The flagships of Polish science announced

On June 12th the list of Leading National Research Centres (KNOW) was announced. Among six laureates there are two UW-related research centres: the Warsaw Centre of Mathematical Sciences and the Warsaw Academic Chemical Consortium.

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education granted the KNOW status in sciences, medicine, pharmaceutical science and health sciences. During the ceremony held in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Donald Tusk - PM of Poland and Barbara Kudrycka - the Minister of Science and Higher Education both emphasized that each of the awarded institutions is the best in its respective discipline.

Warsaw Centre of Mathematical Sciences established jointly by the UW Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics and the Institute of Mathematics of the Polish Academy of Sciences has been awarded the KNOW status as the only mathematical unit in Poland. The areas of scientific research conducted by the scientists cooperating in this institution include, among others, algebra, topology, geometry, probability, stochastic processes, functional analyses, algorithmics, biomathematics, logics in informatics and bioinformatics. The results of the mathematicians' scientific research are applied in cryptography, data protection activities, artificial intelligence development and medicine.

In chemical sciences the Warsaw Academic Chemical Consortium, founded jointly by the Faculties of Chemistry of the University of Warsaw and Warsaw University of Technology, has been ranked the best. The Consortium does research in general, theoretical, medical and materials chemistry. The results of the research conducted by the scientists offer, among others, new opportunities of learning more about physical and chemical characteristics of materials used in industry as well as of their improvement. The research results may also allow for developing effective cure of cancer, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases.

Apart from university research centres, the list of laureates included the Marian Smoluchowski Kraków Research Consortium: "Matter-Energy-Future", the Research Consortium of the Collegium Medicum at the Jagiellonian University and the Institute of Pharmacology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Faculty of Pharmacy with the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Medical University of Gdańsk and the Centre for Innovative Research in Białystok.

The Minister of Science and Higher Education announced the competition for KNOW status in January 2012. The application process could be entered by basic organisational units of universities, research centres established by higher education institutions as well as research consortia. By 2017 each centre with KNOW status will receive PLN 50 million of extra co- financing - PLN 10 million per year. This substantial financial support will contribute to reinforcement of scientific and research potential, scientific community advancement, creating attractive research conditions, developing a powerful and globally recognized brand, offering more attractive remuneration to scientists and employing foreign researchers in Poland.

More information can be found on the Ministry of Science and Higher Education website