Projects

11 06 2025

The Kilowatt Dilemma. Surprising connections between your bank, global trade, and the future of the planet

Marta Du Vall Projects, Research, Science

Imagine a nation on a growth path. Factories are opening, families are buying their first refrigerators, and cities are shining brighter every night. This is a picture of progress. However, behind it lies a crucial question: can a country lift its citizens out of poverty without simultaneously plunging the planet into an even deeper climate crisis? This fundamental tension between economic development and energy consumption defines one of the greatest challenges of our time, especially for emerging economies aspiring to the prosperity long enjoyed by developed countries.

At the heart of this challenge lies a concept that, although technical, is extremely intuitive: “energy intensity.” Think of it as a country’s “energy mileage.” How much gross domestic product – that is, economic value – can it generate from each unit of energy consumed? A country with low energy intensity is like a car with low fuel consumption; it can travel further on less fuel. For emerging economies, improving this “mileage” is essential for achieving sustainable growth as it allows for development without a proportional increase in emissions and environmental burden.

The race is on to find levers that can reduce this energy intensity. While engineers work on more efficient turbines and solar panels, Dr. Syed Anees Haider Zaidi at the University of Warsaw is looking for answers in much more surprising places: in a local bank branch and in a global shipping container. What if access to credit or the flow of international goods holds the key to our energy future? It is this innovative perspective that drives research that could redefine our approach to climate policy and economic development.

Source: Dr. Syed Anees Haider Zaidi’s private archive

Dr. Syed Anees Haider Zaidi is a researcher whose career is a testament to dedication and deep expertise. His credentials are not merely a list of achievements, but proof of his commitment to solving complex problems. He obtained his doctorate in management science and engineering in 2020 from the School of Management and Economics at the Beijing Institute of Technology in China, and his impressive output includes 46 manuscripts published in highly regarded and influential scientific journals.

Dr. Zaidi is the principal investigator in the POLONEZ BIS project “The Impact of Globalization and Financial Inclusion on Energy Intensity” which aims to provide policymakers with valuable information to help them design effective strategies for a sustainable energy transition. Zaidi seeks to answer how financial and trade policies can become an unexpected but powerful tool in the fight against climate change.

Dr. Zaidi’s research explores two powerful yet seemingly unrelated mechanisms that shape the modern world: access to financial services and the global flow of goods and capital. His hypothesis is that the intersection of these two forces holds the key answers regarding nations’ energy efficiency.

Source: Dr. Syed Anees Haider Zaidi’s private archive

Dr. Syed Anees Haider Zaidi’s work delivers a fundamental message: solving the energy and climate crisis requires a holistic approach. We must look beyond factory chimneys and solar panels, to the economic and financial systems that shape our choices. Sustainable energy policy must be integrated with strategies for financial inclusion and intelligent globalization. His research shows that a loan for energy-efficient equipment in a small village or a trade agreement promoting the transfer of clean technologies can be as important for the future of the climate as building a new wind farm.

In our conversation, the researcher highlighted several specific advantages of the Polish academic environment that proved crucial for his project. These insights offer a unique perspective on how international scientific mobility drives progress. Firstly, he noted better access to key econometric tools and databases compared to his home country. Simply put, it’s like giving an astronomer a more powerful telescope. Access to advanced software and comprehensive, international datasets allows him to conduct more advanced and precise analyses, which translates into greater credibility and depth of his results. Secondly, the research culture in Poland, with its emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, proved to be a huge asset. As Dr. Zaidi says, an environment where economists, sociologists, and energy policy experts can freely exchange ideas helped him refine his methods and, as he states, added “depth and rigor” to his work. Finally, the strong emphasis on sustainable development policy regulated by the European Union created a unique context for his research. Conducting analyses in an ecosystem where these issues are not just academic but are at the center of real political action gives his work additional weight and urgency. This means that his theoretical models are confronted with one of the world’s most advanced regulatory systems in the field of sustainable development, making his conclusions more robust and globally applicable.

Dr. Zaidi’s experience in Poland extends far beyond the walls of the laboratory and library. His time in Warsaw was also an opportunity for personal and cultural enrichment. He enthusiastically explored the city’s rich historical and cultural heritage, including iconic sites such as the Old Town, the Royal Castle, and Łazienki Królewskie. His travels across Poland took him to Krakow, Łódź, and Ostróda. This shows that the life of a scientist is more than just data and publications; it is also about building bridges between cultures and drawing inspiration from the surrounding world.

09 19 2025

Beyond Objectivity: How Justice and Equity can Rebuild Trust in Science

Anna Majorek Projects, Research, Science

In an era of increasing public skepticism, is the answer simply to demand more trust in science? Philosopher of medicine Dr. Elena Popa argues for a different approach: Science must first become more trustworthy by acknowledging the central role that values like justice and equity play in its decision-making.

Dr. Elena Popa is a philosopher of science specializing in the philosophy of medicine. Her current project examines the connection between public trust in science and the ethical aspects of scientific decision-making, studying specific reference cases in public health. In her research, she draws on earlier debates of whether decisions by scientists regarding the scientific method are influenced by considerations that are not strictly scientific claims, but rather political, ethical or social ones. She argues that scientists are not immune to being influenced in this manner, prompting discussion around and going against more traditional framings of science as the pursuit of truth independent from these kinds of considerations.

Dr. Popa kayaking down the Vistula River

Through her project and research, she aims to show that values such as justice and equity are central to public health decision-making because they enable the key aspect of trust. Trust is particularly relevant to the success of public health because achieving the goals of public health requires collaboration and feedback between scientists, the public, and policy makers, all interacting with each other and influencing how we research, discuss, and follow medical interventions and recommendations. She argues against calls for increasing the public’s blind trust in science and instead advocates for dialogue around whether current practices within science are trustworthy. For trustworthy public health, concerns about justice are central because social justice is one of the most important drivers of overall health outcomes, as shown, among others, by work on population health.

So far, Dr. Popa has published three papers related to this project. Values in Public Health: An Argument from Trust is the centerpiece of the project and gives a detailed version of the argument presented above. In the same paper, she also analyzes public health interventions connected to cardiovascular disease prevention through the lens of justice requirements. She has presented her findings and research at multiple conferences around the world, such as conferences on trust in science in Dublin, philosophy of medicine in Bologna, as well as general philosophy of science in Jeju, at the Korean Society for Philosophy of Science).

Just Pluralism: Thinking about Concepts of Mental Disorder in Global Context looks at research on health justice and epistemic justice, drawing lessons in the research of choosing psychiatric beliefs and corresponding interventions while keeping in mind cultural and social variation. She has discussed ideas stemming from this paper at conferences on philosophy of psychiatry in Granada, philosophy of medicine in London, and general philosophy of science in Bergen. Her paper Loneliness as Cause uses contributions from the philosophy of causation as well as philosophical conceptualizations of loneliness to spell out the ways in which it impacts health negatively, seeking to contribute to a better understanding of these patterns for public health uses. For those interested in learning more about her work, Dr. Popa has recorded a wonderful podcast on conceptualizing loneliness as a public health problem.

Dr. Popa presenting her findings

Additionally, Dr. Popa discusses her findings in several upcoming book chapters. In ‘Challenges Facing the Physiologists and the Scientific Enterprise in a Post-truth World,’ a volume for physiologists and biomedical scientists, she explores whether social constructionist views on science lead to ‘post-truth’ politics and its negative effects on trust in science. She draws a negative conclusion, pointing instead to deeper social dynamics, some internal to science, as the culprit of warranted distrust. Thus, she concludes that restoring trust requires drawing from some of these deeper effects to highlight power structures and how they affect knowledge production and ensuring equitable access to the products of science. She ends the chapter bringing attention to this conclusion and issues recommendations for scientists working in areas of research relevant to her findings.

In another forthcoming book chapter, ‘Trustworthy Science: Lessons from Feminist Epistemology’, a volume integrating epistemology and philosophy of science, she uses insights from feminist epistemology to distinguish between notions of trust that refer mainly to reliability from those that involve moral values, such as having the right kind of motivation or making a commitment to others. These two notions are important for understanding public trust in science and yield different recommendations with regard to addressing legitimate distrust. The ideas for this book chapter took shape during a symposium in Lisbon, and Dr. Popa has presented a more in depth discussion of this topic at a conference in Hong Kong.

She hopes to publish two articles in the following months, including an investigation of institutional trustworthiness and requirements for solving disagreements between scientists in vaccine research, and a joint paper using insights from democratic theory and deliberation to address issues concerning science and public engagement, particularly how input from the public can be incorporated in decisions about values. The latter is part of a collaboration with Michał Zabdyr-Jamróz from the Institute of Public Health at the Jagiellonian University Medical College, alongside other publications through which they plan to bring together and discuss the philosophy of science and politics, ethics, and issues regarding health policy and healthcare.

Together with her mentor, Tomasz Żuradzki, she was involved in organizing two conferences in Krakow, inviting scholars working on topics related to her project like Bioethics meets Political Philosophy. This conference involved discussions on topics in public health and medicine from ethical and political perspectives, and Dr. Popa and her mentor are co-editing a special issue in the journal Diametros featuring some of the contributions from this conference. She has also helped organize the fifth biennial conference of the East European Network for Philosophy of Science, where she put together a panel with invited speakers on the topic of her project – (Dis)Trust in Public Health. She hopes to develop future ideas and collaborations from the panel discussion, as well as help spread interest in these topics around the Central-Eastern Europe region, for which she thinks the conference was a good starting point. In an effort to broaden the reach of her research, she has also run a workshop in Bucharest in collaboration with the Association of Trainee Psychiatrists from Romania providing trainee psychiatrists with a toolkit from the philosophy of medicine to reflect on their practice.

09 09 2025

No Ruins, No Problem: Reconstructing Pathyris with Papyri and 3D Models

Anna Majorek Projects, Research, Science

For centuries, the story of Pathyris has remained largely untold—the town’s layout, stories of the individuals who lived there, and any other secrets lying within yet to be explored. Now, a groundbreaking project aims to digitally resurrect this unique piece of history, preserving its story and deepening our understanding of life in the Ptolemaic period.

Dr. Aneta Skalec is a papyrologist, archaeologist, and expert in Roman law. As the lead investigator of the Ptolemaic Pathyris Project, she is working with a team of four colleagues: Dr. Wojciech Ejsmond (her mentor), Dr. Julia Chyla (GIS expert), and two scholarship holders, Jakub Stępnik and Łukasz Suski to conduct interdisciplinary research on the urban layout and residential architecture of Pathyris under Ptolemaic rule (322–30 B.C.). Their study is based on a wide range of data, including archival, papyrological, and geospatial sources.

Dr. Aneta Skalec studying archival sources

The team is investigating Pathyris, a capital of an ancient Egyptian territorial division called “nome”, located about 30 km southwest of Luxor. Interestingly, Pathyris was also a garrison headquarters during the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C., until it was seized and destroyed in 88 B.C. The settlement developed on the top,the western slope and at the foot of the Eastern Mountain of Gebelein. Pathyris is particularly well known thanks to a large number of Greek and Demotic papyri, ostraca and wooden tablets found in archives maintained by town authorities, temples, and individual families.

Despite its significant presence in written records, Pathyris has remained largely unexplored by archaeologists. Unfortunately, the use of dynamite to clear the land for modern housing has irretrievably damaged most physical traces of the ancient town, which makes archaeological exploration difficult. However, this does not mean that it is impossible, and the Ptolemaic Pathyris Project team takes on the challenge to understand the town’s topography and architecture despite the lack of physical evidence. Previously unpublished archival sources from the Italian excavations conducted at the site in 1910, as well as papyri containing topographical information, provide valuable insights.

Having started less than a year ago, Dr. Skalec and her team are working diligently to collect information and are achieving important milestones in their goal of reconstructing the town. For example, Dr. Skalec has already managed to read and translate from Italian an archival excavation diary from 1910, which is an invaluable source of information about the architecture of the site. The diary contains detailed sketches of both houses and the fortress towering over the town, with measurements of each wall, as well as with information about stairs, ovens, or large jars.

Example of an archival field journal studied as part of the Ptolemaic Pathyris Project

Additionally, she has analyzed over 1,300 papyrological documents originating from the town (including unpublished material made available to her courtesy of other researchers) in research of terms relating to the topography and architecture of the town (names of districts, streets, owners of houses and vacant plots, temple and house elements, etc.). The documents identified in this way will be further analyzed and added to the database of topographic terms related to Pathyris, which they are creating together with Łukasz Suski.

The excavation diary, together with archival photographs, will constitute the basis for the 3D reconstruction of Pathyris, which itself will be placed on the Digital Elevation Model (3D graphics representation of terrain), currently being developed by Kuba Stępnik. In this way, the team will be able to understand not only its architecture, but also how the town adapted to the topography of the hill on which it developed.

All material analyzed and researched as part of the Ptolemaic Pathyris Project will be combined and included in the 3D reconstruction of the town as annotations with links to archival photos and papyri that contain geospatial information. With their findings organized in this way, theteam will have a unique opportunity to not only reconstruct the town’s topography and architecture, but also to see it through the eyes of its Ptolemaic inhabitants such as Apollonia, Dryton, or Petearsemtheus. These annotations will also simultaneously serve as the contextualization of hundreds of documents from the site, acting as an invaluable resource for future research and study.

Dr. Skalec has shared her work at numerous conferences, such as Current Research in Egyptology 2024 or 30th European Association of Archaeologists Annual Meeting, and also at workshops or seminars. She aims to popularize information about the project among non-experts, and has done so by participating in a broadcast in the Eureka program for Polish Radio, presenting a lecture on Apollonia–a businesswoman from Pathyris–for high school students, as well as a writing a popular science article for archeowiesci.pl. Outside of her research, she loves to spend time with her children, meet up with friends, and catch the occasional theatre performance or concert. She loves travelling and discovering new cultures, and with a rare break from academic reading and research, you can find her reading a report or crime novel.

Check out the Ptolemaic Pathyris Project official website: (https://pathyris.iksio.pan.pl/) to learn more about the project, archival sources, and news on the research team’s latest findings.

08 12 2025

Diving into the past: underwater worlds in ancient Eastern Mediterranean culture

Justyna Wojniak Projects, Research, Science

In the age of dramatic ecological changes, it is more important than ever to understand how different human cultures have engaged with their environment, not only today, but also in the past. As two-thirds of the surface of the Earth is covered by marine waters, marine ecosystems are one of the most interesting areas of exploration. Centuries of human activity focused around seas and oceans may be key to our ability to better appreciate and protect the oceans around and beneath us.

Dr. Mari Yamasaki is an archaeologist specialising in the pre- and protohistory of the eastern Mediterranean basin. In particular, her scientific interests revolve around the relationship between humans and the sea, both above and below water. Her project, UnReal: Underwater realms. Concepts of underwater spatiality in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean is aimed to explore the conceptualization of underwater spaces and to analyze the relationship between underwater and terrestrial spaces in maritime representations: Project: Underwater realms. Concepts of underwater spatiality in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean

For over two years of her research, Dr. Yamasaki studied late Minoan maritime-themed larnakes and Archaic Greek maritime depictions. Larnakes are burial containers made of clay but designed to imitate wooden chests. Her work involved cataloging these objects, mapping recurring iconographic elements, and positioning them in a database for network analysis (Nodegoat.net).

The findings from Minoan Crete showed that underwater conceptualization was primarily centered on marine life, with fishes, dolphins, and octopi dominating the imagery. Less frequently, clams and argonauts appeared. Waterfowl, often decorating the lids or upper registers of larnakes, also played a role in this conceptualization. The interior of the larnax represented the submerged realm, while the exterior signified dry land. Additionally, the positioning of figures on larnakes mirrors real-life aquatic observations, with the larnax itself acting as a material metaphor for the underwater world. In the case of bathtub-shaped larnakes, the entire composition appears designed to simulate immersion in the sea, reinforcing the idea that maritime larnakes functioned as metaphorical sea burials. This suggests that in Minoan thought, underwater spaces had a dual character: as a real, observable environment inhabited by marine creatures and as a symbolic netherworld.

Network analysis also revealed diachronic and geographical shifts in underwater conceptualization. While the early representations (1600-1150 BCE) were centered in Crete, later depictions (8th-7th century BCE) shifted to mainland Greece and its colonies in Anatolia and Italy. By this period, maritime imagery increasingly featured human figures, often in perilous situations such as shipwrecks, drownings, or being devoured by fish. Unlike Minoan representations, which emphasized marine biodiversity, these later depictions focused on fear and danger, portraying underwater creatures as menacing. This shift reflects cultural anxieties surrounding sea travel and the impossibility of proper funerary rites for those lost at sea. To be devoured by fish was seen as a curse that extended beyond death, reinforcing the conceptualization of the sea depths as a realm of horror.

These contrasting modes of depicting aquatic spaces stem from differences in experiential weight: the Minoan focus on routine maritime activities like fishing and gathering versus the Greek emphasis on rare but traumatic shipwrecks.

Regarding the relationship between land and underwater environments in constructing imagined underwater spaces, the study highlighted a significant grey zone – representations that blend real experiences with imagined elements. Not all underwater depictions derive solely from direct observations; often, they borrow extensively from terrestrial environments. Many underwater realms are mirrored versions of the world above but are generally accessible only to gods, heroes, and the dead.

By integrating cognitive and network analysis methodologies, UnReal successfully traced these evolving conceptualizations, providing new insights into how ancient societies visualized and understood the underwater world. Until recently, archaeological research on human engagement with the underwater spaces was deemed unrealistic, the long-standing reasoning being that we lacked sufficient evidence for such activities. On the contrary, this project not only demonstrated that there are far more sources on ancient diving than it was assumed, but also prepared the grounds for a fully-fledged archaeology of freediving.

“As an archaeologist, fieldwork is a fundamental component of my work” – says dr. Yamasaki. Archaeological fieldwork is the systematic excavation, survey, and documentation of past human activity. Researchers carefully excavate layers of soil to uncover artifacts, structures, and ecofacts. Fieldwork requires meticulous recording through notes, drawings, photographs, and digital tools to preserve contextual information. Ethical considerations, including site preservation and community engagement, are also crucial.

Dr. Mari Yamasaki documenting her work

“Our excavation at Erimi-Pitharka (Cyprus), directed by prof. Lærke Recht of Moesgaard Museum and dr. Katharina Zeman-Wiśniewska of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, is situated close to the village and we were often visited by passersby and curious residents. A very satisfying and enriching part of our job in the field is to engage with our spontaneous visitors and illustrate what, why and how we are digging and to involve the local population in discovering and protecting their cultural heritage” – dr. Mari Yamasaki describes her research activities.

Dr. Mari Yamasaki at the archaeological site

According to her “Engaging with the public does not stop after excavation and I think it is of capital importance to improve the way archaeologists in general and myself in particular communicate with the public”. For this reason, during her international secondment she spent about a month and a half at the Museum for Ancient Navigation (Museum für antike Schiffahrt), a part of the Leibniz Zentrum für Archäologie in Mainz, Germany. She had an opportunity to join the educational department in preparing exhibitions and guided tours for the general public, and to design specific workshops and activities for the younger visitors: “Working with children was especially challenging and rewarding, and proved to be a huge learning experience” – she notices.

Finally, an essential part of her job as a researcher was to present the research outcomes to both her colleagues and to the public. In these two years, she has attended several international conferences and was invited to hold guest lectures internationally (Copenhagen, Belfast, Graz) and in Poland (Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology “Underwater realms – imagining and conceptualizing the sea as a 3D space” ).

07 18 2025

Not just dinosaurs – how turtles reveal Europe’s ancient climate

Justyna Wojniak Projects, Research, Science

Paleoclimatology studies how Earth’s climate system has changed over long timescales. As we have been able to collect data using modern instruments only for the last hundred years, natural recorders are the primary way to learn about past climate conditions. Apart from tree rings, ice cores or ocean and lake sediments, one of the important paleoclimatic indicators are … turtles!

Dr. Milan Chroust of the Institute of Paleobiology at the Polish Academy of Sciences is a paleontologist who studies ancient life and fossil organisms. His research project, Turtles from Czechia and Poland: An overview of common evolution in Central Europe since the Triassic until Recent, aims to revise fossil turtles (Testudinata) from Czechia and Poland. It reveals the past biodiversity, and our researcher is able to specify how many species lived in Central Europe, what their diet was, and also to interpret their evolutionary changes.

What may seem surprising, we know very little about the actual total diversity of turtles in Central Europe (particularly Czechia and Poland) and its changes since the Mesozoic. This is so because much historical fossil turtle material from these countries has not been revised in decades, and in some cases even in a century. Even though we can observe some progress in the understanding of evolutionary history (i.e. phylogeny) and classification of fossil turtles over the last decades, it only proves that many original identifications are dubious or invalid. Moreover, many specimens were described in local publications, which virtually excluded them from the current international English-based scientific discourse. Therefore, the actual total diversity of turtles in Central Europe and its changes since the Mesozoic still remain unknown.

But what about the turtles and climate? Dr. Chroust points out that fossil turtles are good indicators of paleoclimatic reconstructions. The novel data they provide allow us to reconstruct distinct environmental zones, the mean annual temperature, and, together with the remaining herpetological fauna, precipitation, as well. This information known as proxy climate data allows to extend the weather and climate information archive by hundreds to millions of years. The remains of turtles and other organisms buried beneath layers of sediment over time contain chemicals from the time when they originally lived. These chemicals can be analyzed to determine the water chemistry and temperature at that time. Scientists use these data and information to understand not only natural climate variability but also future climate change. According to dr. Chroust, the proper taxonomic identification of fossil turtles in Central Europe is a prerequisite for proper paleoclimatic reconstructions in that region. Taking into consideration that Czech and Polish biodiversity is today more or less similar, analogous conditions can be expected in the past. Therefore a key part of dr. Chroust’s research project is a simultaneous study of the Czech and Polish material that will allow avoiding taxonomic misidentification, as well as diagnosing specimens in a broader context.

When asked about the level of the development of his field of research in Poland compared to his country or institution, dr. Milan Chroust notices that the research on fossil vertebrates here in Poland is better developed compared to his home institution, particularly when it comes to the phylogenetic analysis and the digitizing process. In Poland, unlike in Czechia, it is a standard procedure to create 3D models of bones by several methods. Besides traditional methods, his project uses modern imaging technologies like photogrammetry or 3D surface scanners to obtain the most complete and accurate digital models, which will be shared with the international scientific community.

One of the project outcomes is the paper discussing a fossil sea turtle and a crocodylian from southern Morava, Middle Miocene in age (“Geologica Carpathica” 2024, 75, 5): https://www.sav.sk/journals/uploads/12230920GeolCarp_Vol75_No5_329_338.pdf?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3X7SI45LsbfK7fkmO8EoW37-gTzce_EYGFMDZD5EjUJWEhZRpEpF-vGbE_aem_AOBy9neo2AcJxgy364rtzg

Dr. Milan Chroust and his mentor, dr. Tomasz Szczygielski, shared their results at several international meetings in Poland, Slovakia and other countries. In Switzerland they attended the Turtle Evolution Symposium, in Fribourg. In Svalbard dr. Chroust and his colleagues from the Institute of Paleobiology attended the most important Vertebrate Palaeontology meeting of the year. He presented the results of research on Pliocene turtles from Poland. Besides lectures and workshops, the event included a field trip to see the fossil flora.

Dr. Milan Chroust presenting his research outcomes at the Turtle
Evolution Symposium, Fribourg Switzerland

During the summer of 2024, as part of his intersectoral secondment, dr. Milan Chroust visited the Safari Park Dvůr Králové, where he was responsible for taking care of dozens of turtle species, including several squamate reptiles and crocodiles. He had an opportunity to study how tortoises grow and change over their lifetimes, how they differ from one another within the same species, and how different species compare. He watched their social and daily habits, and learned what they need to thrive in various climates and to breed successfully. With his participation the Safari Park’s bone l collection was reorganized and corrected for accuracy; he also helped bring together the worlds of paleontology and zoology.

Dr. Milan Chroust’s secondment at the Safari Park Dvůr Králové

For Earth Day, Milan Chroust with his colleagues from the Institute of Paleobiology, PAS visited the Primary School No. 205 in Warsaw and presented a lecture on fossil turtles. The children joined in the discussion and were amazed by the largest turtles, some of which lived even in Poland.

Lecture on fossil turtles at Warsaw Primary School No.205

The project website https://www.paleo.pan.pl/research-department/projects/projects-turtles-from-czechia-and-poland.html provides more details on the activities of the research team.

05 19 2025

Can light propagation in general relativity help us understand our physical existence in the Universe?

Justyna Wojniak Projects, Research, Science

The information we gather from the sky observation – such as brightnesses, the distances and the image distortions – is closely tied to how bundles of light travel through space. While the movement of light is a key factor, we should also consider the effect of gravitational waves on the way we calculate the distance of astrophysical objects.

Dr. Nezihe Uzun is a mathematical physicist working as a postdoctoral fellow within the relativity research group at the Center for Theoretical Physics. Her research interests include the quasilocal energy problem, relativistic cosmological models and light propagation in general relativity. She is the Principal Investigator of a Polonez Bis project named WAQOU “Wavization and quantization of the observables in the universe”.

Dr. Uzun decided to take part in the Polonez Bis Programme because she believes Poland is one of the few countries in Europe to work on Einstein’s general theory of relativity within a broad variety of topics. “I like the fact that one can construct a project on fundamental questions without feeling the pressure of including fashionable topics in a proposal. It is fair to say that the scientific level of researchers on average is higher than the one of my home country, Turkey. Actually, this is no surprise as for the last few centuries Poland has been known for its famous world-standard physicists” – dr. Uzun says.

Her current research focuses on the behaviour of light in general relativity. During her fellowship in Poland she is studying how light acts both as a regular wave and in the particle-like wave predicted by quantum physics – especially when space itself is curved. Dr. Uzun is particularly interested in finding out whether there are new wave phenomena in the Universe which are similar to the familiar behaviours we observe in a typical transistor of an electric kettle. And, even more importantly, she wants to understand how the two distinct domains of physics (i.e., the tiny-scale world of quantum physics and large-scale effects of gravity) can be merged considering the observations of the sky? She believes that finding answers to these questions will not only help us to identify what the Universe is made of but could also give us a deeper insight into our own place in it.

One of her project outcomes was a research paper Algebraic symmetries of the observables on the sky: Variable emitters and observers she co-authored with prof. Mikołaj Korzyński, her mentor from the Center for Theoretical Physics at the Polish Academy of Sciences. In the paper abstract the authors mention a number of exact relations between optical observables, such as trigonometric parallax, position drift and the proper motion of a luminous source in addition to the variations of redshift and the viewing angle. They point out that these relations are valid in general relativity for any spacetime and they are of potential interest for astrometry and precise cosmology.

Dr. Uzun also stresses the importance of sharing the results with researchers who work in other fields. For instance, last year she was invited by the Wigner Initiative to give a talk in Barcelona. She also maintains contact with her former research group at the ENS de Lyon, France, to keep their collaboration alive. Additionally, her team recently held a small workshop at the Center for Theoretical Physics in Warsaw to discuss the light propagation in general relativity .

N. Uzun, M. Korzyński, Algebraic symmetries of the observables on the sky: Variable emitters and observers, Phys. Rev. D 110, 064043

Dr. Nezihe Uzun with her mentor, prof. Mikołaj Korzyński at the kick-off meeting of the Polonez Bis in Krakow.

03 19 2025

The symbiotic world of colors

Marta Majorek Projects, Research, Science

What was once only a vision of SF writers is slowly becoming a reality. In The Expanse novel series by James S. A. Corey, food production varies greatly depending on the location—Earth, Mars, the Belt, or the outer planets—and is influenced by technological and environmental factors. The goal is to produce food based on natural ingredients, using the possibilities offered by science to change their original purpose—fungi become juicy steaks, and algae turn into spaghetti.

It’s fascinating how science fiction’s imaginative food scenarios are increasingly reflected in modern food technology, especially concerning the use of fungi. Sci-fi literature frequently features food grown in controlled environments, such as space stations or urban farms. In addition to obtaining nutrients, the goal is also to make the food taste and look like what humanity is used to. The search for natural alternatives to synthetic food colorings has become a significant trend going beyond the boundaries of futuristic novels. Fungi can produce a range of pigments, offering potential for natural food coloring. While not as widespread as some other fungal food applications, research is ongoing into extracting and utilizing these pigments.

The basic idea of the BioExplor project, conducted by El Sayed Ramadan El Sayed, lies in the area of microbial biotechnology; using microbes as platforms for the production of valuable products. Among the microbial populations are endophytic fungi, which spend a part or whole lifecycle inside tissues of their host plant, typically without causing any obvious symptoms of disease. Forests in Poland are extensive and their biodiversity is high. Generally, forest trees are well known to live in close association with several microbial populations. These microorganisms (for example filamentous fungi) represent an untapped pool of novel bioactive compounds with potential applications in agriculture, medicine, and the food industry. Indeed, the large biodiversity of the yet unexplored fungal populations associated with these plants may be an infinite source of a wide range of bioactive compounds.

Filamentous fungi are a diverse group of microorganisms with long, thread-like structures called hyphae. They have traditionally been recognized for their role in the production of antibiotics, enzymes, and fermented foods. In recent years, they have gained attention as a source of natural food colorants, which are preferred over synthetic dyes due to health and environmental concerns. Their use in the food industry has a number of advantages.

Nowadays, consumers are increasingly seeking natural alternatives to synthetic food colors. In this aspect fungi produce a wide range of natural pigments, such as anthraquinones, naphthoquinones, azaphilones, and carotenoids. In addition, filamentous fungi can grow on inexpensive substrates, reducing production costs and environmental impact.

For two years, dr. El Sayed Ramadan El Sayed worked with a type of fungus called Monascus ruber SRZ112x, researching ways to improve the production of red pigment. He exposed the fungus to gamma rays, which helped create a unique or “mutant” version of the fungus which was capable of producing more pigment than the wild-type strain. To improve the results even more, the mutant strain was grown in an immobilized state, which means that its cells were fixed or trapped in a specific support material. This technique not only made the fungus more stable, but also allowed it to use nutrients more effectively, leading to better pigment production. His research also identified the optimal conditions – such as temperature, acidity, and nutrient concentrations – for maximizing the pigment output. By combining these two methods – exposing the fungus to gamma-rays and immobilized growth – the researchers were able to significantly increase red pigment production. This breakthrough could make the process more efficient and practical for large-scale industrial applications.

Thanks to the research project conducted by El Sayed Ramadan El Sayed,, we are witnessing the transformation of visions presented in SF books into our present lives.

Published papers: Enhancing bioprocessing of red pigment from immobilized culture of gamma rays mutant of the endophytic fungus Monascus ruber SRZ112 | Journal of Biological Engineering | Full Text
Novel nanoconjugates of metal oxides and natural red pigment from the endophyte Monascus ruber using solid-state fermentation | Microbial Cell Factories | Full Text

Bioprospecting Endophytic Fungi of Forest Plants for Bioactive Metabolites with Antibacterial, Antifungal, and Antioxidant Potentials

Principal Investigator: dr. El Sayed Ramadan El Sayed

Project Title: Unlocking Bioactivity of Forest Plants Associated Mycobiome as Sources of Novel Carotenoids and other BioPigments: Intensifying their Potential using Nanotechnology (BioExplor)

Project’s website: https://bioexplor.eu/

03 07 2025

The intertwined symphony

Marta Majorek Projects, Science

Calculus of variations and partial differential equations (PDEs) may seem like abstract mathematical concepts, but they play a fundamental role in understanding and improving many aspects of science and engineering. Among other things, they help in designing bridges or understanding the behaviour of light.

Let’s imagine building a bridge between two points. There are countless ways to achieve this, but some designs will be more efficient than others. Calculus of variations helps us to find the optimum design by figuring out which shape of the bridge will use the minimal amount of a given material. It provides a powerful framework for seeking the “best” solution among a collection of possibilities.

Partial differential equations, on the other hand, describe how things (variables) change when there are multiple factors involved. As we will show later in the text, they are crucial in modeling various phenomena where many factors are at play .

The beauty lies in the deep connection between calculus of variations and PDEs. Many physical principles can be seen as minimization problems, leading to specific PDEs via the Euler-Lagrange equations. For example, if you want to move an object from point A to point B using the smoothest or “easiest” way possible (like saving energy or time), then the Euler-Lagrange equations are your tool. . To put it in more general technical terms, solutions to certain PDEs can be found by interpreting them as minimizers of a well-defined functional. This interplay allows mathematicians and scientists to use the strengths of both fields to tackle complex problems.

Dr. Rémy Rodiac’s research project focuses on developing new techniques in calculus of variations and PDEs where, in spite of many results already obtained, several challenging questions remain open.

Dr. Rémy Rodiac

His work shows that calculus of variations and PDEs have a wide range of applications. Thus finding the minimizers of the energy and showing its possible implementation could help to design optimal structures for bridges and buildings, analyze heat flow in engines, and predict material behaviour, describe fluid dynamics, optimize spacecraft trajectories, and also model the electromagnetic field.

The practical outcome of Dr Rodiac’s research is the proof that calculus of variations and PDEs are not just abstract branches of mathematics; they are powerful tools that allow us to understand, optimize, and predict the behaviour of the world around us. Thanks to Dr Rodiac’s research, we continue to explore the depths of these mathematical landscapes. New discoveries, and even more important, new applications for calculus of variations and PDEs are sure to arise, further solidifying their importance in our quest to understand the universe and create our future more sustainable.

Principal Investigator: dr. Rémy Rodiac

Project Title: Singularities in calculus of variations and partial differential equations

Strona projektu: www.scvpde.mimuw.edu.pl

01 24 2025

Eastern goddesses – the cult through the lenses of people

Marta Du Vall Projects, Research, Science

Beliefs, gods and goddesses have long aroused interest and stimulated the imagination, not only of fantasy and mythology lovers but also of scientists who use research methods to investigate various aspects of this phenomenon.

Dr Aleksandra Kubiak-Schneider is an epigrapher and historian of religions. Her Polonez Bis project concentrates on people who worshiped two prominent Eastern goddesses: Allat and Atargatis. The first is a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess, at one time worshipped under various associations throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula. She symbolizes peace, war, resilience and prosperity. Atargatis is the great goddess of northern Syria. According to Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Atargatis) “primarily, Atargatis was a goddess of fertility, but, as the mistress of her city and people, she was also responsible for their protection and well-being”.

Aleksandra wants to understand the cult of these goddesses through the lenses of the people involved, their functions and social roles, especially women. She is looking at the interplay of the geographical features and topography of the cult. Together with her PhD student collaborator, Sebastien Mazurek MA, they built a visual database in the NodeGoat, which connects people and places on the map in order to visualise the diffusion of the cults and ethnicities of the worshippers. To date, the data set comprises 120 inscriptions from the entire Mediterranean and distant territories of the Roman Empire, including Britain, where the cult of Atargatis is attested. Researchers are currently unifying the data ientered in the database. At the end of the project, they plan to prepare a paper on the role of women in the cult of Atargatis. As one of the preliminary observations, they have identified the significant contribution of immigrants from Syria in the dissemination and training of new cultic personnel in the case of the cult of Atargatis.

By using mapping and the epigraphic data collection tools, dr Kubiak-Schneider was able to determine the strong connection of the Allat goddess to the desert, caravan mobility and the netherworld. Furthermore, she points out that the worship of this goddess was not spread beyond the East, it remained confined to the rocky, desert areas of the Near East. The findings of this part of research were published in an open access paper “Allat and the Desert. Kulturlandschaft of Allat in the Near East” in the Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology (http://www.jaha.org.ro/index.php/JAHA/article/view/932).

It is worth noting that a significant outcome of the project is the collaboration between Polonez Bis project and the IDEA (International Dura-Europos Archive) project lead by Anne Chen in Bard College, NY USA and Yale University. Aleksandras’ role is to analyze the inscriptions from the temple of Atargatis, work with the Linked Open Data tools (e.g. Wikidata) and provide expertise in the domain of the Semitic epigraphy.

Epigraphist (digital era), archive of dr Aleksandra Kubiak-Schneide

Dr Kubiak-Schneider is also engaged in many activities associated with her research, including participation in international conferences. One example is the conference in Madrid (last year in November), where she presented a paper (now in print) about connections between the ancient goddesses and modern female superheroes (e.g. Wonder Woman). The gender hybridization of the goddesses does not influence the role of a woman in the society, who is rather conservatively attached to the household, as can be seen in the structure of the temple personnel, where the women remain largely invisible (at least in the Parthian and Roman periods). The worship of the goddesses in the first three centuries of the Common Era did not serve to empower the women, but it served men, as can be observed from the epigraphic material. Aleksandra also participated in the Arabian Seminar in Oxford, where she presented her first significant outcome connecting Allat and the desert landscape. This talk is available on the YouYube channel for those interested in viewing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_lGIgfqwyM&pp=ygUWa3ViaWFrLXNjaG5laWRlciBhbGxhdA%3D%3D).

Participants of the Melammu Workshop Serving the Gods at the University of Wrocław, archive of dr Aleksandra Kubiak-Schneider

As Aleksandra notes, the Polonez Bis programme, has given her opportunity to develop the discipline of West Semitic epigraphy, mainly Aramaic, which is underrepresented in Poland, „Even though this field is very narrow in Poland, I can contribute to the epigraphical research of the colleagues in my research team and institute. I am building up the library sources with the book budget in order to potentially attract new students to my field of study in the future ”.

11 16 2024

Networks of Reception: 18th century fan fiction and celebrity culture

Justyna Wojniak Projects, Research, Science

Literary adaptation – sometimes called ‘literary afterlife’ or ‘fan fiction’ – has thrived across all periods of history. It gives the readers an opportunity to imaginatively immerse themselves in the fiction they read, and gives it alternative life with sequels, new adventures, or even merchandise. Few people may know that the concept has its roots in the 18th century: works of Laurence Sterne were an example of the most popular adaptations of that period.

Dr. Mary Newbould spent many years as a teacher and researcher in English literature at the University of Cambridge. She is now Assistant Professor in the Department of Anglophone Studies at Kazimierz Wielki University. Her expertise mainly lies in literature and visual culture of the eighteenth century, with a particular focus on Laurence Sterne’s work and its afterlives. Laurence Sterne was the author of two major novels, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759–67) and A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy (1768). They were so successful that their characters, motifs and ideas inspired other authors who published pamphlets, sequels, plays, paintings, illustrations, poems, songs, and material objects based on Sterne’s work.

Dr. Newbould’s research relates to her ongoing interest in literary afterlives and adaptations. Before her participation in the Polonez Bis programme she published a book Adaptations of Laurence Sterne’s Fiction: Sterneana, 1760–1840 (2013), and an essay collection co-edited with W. B. Gerard Laurence Sterne’s ‘A Sentimental Journey’: A Legacy to the World (2021).

Her current project called Networks of Reception in Eighteenth-Century Newspapers and Magazines: Laurence Sterne explores Sterne’s reception history through contemporary press publications, including reviews of his work, and the huge number of creative responses it encountered. There are many different types of adaptation (‘Sterneana’) in this period, a bit like today’s concept of fan-fiction, and the eighteenth-century newspapers and magazines have a wealth of material that has not been properly excavated yet. ‘Sterneana’ manifests in critical reviews, fragmentary imitations, borrowed character names, passing references, allusions, and much more besides. Networks of Reception gathers these fragmentary and widely dispersed strands, using traditional library archival research and digital resources, to cement a picture of Sterne’s reception not only in the British press, but also in Europe, especially France and Eastern Europe.

The project enriches the story of how Sterne’s work was read, consumed and recycled through exploring ‘Sterneana’ in contemporary newspapers and magazines, a hitherto neglected area of research. The popular press in the eighteenth century was a platform for circulation of imaginary afterlives. It also contributed to the emergence of the phenomenon described today as celebrity culture. Due to the dissemination of his literary works and creative methods for responding to them Laurence Sterne could be perceived as a key celebrity figure of his time. Analysing patterns of Sterne’s work critical and creative reception may help us to understand how Sterne’s work was read and reinterpreted, but also what ‘Sterneana’ reveals about celebrity culture, and the early emergence of ‘product branding’.

Dr. Mary Newbould with her mentor, prof. Jakub Lipski

The project milestones include several dissemination activities, as part of the ongoing data collection and research phases of the project. The major outcome will be a short monograph, contracted with Cambridge University Press. Other publications include journal articles, and a project website. Dr. Newbould presented papers at conferences using materials gathered through her research for the project: the International Laurence Sterne Foundation conference at Venice in November 2023, at British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Oxford, in January 2024. Three more conferences have been lined up before the end of the project: the Association of Adaptation Studies in Szczecin, the Polish Association for the Study of English conference in Warsaw, and the European Society for the Study of English, in Lausanne, at the end of August. For the last of these three conferences she was co-organising two sessions on eighteenth-century adaptations with a colleague from Aix-in-Provence and with her mentor, prof. Jakub Lipski from Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz.

She has also done a few public engagement talks: at her home institution in Bydgoszcz (one online, one in-person), and, in April, at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, where she was the guest of the University and the City to give a public lecture, promoting her research and the project; she also taught a couple of seminars for the university students.

Moreover, dr. Newbould spent her two-week secondment in Warsaw, at the Muzeum Literatury, which was a fantastic opportunity to experience intersectoral links within the museum and heritage sector. She made some great new acquaintances there, and had the opportunity to explore the city’s culture and history.

The research team set up a project website to publicise activities and objectives, as they evolve: https://www.ukw.edu.pl/jednostka/sternews

Public lecture advert, Poznań