Institute of Physical Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences

Founded in 1955, the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IChF PAN) conducts a wide range of research in the field of chemistry and at the intersection of chemistry, physics, and biology. The research conducted includes microfluidics, charge transfer processes, photoactive systems, cooperative catalysis, soft matter, the physicochemistry of bacteria, and advanced materials. The quality of the work is confirmed by the highest scientific category of research units (A+).

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Areas:

physical chemistry, chemistry at the intersection of biology/medicine, physics

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Is it possible to make materials that are as light and durable as plastic, but fully biodegradable? What if they could be made from waste? A waste-free and economical method of obtaining such organic materials is being developed by a research team led by Dr. Juan Carlos Colmenares Quintero (pictured), leader of the “Catalysis for Sustainable Energy Conversion and Environmental Protection” team at the Institute of Chemical Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The unit employs over 350 people. The most important part of the Institute consists of 30 research teams led by scientists aged 35 and above, including six foreigners. They employ nearly 100 doctoral students, over 40% of whom come from abroad.

Thanks to the development and introduction of an innovative method of holographic optical tomography, we can look deep into the cornea of the eye. At the International Center for Eye Research operating at the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, headed by Prof. Maciej Wojtkowski (pictured), research is also underway on the process of two-photon vision. This type of vision allows us to see infrared radiation, which is normally invisible to the human eye, as colors.

One of the teams is the Dioscuri Center of Excellence, established jointly with the Max Planck Society. Another team has become part of the Virtual Research Institute funded by Łukasiewicz PORT. The International Eye Research Center, operating as part of the FNP International Research Agendas program, is a separate entity. The research is funded by Polish and EU agencies through nearly 100 grants (as of 2021) totaling PLN 27 million.

Najnowszy, femtosekundowy laser został stworzony przez zespół naukowców pod kierunkiem dra hab. Yuriya Stepanenki. Pozwala m.in. uchwycić na żywo przemianę chemiczną we wnętrzu komórki. Rozwijane od wielu lat układy laserowe są też szeroko stosowane przez naukowców IChF PAN do badań podstawowych. Na zdjęciu Cassia Corso Silva, doktorantka dr hab. Yuriy Stepanenko, prof. IChF PAN.

The interdisciplinary environment of the Institute gives rise to ideas that lead to the creation of new materials and devices. These ideas are further developed in spin-off companies established by employees of the IPC PAS, including Scope Fluidics and Curiosity Diagnostics, which operate in the field of medical diagnostics.

Areas: physical chemistry, chemistry at the intersection of biology/medicine, physics