18th edition of the Witold Lipski Award for outstanding achievements in the field of computer science

On October 12, the 18th edition of the Witold Lipski Award for outstanding achievements in the field of computer science and achievements documented in publications ended. Dr. Filip Mazowiecki from the University of Warsaw was awarded in the category of theoretical aspects of computer science. The winners of two equal awards in the category of computer applications were Dr. Michał Koziarski from the Wrocław University of Technology and Dr. Mateusz Ostaszewski from the Warsaw University of Technology. During a ceremonial meeting organized at the University of Warsaw, in the presence of 50 distinguished guests, Chairman of the Prize Council, Prof. Leszek Pacholski, and Chairman and Executive Director of the Kościuszko Foundation in New York, Marek Skulimowski presented the winners with prizes of PLN 100,000 in total.

Witold Lipski Award was established in 2005 to commemorate the figure of its patron, prematurely deceased at the age of 35, a pioneer of Polish IT.

“Witold Lipski was a world-class computer scientist with lasting achievements in database theory, computational geometry and algorithm theory. The award in his name is intended to inspire young IT specialists in Poland and promote the development of IT in the country”, Chairman of the Award Committee, Prof. Truszczyński said.

Witold Lipski Award was initiated by three Polish computer scientists living abroad: Krzysztof Apt, Wiktor Marek (who was Lipski’s PhD supervisor at the University of Warsaw), and Mirosław Truszczyński, to commemorate his legacy. It was established in 2005, on the twentieth anniversary of Lipski’s premature death, by Fundacja Rozwoju Informatyki (FRI, Polish Foundation of the Development of Computer Science), in cooperation with Polskie Stowarzyszenie dla Maszyn Liczących (Polish Association for Calculating Machines). The first chairman of the Award Committee was Andrzej Tarlecki, who held this position until 2012.

The Witold Lipski Award competition is organized annually and it is addressed to scientists who are under 35 years old, have the nationality of the Republic of Poland, and permanently reside in Poland.

“This year we had a record number of candidates. The winners stood out clearly, but there were at least 3 other people who deserved the award. It shows well the level of computer science in Poland”,  Chairman of the Award Council, Prof. Leszek Pacholski said.

In the first year the Award, it was funded by contributions provided by computer scientists of Polish origin living abroad. From 2006 to 2015 it was sponsored by the company Sage. From 2016 till 2021, the award was supported by the company Atende, and from 2020 till 2021, also by Huawei. Polskie Towarzystwo Informatyczne (Polish Computer Science Society) had been, till now, the institutional sponsor of the Award. In 2021, the initiators of the Award, together with Tomasz and Celina Imieliński, proceeded to expand the Award to two categories, together with increasing the awarded monetary value in each category. New identified sponsor has donated funds to support the expanded Lipski Award. This resulted in transferring management of the Award in 2022 by FRI to the Kościuszko Foundation.

The Kosciuszko Foundation Inc. for almost 100 years has been granting scholarships to young people and scientists from Poland and the USA. It conducts philanthropic, information and popularizing activities in the field of the history of Polish culture and science. It organizes exhibitions, concerts and competitions, promoting Polish art. It commemorates Tadeusz Kościuszko – an outstanding general, insurgent and hero of two nations. The Kościuszko Foundation Poland, working closely with The Kosciuszko Foundation Inc., supports the intellectual, scientific and cultural exchange between Poland and the United States. As part of the TEIP program, it hosts American volunteers at camps for children and youth all over Poland. It cares for the common Polish-American history and creates better conditions for the development and cooperation of subsequent generations.