The European Research Council has published a list of 328 recipients of the Consolidator Grant 2024, including Prof. Małgorzata Kot, archaeologist from the University of Warsaw and former winner of NCN grants.

“We are the only living human species on Earth but it has not always been this way. As recently as fifty or sixty thousand years ago, the Earth was inhabited by several different hominid populations,” Prof. Małgorzata Kot says in a video released by the University of Warsaw. “What happened to the other hominids, why are we left alone?” These questions will be addressed by Prof. Kot owing to the ERC grant. 

Prof. Małgorzata Kot is an archaeologist and recipient of two NCN grants. Her scientific interests include the Palaeolithic, human evolution, changes in stone tool production methods and the functions of caves in prehistory. With the ERC grant, she will pursue the project “INASIA: Were They Modern Humans? The Problem of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic in West Central Asia.” Research will continue through 2029. “Years of wonderful adventure are just beginning. We would like to be able to say to what extent it was contact with other hominid species that shaped us as modern humans and to what extent we contributed to their extinction,” she says.

Prof. Małgorzata Kot is an NCN grant winner. “My new project #INASIA would never be possible if not for those years of research that I spent in Central Asia owing to NCN grants. They laid the groundwork, allowed me to pursue pilot studies and gave me wings (the latter especially useful in the mountains). #NCNtotlen,” she said on X.

In this episode, we are joined by an NCN Council member, Prof. Krzysztof Fic, who is a researcher working at the Poznań University of Technology. An expert in energy storage and conversion, he tells us about his research and explains why we really need to invest in fundamental science.

Prof. Krzysztof Fic during the 2024 NCN Award ceremony Prof. Krzysztof Fic holds the degree of habilitated doctor in chemical sciences and works as a professor at the Poznań University of Technology, where his research interests centre on the electrochemical systems for energy conversion and storage. Prof. Fic is the winner of two ERC grants. At the NCN Council, he chairs the Committee for Physical Sciences and Engineering and serves on the Committee for International Cooperation. He agreed to sit down with Awnna Korzekwa-Józefowicz to talk about the impact of basic research on innovation, energy storage and energy sovereignty. He also explains how the NCN is preparing to create a new strategy that will let it tap some of the funds at the disposal of the Minister of National Defence.

Basic research as the root of innovation

Prof. Fic starts out by saying that “basic research has always been and always will be the root of innovation”, thus strongly emphasising the key importance of fundamental science for technological progress.

“The main problem is how to connect basic, fundamental research to applied research. But we need to say it loud and clear: there can be no good, fast innovation without what science has done at the fundamental level. Without basic research, applied research is just a technique of trial and error. It takes a lot of time and risks losing money if we don’t go deeper to understand the very essence of the phenomenon at hand.”

Prof. Fic stresses that even though the National Science Centre is a relatively young agency, the effects of its research can already be appreciated:

“Considering how long it takes to get research results, the findings of the first basic research projects funded by the NCN should be implemented at around this time, and, indeed, we know that this is happening. We are following publications, but we have also observed an increasing number of patent applications and patents arising from basic research projects funded by the NCN. We have long rescinded the policy that said projects funded by the NCN should involve non-applied research, even though that policy, I think, was rather misinterpreted, because that was not exactly what it meant to do. Today, the NCN has no problem with foundational research that may find an application in a near or more distant future.”

Social awareness

The conversation also touches on social awareness and science outreach. “In the current geopolitical situation, when we all feel threatened, by Russia for example, we know why we need to spend on national defence. People accept that because they understand the threat. However, there is only scarce information on research findings, or how scientists work, and what their work can do in the future… I try to speak at different events and explain what I do, what my job looks like, how energy is stored, why no two batteries are equal, what we can or cannot do, and how to charge a battery correctly. Reaching out to an average person in a language they understand and find persuasive builds trust in scientists.

Energy storage and energy sovereignty

A key theme in this episode is energy. Prof. Fic points out that society is used to energy being available and talks about its storage and the challenges it presents. “We are very used to easily available energy. But we need to say one thing: if we want to be a society that continues to grow, we also need to achieve energy security. Today, we already have a lot of technologies that allow us to get energy from renewable resources, such as photovoltaics, which can convert solar energy to electricity, but the problem is it only works during the day. I can’t even imagine a scenario in which Warsaw falls into darkness, because everyone in the city decides to rely on photovoltaics. We need a way to store energy.”

The professor emphasises that Polish energy storage solutions have considerable potential: “We don’t have energy independence right now, but we need to start working to make sure that the energy storage technologies we are developing can address the needs of Polish society. Polish solutions, especially storage cells or batteries, are widely used all over the world. For many reasons, I can’t say exactly which, but I need to emphasise we have substantial knowledge in this area. In the current geopolitical situation, these storage methods may prove crucial for critical infrastructure, e.g. to ensure energy supplies for hospitals, emergency power systems, all sorts of server rooms, which may be critical for our safety. We need things that are even more reliable and can work even longer, or use materials that have a much lower environmental impact.”

In the final section of the podcast, the winner of ERC’s Starting and Proof of Concept grants shares his tips on how to get ready to apply for ERC grants.

You can find us on Spotify (automatic podcast transcript), Apple Podcast, and YouTube.

Two international research projects that include Polish researchers have won funding under the 2023 CHIST-ERA Call. The Polish researchers in question will be working in Poznań, with a total budget of nearly 1.3 million zlotys.

The call was launched in January this year by the CHIST-ERA (Information and Communication Science and Technologies) network, which supports research in information and communication technologies. It encompassed two research themes: Multidimensional Geographic Information Systems (MultiGIS) and Smart Contracts for Digital Transformation Ecosystems (SmartC).

The call was open to research consortia composed of at least three research teams from at least three and at most six (out of twenty) participating countries, which could submit projects planned over 24 or 36 months. Their joint proposals were evaluated by an international expert team appointed jointly by the research-funding agencies involved.

The CHIST-ERA network selected 9 projects in total: 7 in the MultiGIS area and 2 in the SmartC area.

Two projects involving Polish researchers:

• Wielowymiarowa analiza danych w zarządzaniu ekosystemami rzecznymi z wykorzystaniem automatycznych narzędzi wielkoskalowych [Multidimensional Data Analysis for the Management of River Ecosystems Through Multiscale Automatic Tools], PI of the Polish team: Dr hab. Piotr Matczak, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, grant: PLN 466,078. Abstract.
• GIS4IoRT: Projekt warstwy oprogramowania o funkcjonalności plug-and-play dla celów integracji danych z robotycznych sensorów z narzędziami GIS w architekturze chmurowej [Development of a Plug-and-Play Middleware for Integrating Robot Sensor Data with GIS Tools in a Cloud Environment], PI of the Polish team: Dr hab. inż. Robert Wrembel, Poznań University of Technology, grant: PLN 810,080. Abstract.

Ranking list

The National Science Centre joined the CHIST-ERA (European Coordinated Research on Long-term Challenges in Information and Communication Sciences & Technologies) network in 2013. To date, in all the calls it has been involved in, funding has been awarded to 25 projects with Polish researchers, including six in which the Polish team has served as the leader of the consortium.

PM Donald Tusk announced earlier today that the National Science Centre will receive an additional 500 million zlotys in bonds. The announcement was made during an awards ceremony for the winners of the Prime Minister’s Awards for research achievements.

“The future of our world and PM Donald Tusk meeting the winners of the Prime Minister s 2023 Award for Scientific Achievements, 29, November 2024. Photo: Prime Minister s Office the values on which it is founded, the future of the West in a broad sense as a political entity and civilization, will depend on whether we will be able to keep Europe, including Poland, at the peak of creativity, innovation, knowledge and science”, said Polish PM Donald Tusk during the event, which took place in Warsaw.

“We need to close the very large gap between us and other centres of science and civilization such as the United States and China. Europe, which at least some of us still remember as unrivalled in this respect, now needs to catch up with the rest of the world and your role here is absolutely crucial, no matter your field”, he added.

He also talked briefly about the 2025 state budget underway. “The resources of the Cabinet of Ministers include bonds, money...at the sole disposal of the Prime Minister, so we also decided to add an extra 500 million zlotys in bonds to the budget money slated for the National Science Centre, especially for the purpose of scholarships,”, he continued.

“This is a lot of money, but I know that when you divide it by the number of days, months, and interested parties, the sum will always be a little short. But I would like you to treat it as a token that at least I personally don’t need any convincing that in this big race, which is also a race for the security of Poland and the security of Europe, your efforts, your work, your thinking will be of absolutely crucial importance.”

Winners of 2024 Prime Minister's Awards

After the ceremony, the Minister of Finance Andrzej Domański wrote on X:

“Each zloty invested in research and innovation generates between 4 and 7 zlotys of return in the economy at large. Today, PM Donald Tusk has awarded an extra 0.5 billion zlotys to the National Science Centre, which supports key basic research activity. We need to build an innovative economy and create new drivers of economic growth in Poland.”

Scientists analysed hundreds of pieces of fossilised digestive material to reconstruct the diet of the dinosaurs. Their findings, based on research funded in part by the #NCN, were published by “Nature” on 27 November.

An international research team Bromaliths of herbivorous dinosaurs (photo: Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki) analysed hundreds of pieces of fossilised digestive material, called bromalites, to reconstruct what dinosaurs ate and how their diet changed. Using various research tools, they looked at nearly 500 fossilised pieces of poo and vomit, sampled from the southern edge of the Polish Basin, the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, and Silesia. On 27 November, their findings were published in “Nature”.

The fossils reveal that the rise of the dinosaurs, over millions of years in the Triassic period, was influenced by factors such as climate change and other species’ extinction.

Entitled Digestive contents and food webs record the advent of dinosaur supremacy, the article was authored by Martin Qvarnström (corresponding author), Joel Vikberg Wernström, Zuzanna Wawrzyniak, Maria Barbacka, Grzegorz Pacyna, Artur Górecki, Jadwiga Ziaja, Agata Jarzynka, Krzysztof Owocki, Tomasz Sulej, Leszek Marynowski, Grzegorz Pieńkowski, Per E. Ahlberg and Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki.

The research projects that led to the publication, headed by PIs Maria Barbacka. Grzegorz Pieńkowski, and Zuzanna Wawrzyniak, were funded partly by the NCN,

Abstract for the general public:

Fossilised poo and vomit show how dinosaurs rose to rule Earth

SONATA BIS 14 and MAESTRO 16 interview dates 

Dates have been released for interviews in the calls launched on 17 June 2024. The results of the first stage of merit-based evaluation under MAESTRO 16 and SONATA BIS 14 will be published in the second half of December.

Principal investigators in projects recommended for the second stage of evaluation will be interviewed according to the following schedule:

MAESTRO 16

• Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (HS): 7 February 2025  
• Life Sciences (NZ): 4-6 February 2025
• Physical Sciences and Engineering (ST): 5 and 6 February 2025  

SONATA BIS 14

• Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (HS): 5-7 February 2025
• Life Sciences (NZ): 4-6 February 2025
• Physical Sciences and Engineering (ST): 4 and 6 February 2025 

Principal investigators will be interviewed in English. Researchers recommended for the second stage of evaluation will be notified of the interviews 14 days in advance at the latest. Interviews will be held at the premises of the National Science Centre in Krakow and although principal investigators are required to participate in person, in exceptional and well-justified cases interviews may be held via available telecommunication tools. Failure to attend the interview will be regarded as a resignation from applying for funding. The cost of travel to and accommodation in Krakow will not be reimbursed.

On 27 November, join us for a meeting with Błażej Skrzypulec, a philosopher from the Jagiellonian University and winner of the 2024 NCN Award for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, who will give a talk in a series organised by the NCN and the Copernicus Center.

Dr hab. Błażej Skrzypulec, professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Jagiellonian University, specialises in the philosophy of perception, and in particular, the structural aspects of sensory experience, non-visual perceptual modalities and multimodal perception. He won this year’s NCN Award for his work on the structural aspects of perceptual experience.

Next Wednesday, he will talk about his research in the “Science in the Center” series, organized by the Copernicus Center and the NCN. His lecture will start at 6 pm and will be livestreamed on the YouTube channel of the Copernicus Center. Viewers are encouraged to ask questions in the chat window!

This is how Błażej Skrzypulec describes the subject of his talk:

Intuitively, it seems like our senses present things as situated in space. For example, I can see that the mug is to my left, I can hear a voice coming from a close distance, I can feel something touch a spot near my left wrist. However, the matter becomes less straightforward when we think of our sense of smell. Does it really present smells as located in space, standing in spatial relations, or having spatial properties such as shapes and dimensions?

Some authors argue that, at most, it presents smells as being “here” or “outside”. Others, however, maintain that what we experience are “smellscapes”, or spatially ordered clouds of chemical substances. In my lecture, I will talk about the spatial nature of smell, addressing contemporary philosophical conceptions and available empirical data on the smell modality. In particular, I will present the principal models of the spatiality of smell, discussing the arguments in their favour, the assumptions they require and the consequences they entail for our understanding of the sense of smell.