Research on molecular evolution and the origins of life on Earth, cancer cell eradication, and biofuel production; catalysts in the green hydrogen acquisition process; and a new, efficient method for disposing of PET plastic are some of the solutions awarded in the 13th edition of the Golden Chemistry Medal competition, organized by the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS) and the chemical company DuPont. “This year we see several very strong ideas that can be applied to the broadly understood chemical industry – from medicine, through the utilization of various types of materials, to the production of pure hydrogen,” says Dr. Tomasz Redzimski, General Manager of DuPont Poland.
This year’s report of the Polish Chamber of the Chemical Industry, “Chemical Industry in Poland,” shows that this industry plays a strategic role in the Polish economy – it operates in 12,800 companies, generating 343,000 jobs; last year’s sold production of the chemical industry had increased by 50% to a value exceeds PLN 488 billion (18.4% of the value of the entire Polish industrial production). According to GUS data, investment outlays of the chemical industry have been growing for over a decade and it is currently one of the fastest-growing segments of the Polish economy. Changes taking place in it – connected with sustainable development – are an impulse for transformation in other industries, which could not operate without chemistry and its innovations.
“The chemical industry needs innovation at every stage of its operation and it is directly related to the fact that we currently have a high dynamic, large challenges that also arise on the part of competitors and end customers. Thus, innovation is essentially written in the DNA of chemicals companies, at every stage of our development we need this injection of innovation,” says Dr. Tomasz Redzimski to the Newseria Biznes agency. As he emphasizes, creating these innovations requires close cooperation of the chemical industry with the scientific sector.
“Support for these two sectors to develop, allows science to test its inventions in the industry, and the industry can support the development of science,” says Dr. Tomasz Redzimski.
Polish chemistry in terms of innovation is at the world level. Research conducted in science centers responds to global challenges, and domestic entities can boast great successes. However, improvements in the education of scientists regarding the possibilities of commercializing their discoveries and a legal environment that would simplify this process are still needed.
“The awareness of scholars in this area has definitely increased in recent years, they are interested in implementations, commercials. We as an institute have a lot of experience in this and of course there is still a lot to do in Polish science, but I believe that we will catch up with highly developed countries in the near future,” says Dr. Adam Kubas, Professor and Director of the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS).
Innovation in chemistry is the theme of the prestigious Golden Chemistry Medal competition, organized by the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with DuPont. The goal is to select the authors of the best bachelor’s or engineering papers in chemistry written and defended in Poland in the current academic year. This year’s edition of the competition is already the 13th.
“This competition promotes chemistry as a field of science because it rewards students, young people at a very early stage of their career. They often already conduct research that responds to global challenges or participate in very interesting projects, and the work they submit to us reflects what will happen in science in a few years,” emphasizes Dr. Adam Kubas.
43 papers from 14 academic centers throughout Poland were submitted to this year’s Golden Chemistry Medal competition. The worth of the scientific paper, the publication record of its author, the practical significance of the results obtained, the use of modern analytical methods, and independent research were all taken into account by the jury.
This year’s Golden Chemistry Medal went to Róża Okoń from the Inter-Faculty Collegium of Individual Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Warsaw. The topic of her thesis was a comparative assessment of the photochemistry of N7- and N9-adenosine. It deals with research on the photostability of adenosine, one of the building blocks of DNA, and its non-biological isomer.
“My work aimed to contribute to prebiotic chemistry, a field that investigates the origins of life on Earth, how simple organic compounds could evolve into increasingly complex systems. The hypothesis that I investigated in this work was whether UV light could have been a factor that significantly influenced the course of such molecular evolution, and therefore the course of various chemical reactions on early Earth,” says Róża Okoń.
The Silver Chemistry Medal was won by Karolina Wrochna from the Faculty of Chemistry at the Warsaw University of Technology. The awarded engineering thesis concerned the structural modification of boron-organic BODIPY complexes in the context of their potential application in photodynamic therapy – a strategy for combating cancer cells.
The Bronze Chemistry Medal went to Łukasz Jakubski from the Faculty of Chemistry at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice for his engineering work entitled “Application of a combination of magnetite with a molecular magnet as a filling of alginate membranes in the process of dehydrating ethanol using pervaporation technology.” The topic of the paper is related to the increasing demand for pure low-molecular alcohols, used, for example, as biofuels or disinfectants.
The Golden Medal of Chemistry laureate received a financial prize of PLN 10,000, the Silver Medal winner received PLN 5,000, and the Bronze Medal winner received PLN 2,500. All laureates and finalists of this year’s competition were given the opportunity to undertake a scientific internship at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of PAS and carry out research in its laboratories free of charge.
“Every year this competition demands more from its participants, and the topics of the works presented by the students is very current. These are people who often already participate in research projects supported by external agencies funding science, and the way they solve the problems posed to them is fantastic,” says the Director of the Institute of Physical Chemistry at PAS.
“This year we see several very strong ideas that can be applied to the broadly defined chemical industry – from medicine, through the utilization of various types of materials, to the production of pure hydrogen,” adds Dr. Tomasz Redzimski.
Apart from the main prizes, four competition distinctions worth PLN 1,000 were also awarded this year. They were given to Paweł Bonarek from the Faculty of Chemistry at the Jagiellonian University, Bartosz Godlewski from the Faculty of Chemistry at the Warsaw University of Technology, Małgorzata Noworyta from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology at the Cracow University of Technology, and Kamil Szychta from the Inter-Faculty Collegium of Individual Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Warsaw.
Special distinctions from DuPont Poland worth PLN 2,000 this year went to Patrycja Grabowska from the Faculty of Chemistry at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (for the investigation of materials that can be used to develop cheap, efficient, and stable catalysts in the process of producing green hydrogen), Łukasz Jakubski (the third-place winner), and Mateusz Zygadło from the Faculty of Chemistry at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice (for the development of a new, efficient method of disposing of PET plastic – a polymer most often used in the manufacture of bottles and packaging).
The announcement of the winners and the awards ceremony took place on December 13 at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of PAS in Warsaw. The honorary patronage over this year’s edition of the Golden Chemistry Medal competition was held by Prof. Maciej Żylicz, the president of the Foundation for Polish Science, the Polish Chemical Society, and the Committee of Analytical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
