The Foundation for Polish Science supports distinguished scholars and research teams in all fields of inquiry and assists innovative ventures and commercialization of scientific discoveries and inventions. Check the laureates of this year’s FNP prize and their achievements.
For the thirty-first time, the Foundation for Polish Science awarded its Prizes, which enjoy the reputation of the most important scientific distinction in Poland. The laureates are three outstanding scientists: Professors Marcin Nowotny, Bartosz Grzybowski, and Adam Łajtar.
The winners of the 2022 FNP Prizes:
-in the field of Life Sciences:
Ph.D. Marcin Nowotny from the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw for the explanation of the molecular mechanisms of DNA damage recognition and its repair.-in the field of Chemical and Materials Sciences:
Ph.D. Bartosz Grzybowski from the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea for the development and empirical verification of an algorithmic methodology for planning chemical synthesis.-in the field of Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences:
No prize was awarded in the field of mathematical, physical and engineering sciences-in the field of the Humanities and Social Sciences:
Ph.D. Adam Lajtar from the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw for the interpretation of epigraphic sources explaining the religious-cultural functioning of medieval communities living in the Nile Valley.
Ph.D. Marcin Nowotny described the structure, characterized the function and explained the mechanism of action of several proteins and protein complexes crucial for cell biology, which interact with nucleic acids and participate in DNA repair. He eplained the molecular mechanisms of DNA damage recognition and how to repair it. A molecular biologist, Ph.D. Marcin Nowotny from the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw is the laureate of the Foundation for Polish Science Prize 2022 in the field of Life Sciences.
The genetic material encoded in DNA and contained in its cells undergoes various damages throughout the life of the organism. Damage occurs when cells divide. They can also be the result of environmental factors, such as UV radiation or the presence of various harmful chemical compounds.
Ph.D. Bartosz Grzybowski from the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea discovered methodology that concerns computer-planned organic synthesis, the use of artificial intelligence to predict the course of chemical reactions and searching for new compounds that can be used as drugs.
Ph.D. Adam Lajtar from the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw received the Foundation for Polish Science Award 2022 in the field of the Humanities and Social Sciences for the interpretation of epigraphic sources, showing the religious and cultural aspects of the functioning of medieval communities living in the Nile Valley. He read and interpreted the Banganarti inscriptions, significantly enriching our knowledge of the cultural and social aspects of the life of medieval communities living in Nubia, a historical land stretching in the Nile valley, on the border between Egypt and Sudan.