The Foundation for Polish Science has announced the results of the call for proposals under the International Research Agendas (MAB FENG) initiative. Funding has been awarded to a project submitted by the University of Warsaw, among others. The new Center of Excellence will be headed by Prof. Ryszard Buczyński from the Faculty of Physics.

The Center of Excellence for Structured Optical Fibers and Applications (SOWA) will conduct research aimed at developing a new class of structured optical fibers – suitable for applications in lasers, sensors, and other photonic devices. The unit aims to become a global leader in the research, development, and manufacturing of a new class of nanostructured free-form optical fibers.

The application for its establishment received a positive recommendation for funding under the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) call for proposals under the International Research Agendas initiative. The amount of funding granted is PLN 30 million. The establishment of the International Research Agendas is made possible thanks to European Union funds (under the European Funds for a Modern Economy – FENG) program.

„Another grant to establish the Center of Excellence at the University of Warsaw is a source of immense pride. Both the existing Center for Quantum Optical Technologies and the new unit led by our physicists will undoubtedly strengthen our university’s national and international level,” says Prof. Zygmunt Lalak, Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Warsaw.

The SOWA Center of Excellence team will be led by Prof. Ryszard Buczyński – a physicist, deputy director of the Institute of Geophysics at the University of Warsaw, and an expert in photonics, optics, and optoelectronics. He is, among other things, the co-creator of a miniaturised endoscope that supports the treatment of respiratory disorders in premature newborns. At the end of 2024, Prof. Buczyński received a NAWA Canaletto grant, thanks to which he and his team are analysing the internal structure of special optical fibers containing ordered dielectric and semiconductor nanostructures, as well as nanocrystals and nanoceramics in their cores. In 2022, he was awarded a honoris causa doctorate from the University of Vinh in Vietnam, for his contribution to the development of science in the field of nonlinear structured liquid-filled and internal nanostructures optical fibers, in collaboration with scientists from Vinh. The researcher was included in the Top 2% Scientists ranking. In recent years, Prof. Ryszard Buczyński is also working on the integration of quantum effects in optical materials.