexes, on the level of both proteins and pigments, which improves the use of sunlight for cellular metabolism; and (iii) the same photosynthetic water-splitting reaction kinetics in the PSII complex of C. merolae as in its equivalent in mesophilic organisms.

We need to know these precise molecular mechanisms that regulate the high stability and photoprotection of the photosynthetic apparatus of the extremophilic unicellular alga C. merolae so as to understand the processes of efficient solar energy conversion and cellular energy homeostasis in extreme environmental conditions. The research has a high translational potential. It will facilitate the development of better strategies for manufacturing stable and efficient biomimetic devices to convert solar energy into clean fuels under extreme conditions, thus promoting a more efficient production of clean energy.

Project title: Structural and functional characterisation of the photosynthetic apparatus of an extremophilic red microalga Cyanidioschyzon merolae

Dr hab. Joanna Monika Kargul, Prof. UW

Kierownik - dodatkowe informacje

Head of the Solar Fuels Lab at the Centre for New Technologies, University of Warsaw. She got her PhD in biological sciences in 1999 from the University of Warwick (UK), and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in a group led by Professor James Barber at Imperial College London, where she studied the structure and function of photosynthetic complexes. Her research led to the ground-breaking discovery of unique molecular mechanisms that govern rapid photosynthetic adaptation to changing environments. She earned her habilitation degree at the Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw in 2009. In 2011, upon her return from London to Warsaw, she set up an interdisciplinary international team of biologists and chemists to conduct basic and applied research into the fundamental processes of natural photosynthesis, as well as the production of so-called solar fuels in biomolecular devices for artificial photosynthesis.

Photo by Michał Łepecki