University of Silesia in Katowice

In May 2024, projects qualified for financing by the National Science Centre (NCN) under the OPUS 26 and SONATA 19 calls were selected. The list included proposals submitted by scientists from the University of Silesia from all fields of science.

OPUS 26

The OPUS call for proposals has the broadest formula of all NCN competitions. Under the OPUS call, which is addressed to a wide range of researchers, proposals may be submitted by all those whose publication track record includes at least one paper published or accepted for publication, and there are no restrictions on experience, academic degree, or title.

Laureates

1. Faculty of Natural Sciences
   1. Application of quantitative wood anatomy (QWA) and blue rings in precise and high-resolution climate reconstruction in Poland (QDENDRO) – Magdalena Opała-Owczarek, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof. (earth and environmental sciences)
   2. The role of iron in the fossilization of soft parts of vertebrates – Dawid Surmik, PhD (earth and environmental sciences)
   3. Palynostratigraphy and paleoenvironment during Early Devonian of Lublin Basin, south-eastern Poland (the southern edge of Laurussia) – Prof. Paweł Filipiak (earth and environmental sciences)
   4. Uncovering a hidden diversity of post-Paleozoic crinoids along the eastern margin of Pantalassa – assessing the impact of the Mesozoic marine revolution on their bathymetric preferences – Prof. Mariusz Salamon (earth and environmental sciences)
   5. Anaerobic decomposition of labile and labile sedimentary organic matter – Maciej Rybicki, PhD (earth and environmental sciences)
   6. Characterisation of mechanisms regulating the adaptation and reproductive development of semi-dwarf brassinosteroid mutants of barley during their response to drought exerted during spike development – Damian Gruszka, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof. (biological sciences)
   7. Molecular mechanisms of plant response to AI stress – Miriam Szurman-Zubrzycka, PhD (biological sciences)

2. Faculty of Humanities
   1. The influence of speaking rate on the production of phonemic contrasts in a native and foreign language – Arkadiusz Rojczyk, PhD, DLitt, Assoc. Prof. (linguistics)

3. Faculty of Science and Technology
   1. Eutectic composition as an innovative approach for tackling the limited physical stability problem of amorphous pharmaceuticals – Marian Paluch(physical sciences)

4. Faculty of Law and Administration
   1. Constitutional Zugzwang: Towards an amendment theory on constitutional momentum – Mauro Arturo Rivera León, PhD (law)

SONATA 19

SONATA 19 is addressed to researchers with a PhD degree conferred within 2 to 7 years before the proposal submission. Applicants can apply for funding for projects involving basic research lasting 12, 24 or 36 months.

Laureates

1. Faculty of Humanities
   1. Community-creating power of text. Upper Silesian literature 1989–2023 – Karolina Pospiszil-Hofmańska, PhD (literary studies)
2. Faculty of Natural Sciences
   a. Ediacaran time cross-sections (ENTICE): using U-Pb geochronology of large igneous provinces to unlock the Ediacaran geo- and paleomagnetic enigma – Ashley Gumsley, PhD, DSc (earth and related environmental sciences)
3. Faculty of Social Sciences
   1. A Nationalising State and Liberal Democracy – Anna Maria Muś, PhD, Assoc. Prof. (political science and public administration)
4. Faculty of Science and Technology
   1. Innovative strategies for Enhanced Energy Harvesting and Charge Generation for Durable and Flexible Triboelectric Nanogenerators Nano-charge – Emre Arkan, PhD (chemical sciences)
5. Faculty of Law and Administration
   1. Judicial updating of the meaning of a legal text in changing circumstances. A comparative approach – Paulina Konca, PhD (legal sciences)

The full list of laureates can be found on the NCN website.

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