We are pleased to announce that 5 international projects involving researchers from Poland have been awarded funding in the Uses of the Past call for proposals launched by the NCN together with the HERA (Humanities in the European Research Area) network, supporting research in humanities. The theme Uses of the Past recognises that in order to understand the pressing societal questions of identity, integration, political legitimacy, creativity and cultural dynamics across Europe we need to understand how societies use and reflect upon the past.Announced in 2015, the call attracted 605 outline proposals from transnational consortia consisting of researchers from four or more participating countries. An international panel of experts selected 100 consortia to submit a full proposals. Funding of EUR 21 million, including co-funding from the European Commission, was granted to 18 international consortia.

Polish projects awarded within the call:

1. CRUSEV: Cruising the 1970s: Unearthing Pre-HIV/AIDS Queer Sexual Cultures

Polish Principal Investigator: dr hab. Tomasz Basiuk, University of Warsaw

Partners: dr Glyn Davis, University of Edinburgh, the UK (Project Leader); prof. Andreas Krass, Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany; prof. Juan Suarez, University of Murcia, Spain

2. EUROPACH: Disentangling European HIV/AIDS Policies: Activism, Citizenship and Health  

Polish Principal Investig:  dr Agata Dziuban, Uniwersytet Jagielloński 

prof. Beate Binder, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany (Project Leader); prof. Marsha Rosengarten, Goldsmiths, University of London, the UK; prof. Martin Lengwiler, University of Basel, Switzerland

3. HERILIGION:  T he heritagazation of religion and the sacralization of heritage in the contemporary Europe 

Polish Principal Investig: dr Anna Maria Niedźwiedź, Jagiellonian University

Partners: dr Oscar Salemink, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (Project Leader); dr Irene Stengs, Meertens Institute, the Netherlands; Maria Clara Saraiva, Faculdade de Ciencias Sociais e Humanas - Univesidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal; Ferdinand de Jong, University of East Anglia, the UK

4. MELA: Memory Laws in European and Comparative Perspectives

Polish Principal Investig: dr Aleksandra Gliszczyńska Grabias, Instytut Nauk Prawnych PAN

Partners: prof. Eric Heinze, Queen Mary University of London, the UK (Project Leader); dr Uladzislau Belavusau, Department of Transnational Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands; dr Emanuela Fronza, Universita di Trento, Italy

5. SoundMe: Sound memories: the musical Past in Late-Medieval and Early-Modern Europe

Polish Principal Investig: dr hab. Paweł Gancarczyk, Instytut Sztuki PAN

Partners: prof. Karl Kuegle, Utrecht University, the Netherlands (Project Leader); prof. Susan Rankin, University of Cambridge, the UK; dr Lenka Hlavkova, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic; prof. Inga Mai Groote, Ruprecht Karl University, Germany

More information: http://heranet.info/.

Astronomers from the Warsaw University Astronomical Observatory based long-term large-scale sky survey OGLE (Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment) announced the discovery of an extraordinary exploding star. Long-term observations of the classical nova V1213 Centauri from the years 2003–2016 provide a new insight into the evolution and mechanisms of these spectacular cosmic explosions. The paper that describes the discovery has been published in the prestigious science journal Nature.

– Classical nova eruptions are among the largest star explosions observed in the Universe. Within hours novae brighten by a factor of several thousand, becoming the brightest objects in the Milky Way – explains Przemek Mróz, the first author and a PhD student at the Warsaw University Astronomical Observatory.

Figure 1: Artist's portrayal of a classical nova explosion. Credit: Krzysztof Ulaczyk / Warsaw University Observatory

Classical novae are close binary systems consisting of a white dwarf star that is accreating matter from a low-mass companion star. The hydrogen-rich matter accumulates on the white dwarf surface and once its mass reaches a critical value, a thermonuclear runway is triggered, causing a large explosion – classical nova eruption. Astronomers believe that in each nova system, nova eruptions recur on timescales of thousands through millions of years, which makes it impossible to trace the system's behavior during that time.

One of the hypotheses, known as a hibernation scenario, predicts that several decades after the nova eruption the system should fall into state of low activity (known as a „hibernation”), when the mass transfer virtually stops. The hibernation hypothesis gained some support from the discovery of ancient nova shells around two systems with a low-mass transfer rate. However, direct evidence for considerable mass-transfer changes prior, during and after nova eruptions has not hitherto been found.

The authors of the Nature paper present long-term observations of a classical nova V1213 Centauri (Nova Centauri 2009), which exploded on 8th May 2009. The star is located in the Centaurus constellation at a distance of 23 thousand light years from the Earth. Astronomers analyzed the observations collected with a 1.3-m Warsaw Telescope located at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile.

Figure 2: Upper panels: Snapshots of a nova lifecycle. Lower panel: The Milky Way over the Warsaw Telescope dome. Credit: Jan Skowron, Krzysztof Ulaczyk / Warsaw University Observatory

– Our observations are in accord with predictions of the hibernation scenario. This is the first case that the evolution of a classical nova can be investigated so precisely – says Przemek Mróz.

Prior to the 2009 eruption, the system showed dwarf nova outbursts (small, periodic brightenings), implying a low and unstable mass-transfer between the two stars. Currently, the system is significantly brighter than before the explosion, suggesting that the mass-transfer rate increased as result of the nova explosion. This is in accord with key predictions of the hibernation hypothesis.

What will be the fate of V1213 Centauri? During the next decades the mass-transfer rate should gradually decrease and the star will be gradually fading. The star will again transform into a dwarf nova and possibly fall into hibernation for thousands of years, until it will awake again and explode as a classical nova. V1213 Centauri with its well known pre- and post-eruption behavior can become a Rosetta stone for nova evolution studies. Its extensive follow-up observations in the next decades will enable further tests of the long-term nova evolution.

– Our discovery is another case, when long-term OGLE observations are crucial for studies of unique, extremely rare phenomena – says Professor Andrzej Udalski, the Warsaw University Observatory Director and a PI of the OGLE team. – A few years ago we observed a process of merging of two stars, which led to another stellar explosion, known as a red nova – adds Udalski.

One of the first goals of the OGLE survey was discovering dark matter using the gravitational microlensing technique. Currently, their studies cover a large range of topics – searches for extrasolar planets, studies of the structure and evolution of the Milky Way and neighboring galaxies, variable stars, quasars, transients.

The paper that describes the discovery has been published in Nature: „The awakening of a classical nova from hibernation”, Przemek Mróz, Andrzej Udalski, Paweł Pietrukowicz, Michał K. Szymański, Igor Soszyński, Łukasz Wyrzykowski, Radosław Poleski, Szymon Kozłowski, Jan Skowron, Krzysztof Ulaczyk, Dorota Skowron & Michał Pawlak, 2016, Nature (doi:10.1038/nature19066).

The lead author is supported by the „Diamond Grant” funded by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

The OGLE survey has received funding from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (grants Ideas and Iuventus plus, Stypendia dla Wybitnych Młodych Naukowców, Diamond Grants, SPUB), the National Science Centre (grants MAESTRO, Opus, Harmonia, Symfonia), and the Foundation for Polish Science (programs Team, Homing, Focus and Start).

We wish to remind you of the consequences of performing testing on animals without a permit by the appropriate ethics in science committee. Pursuant to the act that had been in force until 2015, instances of proceeding without a permit would be treated as a misdemeanour, whereas pursuant to the act of 26 February 2015 this shall constitute an offence.

Pursuant to the text of article 66 of the act of 26 February 2015 on protecting animals used for scientific or educational purposes (Journal of Laws of 2015, item 266):

 1. They who, on account of conducting activity involving the use of animals for scientific or educational purposes:

1. expose animals to unnecessary pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm to their bodies,
2. use animals in procedures that constitute an experiment, having failed to secure a permit to use them, shall be subject to a fine, community sentence or term of imprisonment of up to 2 years.

2. They who in the cases referred to in 66(1.) cause the death of an animal, shall be subject to term of imprisonment of up to 3 years.

In addition, a note should be taken of the statutory regulations of the dates when the act in question enters into force. Pursuant to the text of article 78(1.) of the aforementioned act:

1. Experiments authorised by permit before the date of entry into force of the hereby act shall be carried out pursuant to the former regulations, albeit no later than 1 January 2018.

Whereas, pursuant to article 79 of the aforementioned act:

1. To proceedings regarding the issuance of a permit to carry out a test, ongoing before the date of entry into force of the hereby act, the former regulations shall apply.

2. Experiments authorised by permit in the proceedings referred to in 79(1.) shall be carried out pursuant to the former regulations, albeit no later than 1 January 2018.

Pursuant to article 84, the law in question was entered into force after 3 months since its publication, i.e. on 27 May 2015.

The aforementioned offences shall be persecuted ex officio, and pursuant to article 304 § 2 of the act of 6 June 1997 – The Code of Penal Procedure (Journal of Laws no 89, item 555): State and local government institutions who, in relation to their activities, find out that an offence prosecuted ex officio has been committed, are obliged to immediately notify the public prosecutor or the Police and to take the necessary measures by the time of arrival of the competent law enforcement authority or by the time the said authority has issued an appropriate order, so as to prevent removing evidence of the offence.

In light of the above, it shall be understood that in the event of finding out that the offence referred to in article 66(1) of the act of 26 February 2015 on protecting animals used for scientific or educational purposes has been committed, the Centre is obliged to notify the relevant law enforcement authority.

We would like to inform that from 26^th to 29^th of July due to local transportation difficulties connected with the World Youth Days which take place in Krakow, there will be limited access to NCN staff as the office shall be closed. Contact with NCN coordinators and administrative officers will not be possible.

All inquiries should be directed to the NCN help desk:

Tel. +48 12 341 9000

Email: informacja@ncn.gov.pl

The NCN has concluded the fourth edition of the SYMFONIA call for proposals targeted at applicants wanting to conduct interdisciplinary research. Within this call, experts selected 5 projects worth over EUR 5 million.

SYMFONIA applicants must be PhD holders who have already led the implementation of a minimum of 2 research projects selected within domestic or international calls for proposals. The proposed research must involve at least two research domains: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences and Engineering.

- Excellent interdisciplinary research makes a significant contribution to each of the areas concerned, it is however a big challenge and a rare phenomenon in research today - explains prof. Zbigniew Błocki, director of the NCN. - Interdisciplinary projects can of course be submitted to the NCN under regular calls, but past experience shows that it is not easy to convince experts to select such research from a pool of projects put forward to research panels including narrow research fields within which such proposals are usually evaluated. The SYMFONIA funding scheme caters to the needs of researchers who want do carry out large, truly interdisciplinary, high-calibre research projects.

It is expected that research performed within SYMFONIA will constitute more than just using tools or data from one research field in order to develop another field, and it will contribute to the development of both fields in which the project is embedded. The stringent demands of the SYMFONIA scheme means there is usually a small number of applications. Under this edition, the NCN received 38 proposals, out of which 5 were selected. The proposed research brings together Humanities with Life Sciences and Life Sciences with Physical Sciences and Engineering.

The research team from Jagiellonian University led by prof. Jonathan Heddle will investigate the principles of protein structure formation. The discoveries of this research project may be used in the future to create nanoobjects which will allow for the delivery of drugs directly to the cell.

Dr hab. Agnieszka Surma will coordinate the efforts of a research team involving researchers from various Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences – the Institute of Organic Chemistry and the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry. The scientists will strive to build 3-D supramolecular frameworks which will facilitate the formation of protein crystals – necessary in the process of drug design.

Prof. Przemysław Urbańczyk from Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw will conduct research about the cultural and natural resources of the Polish section of Białowieża Forest. The researchers will employ new, non-invasive methods such as airborne laser scanning. Thanks to the cooperation of both archeologists and life scientists, we will be able to better understand the heritage of Białowieża Forest.

This research team brings together scientists from the University of Warsaw and Jagiellonian University and will be led by prof. Robert Moszyński. The researchers will work on developing methods of “photographing” chemical reactions on the scale of femtoseconds, i.e. one thousand of one million of one millionth of a second. The results of this research will facilitate more precise observations of the countless phenomena playing a role in chemical, bio-photonic and biological processes.

And last but not least – prof. Andrzej Cichocki together with scientists from Nicolaus Copernicus University, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing will seek to investigate the Electroencephalogram (EEG) signal and the way it represents the activity of specific parts of the brain. New analytical tools developed through their research may allow for more effective use of electroencephalography.

We would like to notify our applicants and grantees that on 11 May 2016, the Council of the National Science Centre introduced the Code of the National Science Centre on Research Integrity and Applying for Research Financing by way of Resolution No 39/2016. Pursuant to the Code, anyone aware of any fraud and/or abuse in projects financed by the NCN and proposals submitted to the NCN under its calls must report it to an NCN officer either directly at: rzetelnosc.naukowa@ncn.gov.pl or to any NCN officer at their business email address. 

Furthermore, pursuant to Order No 1/2023 of the NCN Director, a Research Integrity Committee has been established, comprising of prof. dr hab. Wojciech Dajczak as its Chair, Prof. Dr hab. Barbara Klajnert-Maculewicz, NCN Council Member, Dr Eng. Agnieszka Dobrowolska, Head of Project Monitoring Department, Dr inż. Ewelina Szymańska-Skolimowska, Scientific Coordinator and Jakub Michaluk, Legal Counsel. 

• Code of the National Science Centre on Research Integrity and Applying for Research Financing
• Order No 22/2016 of the NCN Director introducing an investigation procedure for breaches of the principles of research integrity
  • amendment of the Order (pursuant to Order No 9/2018 of the NCN Director)
• Order on the establishment of the Research Integrity Committee (former Committee for Research Integrity)
  • change of the name of the Committee (pursuant to Order No 13/2017 of the NCN Director) 
  • amendment of the Order (pursuant to Order No 2/2019 of the NCN Director) 
• Order No 1/2023 of the NCN Director appointing members of the Research Integrity Committee of the National Science Centre 

• Information on permits to perform testing on animals
• Council of the National Science Centre’s Recommendations for studies involving human participation 

The National Science Centre will allocate almost EUR 10 million for doctoral scholarships and post-doctoral internships for young researchers within recently concluded call for proposals ETIUDA 4 and FUGA 5. Out of 570 submitted proposals, 199 were granted funding.

ETIUDA is a funding opportunity for doctoral scholarships aimed at PhD students preparing a doctoral thesis. In addition to receiving financial support to the amount of EUR 700 monthly, awardees will obtain funding for the realisation of internships in excellent research institutions abroad, indicated in their proposals. In this year’s edition, funding of more than EUR 2.5 M was granted to 128 researchers.

FUGA is addressed to researchers with a doctoral degree obtained within 7 years of submission of the proposal, who want to carry out post-doctoral internships in Polish research Institutions. Each of the grantees will spend from one to three years in an institution located outside of the region (województwo) where they had been affiliated or employed. In addition to the monthly salary, the NCN will also cover the costs of the research conducted by awardees. For the 71 projects selected within this call for proposals, the NCN has allocated more than EUR 7.5 M.

- The main goal of the ETIUDA and FUGA funding opportunities is to increase the mobility of the Polish research community, in particular younger researchers - says prof. Zbigniew Błocki, the NCN director. - Encounters within a new scientific environment, other than the one where we gained our initial experience, are extremely valuable both for individual scientists, as well as for the Polish research community as a whole. The sooner you begin the process of establishing cooperation with other research centres, the greater the chance to create a large and diverse research team in the future. - Such teams are the essence of innovative research. However, moving to another city or country is an enormous financial and organisational effort. Our task is to help the most promising scientists at this difficult but crucial stage in their career development.

Within the ETIUDA funding scheme, the biggest award (over EUR 25 000 ) was granted to Jakub Zdarta from Poznan University of Technology, who conducts research on immobilisation – the process of binding of enzymes to an insoluble carrier which increases enzymes' resistance and their activity. In the field of Humanities, a big portion of funding, over EUR 24 000, went to Dominika Czerniawska-Szejdy from the University of Warsaw. In her research, she strives to describe how cooperation within the research community is initiated. Her interests also include the mobility of researchers. In the area of Life Sciences the biggest grant of ca. EUR 24 000 was awarded to Justyna Piłat from Wroclaw Medical University who will conduct research dedicated to an innovative method of cancer treatment.  

Within the FUGA funding scheme, one of the largest grants of ca. EUR 139 000 was awarded to dr Aleksandra Jaworska from the University of Warsaw, who investigates SERS spectroscopy – a technique which may help in early detection of gene mutations leading among others to the onset of melanoma and colorectal cancer. Among FUGA grantees, there is also dr Urszula Doboszewska from the University of Warsaw who will analyse the development and treatment of epilepsy. In the field of Humanities and Social Sciences, the biggest award of more than EUR 105 000 was obtained by dr Marta Marecka from Jagiellonian University who will look into the issue of foreign language acquisition.

We would like to invite researchers to submit proposals under ERA-CAPS call for proposals in all areas of molecular plant science.

Consortia for funding should consist of a minimum of three partners from three different countries. At least two of these must be ERA-CAPS partner countries contributing funding to the call. There is no upper limit on the number of partners.

ERA-CAPS partner countries:

Austria, Belgium*, France, Germany, Poland, Serbia, Switzerland*, United Kingdom, USA

(*Belgium and Switzerland do not participate in the data sub-call)

TIMETABLE:

• Due-date pre-proposals: 28 September 2016, 12.00 CET
• Invitation full proposals: 07 January 2017
• Due-date full proposals: 31 March 2017, 12.00 CET
• Results expected: autumn 2017
• Start selected research projects: spring 2018

Call documentation

Please see also NCN Eligibility Requirements: National Annex Poland -NCN- 3rd ERA-CAPS Call.

Please note:

1. On the full proposal stage Polish applicants must register their applications in the OSF submission system (UNISONO application, please see Annex to NCN Council’s Resolution no. 44/2016). This application includes the following budget table: http://ncn.gov.pl/sites/default/files/pliki/ERA-CAPS_budget_table.xlsx.

2. We strongly encourage all applicants to read information on eligible costs included in the Annex to NCN Council’s Resolution on funding granted within calls for proposals for international research projects (UNISONO, p. 6-13).

EURO exchange rate: 1 EUR = 4.3440 PLN

3. If one international project includes partners from two different Polish Host Institutions, these institutions must apply as a consortium (please see also UNISONO – p. 2: IV, § 8 and p. 9:  footnote 16). Each Host Institution comprising the consortium has a separate budget, but the limit on the remuneration, referred to in paragraph 2.1. of the above mentioned document, applies to the consortium as a whole.

   ---

Contact:

• dr Magdalena Kowalczyk, tel: + 48 12 341 9160
• dr Malwina Gębalska, tel: +48 12 341 9017

The National Science Centre together with the National Science Foundation (NSF), an American agency aiming to fund basic research, invites researchers to apply under the PIRE (Partnership for International Research and Education) funding opportunity.

Call documentation:

1. PIRE call announcement
2. Detailed information about PIRE
3. NCN Panels and NSF Program Areas
4. Eligibility criteria (UNISONO application)
5. Eligible costs and the UNISONO application form

Under this call for proposals, applicants may submit projects involving basic research in subject areas included in the NCN Panels and NSF Program Areas, i.e.: Biological Sciences, Computer Sciences, ICT and Engineering, Education and Human Resources, Environmental Research and Education, Geosciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences.

The proposal must be submitted by a project leader – a researcher affiliated in a U.S. academic institution, who can invite researchers for collaboration based in countries participating in the PIRE programme.

Researchers based in Polish Host Institutions should abide by the rules included in NCN Council Resolution no. 56/2016 (UNISONO).

A project's duration may be:  24, 36, 48 or 60 months.

Partners from other countries should follow the regulations specified by the appropriate funding institutions included in the PIRE call announcement.

The budget of the Polish part of the project should be calculated according to the NCN eligibility criteria. We strongly encourage applicants to read the information regarding remunerations in projects funded by the NCN (UNISONO, p. 2-5).  

The timetable for applications is:

• Deadline for submitting preliminary proposals: September 14 2016
• Shortlisted applicants to submit full proposals: April 24 2017

The budget for Polish research teams amounts to PLN 2 M.

At the full proposal stage, Polish applicants should submit the UNISONO application via the OSF submission system. The deadline is scheduled for the 25^th of April 2017.

We invite all researchers who plan to apply under the PIRE call for proposals to contact the NCN.

Contact:

dr Marcin Liana, tel. +48 12 341 9161

Anna Plater-Zyberk, tel. +48 12 341 9016

The National Science Center (NCN) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) will launch their second joint call for proposals within the funding initiative “Beethoven” on 15 September 2016. The submission deadline will be 15 December 2016.Following up on its successful first round, NCN and DFG are extending the funding initiative “Beethoven” to cover new disciplines, now inviting proposals in the Humanities, Social Sciences and selected disciplines of Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics.

The aims of the call are:

• to support research in the above-named disciplines carried out by Polish-German teams;
• to strengthen cooperation between Polish and German researchers in basic (knowledge-oriented) research.

Proposals for research projects in the above-named disciplines must be written in English and submitted by a joint Polish-German research team. The duration of the projects must be either 24 or 36 months. The proposals will undergo a joint evaluation by both external reviewers and members of an expert panel selected by NCN and DFG.

Further information will be made available on 15 September 2016.

Contact:

dr Małgorzata Jacobs

Tel. 12 341 9090

malgorzata.jacobs@ncn.gov.pl

Anna Plater-Zyberk

tel. 12 341 9016

anna.plater@ncn.gov.pl