The winners of the fourth edition of the university’s Secundus competition have been announced. One hundred young researchers from Wrocław Tech boasting the highest total points for their published work were recognised in thirteen categories corresponding with various fields of science.
Articles published in 2022 in scientific journals, peer-reviewed materials for international scientific conferences, as well as scientific monographs are considered. Special distinctions and prizes of 10,000 PLN were awarded to thirteen first-place researchers in different scientific disciplines, with the remaining winners being awarded 5,000 PLN each.
For the fourth time, the main winner of the programme was Andrzej Żak, PhD, Eng. (twice for materials engineering and twice for mechanical engineering). In turn, for the third time, Jan Zaręba, PhD, Eng. (chemical sciences) won first place in his discipline.
Full list of awardees for 2022 »
Below we present in more detail the achievements of the thirteen representatives of the scientific disciplines delivered at our university who achieved the best results in the fourth edition of the Secundus programme.
TECHNICAL INFORMATICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Jan Kocoń, PhD, Eng.
Department of Artificial Intelligence
Faculty of Information Technology and Telecommunications
"I’m concerned with the development of artificial intelligence methods in the field of natural language processing. Currently, most of my work focuses on the development of personalised models based on deep neural networks for subjective tasks, such as recognising emotions, offence, humour, overtones, etc. in text.
This research leads to the targeting of artificial intelligence methods to the needs of a specific individual while allowing for the individual characteristics of a person and the context in which the text is evaluated the decision-making process. This work also has practical applications, as the CLARIN-PL project has produced services based on the models developed, which are used by researchers in the humanities and social sciences, as well as by companies involved in areas including media monitoring."
Selected published works:
- Kocoń, J., Figas, A., Gruza, M., Puchalska, D., Kajdanowicz, T., & Kazienko, P. (2021). Offensive, aggressive, and hate speech analysis: From data-centric to human-centered approach. Information Processing & Management, 58(5), 102643. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306457321001333
- Kocoń, J., Gruza, M., Bielaniewicz, J., Grimling, D., Kanclerz, K., Miłkowski, P., & Kazienko, P. (2021). Learning Personal Human Biases and Representations for Subjective Tasks in Natural Language Processing. In 2021 IEEE International Conference on Data Mining (ICDM) (pp. 1168-1173). IEEE. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9679002
- Kocoń, J., & Maziarz, M. (2021). Mapping WordNet onto human brain connectome in emotion processing and semantic similarity recognition. Information Processing & Management, 58(3), 102530. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306457321000388
ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING
Jerzy Łątka, PhD, Eng, Arch.
Department of Architecture and Visual Arts
Faculty of Architecture
“I’m concerned with the possibilities of using paper in architecture as an innovative and environmentally friendly building material. Moreover, my research interests include relief, temporary, residential, and community architecture. Also, I supervise the Humanising the Urban Environment Scientific Society and the E-1 Format journal. Learning by designing and prototyping in an interdisciplinary team is, in my view, the best way to do R&D. And it’s complemented by the implementation-related potential or impact on the social environment.”
Selected published works:
- Łątka J. F., Jasiołek A. A., Karolak A., Niewiadomski P., Noszczyk P., Klimek A., Zielińska S., Misiurka S. D, Jezierska D. G. Properties of paper-based products as a building material in architecture: an interdisciplinary review. Journal of Building
Engineering. 2022, vol. 50, art. 104135, s. 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2022.104135 - Ban S., Łątka J. F., Trammer H., Harano Y., Jörgen A., Pawłosik D., Abramczyk W. Aid architecture: implementation of the Paper Partition System and Styrofoam Housing System in the context of the war in Ukraine. Housing Environment. 2022, nr 41, s. 27-38. https://housingenvironment.edu.pl/images/Nr%2041/HE_41_3_%C5%81%C4%85tka_31-01-2023.pdf
- Łątka J. F. Paper in architecture: research by design, engineering and prototyping. Delft: TU Delft
Open, 2017. 532 s. (A+BE, ISSN 2212-3202; 19) https://doi.org/10.7480/abe.2017.19.1875
AUTOMATION, ELECTRONICS, ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY
Łukasz Sterczewski, PhD, Eng.
Department of Field Theory, Electronic Circuits and Optoelectronics
Faculty of Electronics, Photonics and Microsystems
“The focus of my research is new laser spectroscopy sources and techniques. I aim to achieve uncompromising miniaturisation of complex and bulky optical instruments so that they can be used to detect hazardous substances in air and pharmaceuticals. My dream is to use such devices to search in space for raw materials that are starting to become scarce on Earth.”
Selected published works:- Sterczewski L. A., Fradet M., Frez C., Forouhar S., Bagheri M., Battery-operated mid-infrared diode laser frequency combs, Laser & Photonics Reviews 17, 2200224 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/lpor.202200224
- Sterczewski L. A., Sotor J., Two-photon imaging of soliton dynamics, ArXiv:2210.09966 (2022) [artykuł w recenzji]. http://arxiv.org/pdf/2210.09966
- Sterczewski L. A., Chen T.-L., Ober D. C., Markus C. R., Canedy C. L., Vurgaftman I., Frez C., Meyer J. R., Okumura M., Bagheri M., "Cavity-enhanced Vernier spectroscopy with a chip-scale mid-infrared frequency comb," ACS Photonics 9, 994–1001 (2022) https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsphotonics.1c01849
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
Joanna Przeździecka-Dołyk, MD, PhD
Department of Optics and Photonics
Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology
“In my professional work, whether academic or practical, the most important thing is the encounter with the other person. Whether dealing with the progression of myopia, the selection of rigid contact lenses, macular disorders, or diagnostic imaging, I look at things not only from the angle of the work or research I do but also from the angle of the person who needs to be helped. It’s the desire to help that becomes the driving force for further scientific activity, and in this respect, I’m guided by the views expressed by Dr Władysław Biegański and his contemporaries: Medicine is a relatively young field of science but at the same time one of the oldest practised arts.”
Selected published works:- Przeździecka-Dołyk J., Wałek E.*, Jóźwik A. K., Helemejko I.*, Asejczyk-Widlicka M., Misiuk-Hojło M.*, "Short-time changes of intraocular pressure and biomechanics of the anterior segment of the eye during water drinking test in patients with XEN GelStent". Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2022, vol. 11, nr 1, art. 175, s. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11010175
- Jóźwik A. K., Przeździecka-Dołyk J., Wałek E.*, Czerniak M., Asejczyk M., "Corneal behavior during tonometer measurement during the water drinking test in eyes withXEN GelStent in comparison to non-implanted eyes". Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2022, vol. 11, nr 11, art. 2962, s. , 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11112962
- Kosmaczewska A.*, Przeździecka-Dołyk J., Turno-Kręcicka A.*, Ciszak L.*, Szteblich A.*, Węgrzyn A.*, Frydecka I.*, Misiuk-Hojło M.,* "Imbalance in PB IL-17-secreting and regulatory cells in pars planitis is associated with dysregulation of IFN-γ-secreting cells, especially in patients with clinical complications". Mediators of Inflammation. 2020, vol. 2020, art. 9175083, s. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/9175083
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Daria Podstawczyk, PhD, Eng.
Department of Process Engineering and Polymer and Carbon Materials Technology
Faculty of Chemistry
“The topics of the research I do are related to two areas: water treatment and 3D printing. As far as the first area is concerned, I’m researching the use of integrated membrane processes for the recovery of water and raw materials from municipal and industrial wastewater. These activities are part of the circular economy trend. As for the other area, i.e. 3D fabrication, I’ve been involved in it since 2017, focusing primarily on the design and synthesis of functional materials and biomaterials for direct ink writing (DIW), as well as developing multi-material 4D printing and bio-printing. I synthesise printable hydrogels with unique properties, e.g. the ability to produce oxygen or respond to stimuli, as well as ones that could be used in biomedicine.”
Selected published works:- Czuba K., Pacyna-Iwanicka K., Bastrzyk A., Kabsch-Korbutowicz M., Dawiec-Liśniewska A., Chrobot P., Shavandi A., Podstawczyk D. "Towards the circular economy - sustainable fouling mitigation strategies in ultrafiltration of secondary effluent". Desalination (2022) 532, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2022.115731
- Podstawczyk D., Nizioł M., Szymczyk-Ziółkowska P., Fiedot-Toboła M. "Development of thermoinks for 4D direct printing of temperature-induced self-rolling hydrogel actuators". Advanced Functional Materials (2021), 31, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202009664
- Podstawczyk D., Nizioł M., Szymczyk P., Wiśniewski P., Guiseppi-Elie A., "3D printed stimuli-responsive magnetic nanoparticle embedded alginate-methylcellulose hydrogel actuators". Additive Manufacturing (2020) 34, 1-12. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2020.101275
CIVIL ENGINEERING, GEODESY AND TRANSPORT
Sławomir Czarnecki, PhD, Eng.
Department of Building Materials and Processes Engineering
Faculty of Civil Engineering
“Assessing the mechanical properties of building composites using both destructive and non- destructive methods is the main scientific topic I deal with daily. I use various machine-learning techniques to model these properties. In addition, I’m also interested in tribological phenomena occurring on the surface of cement composites and their metrology.”
Selected published works:
- Czarnecki S., Shariq M., Nikoo M., Sadowski Ł. An intelligent model for the prediction of the compressive strength of cementitious composites with ground granulated blast furnace slag based on ultrasonic pulse velocity measurements. Measurement (London). 2021, vol. 172, art. 108951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2020.108951
- Czarnecki S., Sadowski Ł., Hoła J., “Evaluation of interlayer bonding in layered composites based on non-destructive measurements and machine learning: comparative analysis of selected learning algorithms”, Automation in Construction. 2021, vol. 132, art. 103977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2021.103977
- Czarnecki S., Hadzima-Nyarko M.*, Chajec A. J., Sadowski Ł. "Design of a machine learning model for the precise manufacturing of green cementitious composites modified with waste granite powder". Scientific Reports. 2022, vol. 12, nr 1, art. 13242, s. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17670-6
MATERIAL ENGINEERING
Andrzej Żak, PhD, Eng.
Institute of Advanced Materials
Faculty of Chemistry
“My work concerns electron microscopy, and I specialize in dynamic microscopy methods, i.e performing experiments directly during observation. This usually means the need to build dedicated apparatus. My favourite subject is examinations performed in conditions involving simultaneous electron-beam and light action, as well as the microscopy of liquid samples, usually unstable in the high vacuum of the microscope environment. When working with these methods, I’m trying to make them more available to my colleagues.”
Selected published works:
- Żak A., Light-Induced In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy─Development, Challenges, and Perspectives, Nano Letters, 2022, vol 23, s. 9219–9226. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c03669
- Szczepański Ł., Bambach M., Żak A. In Situ and Ex Situ TEM analysis of the copper precipitation in martensitic steel. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions. A. Physical Metallurgy and Materials Science. 2022, vol. 53, s. 1145-1149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-021-06561-6
- Żak A., Kaczmarczyk O., Piksa M., Grzęda J., Matczyszyn K., Fiber-optic sample illuminator design for the observation of light induced phenomena with transmission electron microscopy in situ: Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy. Ultramicroscopy. 2021, vol. 230, art. 113388, s. 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2021.113388
Patrycja Szymczyk-Ziółkowska, PhD, Eng.
Department of Laser Technology, Automation and Organisation of Production
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
“My research interests are related to the use of additive manufacturing technologies for medical applications. These include designing, producing, and testing advanced biomedical objects, such as biomechanical functional structures (BFSs) that support tissue regeneration, personalised implants, and drug matrices and carriers, for a wide range of materials dedicated to the medical and pharmaceutical industries. I also specialise in the preparation and microscopic (SEM) examination of biological materials and the functional analysis of biomedical structures.”
Selected published works:- Szymczyk-Ziółkowska P., Ziółkowski G., Hoppe V., Rusińska M., Kobiela K., Madeja M., Dziedzic R., Junka A., Detyna J. Improved quality and functional properties of Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy for personalized orthopedic implants fabrication with EBM process/ Journal of Manufacturing Processes. 2022, 76, pp. 175-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmapro.2022.02.011
- Szymczyk-Ziółkowska P., Hoppe V., Gąsiorek J., Rusińska M., Kęszycki D., Szczepański Ł., Wicher-Dudek R., Detyna J. Corrosion resistance characteristics of a Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy fabricated by electron beam melting after the applied post-process treatment / Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, 2021, 41(4), pp. 1575-1588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbe.2021.10.002
- Szymczyk P., Hoppe V., Ziółkowski G., Smolnicki M., Madeja M. The effect of geometry on mechanical properties of Ti6Al4V ELI scaffolds manufactured using additive manufacturing technology/Archives of Civil and Mechanical Engineering. 2020, vol. 20, art. 11, s. 1-13, 14 rys., 4 tab., bibliogr. 43 poz. ISSN: 1644-9665; 2083-3318. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43452-020-0011-y
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, MINING, AND POWER ENGINEERING
Jakub Jurasz, PhD, Eng.
Department of Water Supply and Sewage Systems
Faculty of Environmental Engineering
“My current research focuses on the spatiotemporal variability of renewable energy sources, with a particular focus on the occurrence of extreme phenomena such as energy droughts. I’m working In cooperation with the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW-PIB) on a contemporary digital atlas of small-scale wind energy so that decision-makers can analyse the wind energy resources in the location of their interest. I devote my spare time to literature research into the water-food-energy link in the context of the Republican and Imperial periods of ancient Rome.
Selected published works:
- Jurasz, J., Guezgouz, M., Campana, P. E., & Kies, A. (2022). On the impact of load profile data on the optimization results of off-grid energy systems. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 159, 112199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112199
- Jurasz, J., & Beluco, A. (Eds.). (2022). Complementarity of Variable Renewable Energy Sources. Academic Press. https://www.elsevier.com/books/complementarity-of-variable-renewable-energy-sources/jurasz/978-0-323-85527-3
- Jurasz, J., Canales, F. A., Kies, A., Guezgouz, M., & Beluco, A. (2020). A review on the complementarity of renewable energy sources: Concept, metrics, application and future research directions. Solar Energy, 195, 703-724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2019.11.087
MATHEMATICS
Marek Skarupski, PhD, Eng.
Department of Applied Mathematics
Faculty of Mathematics
“My research work concerns operational studies of the optimal stopping of stochastic processes and applications of statistical methods in other sciences. My current focus is on Bayesian methods applied in the theory of reliability, Crow-AMSAA models in particular. Since 2022, I’ve been doing a postdoctoral fellowship at Eindhoven University of Technology in collaboration with ASML.”
Selected published works:
- Markulak R., Skarupski M. Modeling of the process of technological breakdown. Mathematica Applicanda 2021-03-30, http://dx.doi.org/10.14708/ma.v48i2.7070
- Skarupski M. Secretary Problem with Possible Errors in Observation. Mathematics, 2020-09-23. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/math8101639
- Skarupski M. Full-information best choice game with hint. Mathematical Methods of Operations Research, 2019-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00186-019-00666-w
CHEMICAL SCIENCES
Jan Zaręba, PhD, Eng.
Institute of Advanced Materials
Faculty of Chemistry
“The topics of my research focus on the characterisation of nonlinear-optic pigments, i.e. microcrystalline solids that exhibit nonlinear effects such as two-photon absorption or generation of radiation harmonics. In particular, I’m concerned with revealing the relationship between structure and nonlinear optical properties of coordination polymers, hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites, and supramolecular networks.
This research is a signpost in the search for new materials that are useful for nonlinear-optical temperature and pressure measurements and capable of switching the nonlinear response under the influence of various external stimuli.”
Selected published works:
- Burger S., Hemmer K. Mayer D. C., Vervoorts P., Daisenberger D., Zaręba J. K., Kieslich G. Designing Geometric Degrees of Freedom in ReO3-Type Coordination Polymers, Adv. Funct. Mater. 2022, 44, 2205343. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adfm.202205343
- Zaręba J. K., Nyk M., Samoć M. Nonlinear Optical Properties of Emerging Nano‐and Microcrystalline Materials, Adv. Opt. Materials, 2021, 9, 2100216. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adom.202100216
- Mączka M., Zaręba J. K., Gągor A.,Stefańska D., Ptak M., Roleder K., Kajewski D., Soszyński A., Fedoruk K., Sieradzki A. [Methylhydrazinium] 2 PbBr 4 , a Ferroelectric Hybrid Organic–Inorganic Perovskite with Multiple Nonlinear Optical Outputs, Chem. Mater. 2021, 33, 2331–2342. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.chemmater.0c04440
PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Szymon Zelewski, PhD, Eng.
Department of Semiconductor Materials
Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology
“My research interests revolve around the study of the optical and transport-related properties of new materials for optoelectronic applications such as hybrid halide perovskites, organic semiconductors, and layered crystals. I conduct experimental work using a set of unique photothermal methods that combine optical spectroscopy and solid-state heat transport and basic research to find a wide range of applications in areas including sensors or medical imaging.
The results help us better understand the factors that limit the performance of next-generation light-emitting diodes while setting directions that contribute to their improvement.
Selected published works:
- Zelewski S. J., Nawrot K. C., Żak A., Gładysiewicz M., Nyk M., Kudrawiec R. Exciton Binding Energy of Two-Dimensional Highly Luminescent Colloidal Nanostructures Determined from Combined Optical and Photoacoustic Spectroscopies, J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2019, 10, 12, 3459–3464. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.9b00591
- Zelewski S. J., Zhou Z., Li F., Kang X., Meng Y., Ho J. C., Kudrawiec R. Optical Properties of In 2x Ga 2–2x O 3 Nanowires Revealed by Photoacoustic Spectroscopy, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2019, 11, 21, 19260–19266. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.9b00756
- Budniak A. K., Zelewski S. J., Birowska M., Woźniak T., Bendikov T., Kauffmann Y., Amouyal Y., Kudrawiec R., Lifshitz E. Spectroscopy and Structural Investigation of Iron Phosphorus Trisulfide—FePS 3 , Adv. Opt. Materials 2022, 10, 7, 2102489. https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202102489
MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY SCIENCES
Dimitrios Georgios Sotiros, PhD
Department of Operations Research and Business Intelligence
Faculty of Management
My scientific interests are mainly related to performance measurement. I primarily aim to strengthen the theoretical foundations of this area and to develop new application-driven multifaceted decision-making methods that can support policy makers.
Selected published works:
- Sotiros D., Rodrigues V., Silva M. C. (2022) Analysing the export potentials of the Portuguese footwear industry by data envelopment analysis, Omega, Vol. 108, 102560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omega.2021.102560
- Koronakos G., Sotiros D., Despotis D. K., Kritikos M. N. (2022) Fair efficiency decomposition in network DEA: A compromise programming approach, Socio- Economic Planning Sciences, Vol. 79, 101100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2021.101100
- Nitka W., Serafin T., Sotiros D. (2021) Forecasting Electricity Prices: Autoregressive Hybrid Nearest Neighbors (ARHNN) Method. In: Paszynski, M., Kranzlmüller, D., Krzhizhanovskaya, V.V., Dongarra, J.J., Sloot, P.M. (eds) Computational Science – ICCS 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 12745, pp. 312–325, Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77970-2_24