General Information
The Graduate School of Physics and Chemistry was established in 2019 by the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) and the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology (ICHTJ). Its goal is to leverage the expert knowledge of both institutions and take advantage of the resulting synergies to provide a coherent offer for individuals wishing to pursue a doctoral degree. We build on the many years of experience in running graduate-level education and research programs at both institutions separately. While the School is uniquely focused on Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, we also offer a wide range of options for undertaking cutting-edge research in other areas of the Physical Sciences leading up to a Ph.D. degree in Physics or Chemistry.
The National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) has been running a doctoral program in Physics already in the 1970s (under its former names: Instytut Badań Jądrowych and Instytut Problemów Jądrowych). NCBJ is the largest research Institute in Poland, and has been awarded the A research category. It is also the only Polish research institution operating a nuclear reactor (the MARIA reactor). Currently NCBJ employs over 1100 people. The research staff includes 28 full (state) Professors, 52 holders of the “Dr hab.” post-doctoral degree (with professorial appointments), as well as over 200 PhDs. NCBJ has the right to confer Ph.D. degrees as well as the post-doctoral “Dr hab.” degree in Physics. Our research teams pursue cutting-edge research in a number of areas of fundamental physics including nuclear and high-energy physics, neutrino physics, gravitational wave physics, astrophysics. International collaborations with which NCBJ research personnel are involved include T2K, Super-Kamiokande, KM3-net, JEMUSO, as well as the major CERN collaborations (LHCb, CMS, Alice, NA61-Shine). NCBJ is also an official research partner of the European Union’s Joint Research Center (JRC).
NCBJ is currently hosting 17 projects funded under Horizon 2020, 37 projects under National Science Centre (NCN), 8 under The National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR), 4 under NAWA funds and 14 other (Ministry of Science and Higher Education; INTERREG BALTIC SEA Programme). The most significant recent projects are NOMATEN and CERAD. The Nomaten Centre of Excellence is a new research organisation where international world-class research teams design, develop and assess innovative multifunctional materials – materials combining advanced structural and functional properties – for industrial and medical applications. The funding (in total 14 985 682,50 EUR) comes from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 857470. CERAD – the Centre for Design and Synthesis of Molecularly Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals – is a strategic research infrastructure listed on the Polish Research Infrastructure Roadmap, to be utilized both commercially and scientifically. The project will be run by a consortium established by NCBJ, Warsaw University, Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology in Warsaw, Warsaw Medical University, Collegium Medicum of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, and Medical University in Białystok. Activities of the consortium will be coordinated by NCBJ. NCBJ was recently awarded a NAWA project as part of the NAWA “Welcome to Poland” call.
The other partner-institution running the Graduate School is the Institute of Chemistry and Nuclear Technology (IChTJ). Doctoral Studies at the IChTJ have been conducted since 1994. The study program is a 4-year period of education through specialised lectures, seminars and practical exercises at domestic and foreign research centres. The lectures cover both basic issues of chemistry and chemical aspects of atomic science, both theoretical basis and applications in energy, industry, medicine and environmental protection. Doctoral theses are mainly related to:
- chemical aspects of nuclear energy;
- synthesis and research of radiopharmaceuticals for medical diagnosis and therapy;
- radiation chemistry and radical chemistry;
- application of nuclear methods in materials research and environmental protection.
Chemical aspects of nuclear energy is one of the leading topics of doctoral dissertations carried out at the IChTJ. During the course of studies, students acquire unique knowledge of chemistry and nuclear power through participation in lectures and in-house seminars, as well as studying practical problems during short and/or long term visits to such facilities as Maria-Swierk Reactor as well as foreign facilities. IChTJ also collaborates with the University of Warsaw and the Warsaw University of Technology by supervising the students from these faculties, who are doing their student internships at the Institute, or by supervising students doing their bachelor’s or master’s theses at the Institute. Since 1994, more than 110 persons have been admitted to the Doctoral Studies at ICHTJ. During that period 94 lecture series were held by ICHTJ academics, researchers from outside the Institute (UW, PW) and distinguished foreign specialists (Germany, France, Romania, Turkey, France, USA).