23 Jun
WOMEN in ENGINEERING DAY
„Save the date” is a series of articles that have been written to celebrate various unusual holidays. The authors of the presented materials are students, doctoral students and employees of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Silesia.
23 June is celebrated as International Women in Engineering Day.
Every year more and more female students enrol in our studies. It used to be unthinkable, because studying science and technology was considered “a male line of studies”. In 2014, a campaign was launched in the UK to promote the study of engineering among women: International Women in Engineering Day.
There are many beautiful and smart women in our ranks who belong to a group of engineers. We have asked some of them why they chose that particular career path. We encourage you to get acquainted with the stories of their life choices.
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PATRYCJA OSAK, MSc Eng.
Assistant, Institute of Materials Engineering
Why have I chosen a degree programme in engineering?
Medicine and nature have fascinated me since I was a kid; thus, I decided to choose Engineer’s degree studies in biomedical engineering. Later, during my Master’s degree studies and doctoral studies in materials engineering, I have learnt how to design features of nature-inspired materials through a proper selection of their chemical composition and structure. The knowledge of materials structure and features allows me for cooperating with professional implantologists, so active participation in designing and manufacturing biomaterials for the sake of medicine. Thanks to the knowledge of biochemical processes in the human body I have learnt during my biomedical engineering studies and the knowledge in the field of materials science and engineering, I am able to apply innovative modifications to the dental implant surfaces, so they can meet the requirements of the contemporary stomatology.
For me, an engineer is not only a title but a person searching for and finding answers to the asked questions. Within my original dental workshops called “Piękny UŚmiech” (Beautiful Smile), I promote engineering occupations, in particular materials science and engineering, in the youngest. I am a scientist and also a mother. Every day I try to pass my passion for engineering and technology sciences on to my daughters.
Patrycja Osak, MSc Eng., finishes her doctoral degree under the supervision of Bożena Łosiewicz, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof.
Awards
- Main Prize of the Association of European Inventors (AEI) for the invention of a “Biocompatible NiTi alloy with memory effect” in the category of: medicine and biotechnology,
- Silver medal IWIS 2014 for the invention of “Development of a new manner of formation of the biocompatible phosphate coatings on the surface of the NiTi alloy showing shape-memory effect”,
- Special Award of the Minister of Science and Higher Education and Golden Medal IWIS 2015 for the invention of an “Electrochemical production manner and properties of nanoporous gold”,
- Gold Medal IWIS 2015 for the invention of an “Electrochemical production manner and properties of nanoporous gold”,
- Gold Medal IWIS 2021 for the invention of a “Hybrid phosphate-polymer coatings on titanium implants for use in dentistry”,
- Silver Medal IWIS 2021 for the invention of “A method of modelling gradient and hybrid cellular lattice structures and thermal manufacturing with additive techniques”,
- Bronze Medal INTARG 2022 for the invention of “Modelling cellular structures for usage in medicine”
- Gold Medal INTARG 2022 for the invention of a “Hybrid dental implants for use in controlled drug release systems”
- Special Award INTARG 2022 given by the Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic for the invention of a “Hybrid dental implants for use in controlled drug release systems”
Projects
- Head of a project within the Freedom of Research. Title of the project: “Obtaining and characterisation of oxide nanotubes obtained on the surface of titanium for use in controlled drug release systems”. 2022 [the only winner with an academic title of Master’s and the only researcher in the field of materials engineering],
- Main contractor in the project for pre-implementation works “Incubator of Innovation II+” No 10/NAB3/II+/2017 financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education as part of the non-competition project known as “Support for management of scientific research and commercialization of the results of R&D works in scientific units and enterprises” under the Intelligent Development Operational Programme 2014-2020 (Measure 4.4). Title of the project: “Surface functionalisation of titanium implants for use in intelligent drug delivery systems”. 2017 – 2018
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Why have I chosen a degree programme in engineering?
Since I remember, I have had a passion to design and construct things, and maths and physics have been my favourite school subjects. After 1st cycle studies in Physics, I decided to expand my array of skills during the studies in materials engineering and include technical skills. It is a field combining physics, chemistry, and technology allowing me to take up new challenges: work to discover and design new, better materials as well as methods of its studies.
Scientifically, I deal with studies on a new group of liquid crystals that have a vast use for the dynamically developing technology, e.g. screens on which you can read this article! I conduct the research along with another scientist – my great supervisor Katarzyna Merkel, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof., within the project “The role of intermolecular interactions, molecular bend angle and biaxiality in stabilizing the structure of the twist-bend phase liquid crystal materials” (Preludium BIS2, No. 2020/39/O/ST5/03460) supported by the National Science Centre.
Privately, my passion is creating fictional characters in the form of dolls, where I also implement my technical skills – I construct their elements with the use of 3D printers.
Successes
- First award for the best Master’s degree thesis in the field of liquid crystals defended in 2020-2021 in the competition organised by the Polish Liquid Crystal Society awarded during the international XXIII Conference on Liquid Crystals, Karpacz, 18-22 October 2021,
- Best presentation award in the Young Researcher Competition for scientific poster during the XXIV Czech-Polish Seminar “Structural and Ferroelectric Phase Transitions”, Harrachov, Czechy 23-27 May 2022,
- Winner of the competition for a doctoral scholarship within the project “The role of intermolecular interactions, molecular bend angle and biaxiality in stabilising the structure of the twist-bend phase liquid crystal materials” (Preludium BIS2, No. 020/39/O/ST5/03460) supported by the National Science Centre,
- Qualification to participate in the prestigious Bandol Summer School on Liquid Crystals carried out by experts in the field of liquid crystals from around the world (23.09-2.10.2022), as one of 16 people.