Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. Polish Scientists and Scholars in Europe – Legacy and the Present
The Polish Academy of Sciences Scientific Center in Paris, in collaboration with the PAS foreign centers in Brussels, Rome, Berlin, Vienna, and Kyiv invites you to a unique event dedicated to Polish scientists and researchers whose work has shaped, and continues to shape, European science. The meeting will combine a look into the past, highlighting inspiring figures and their ideas, with a conversation about the challenges facing the scientific community today.
The event will accompany an exhibition prepared to mark Poland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The exhibition is a joint initiative of the Foreign Centers of the Polish Academy of Sciences, originally proposed by Igor Kąkolewski (Director of CBH PAN in Berlin) and Tomasz Poprawka (Director of PolSCA in Brussels), with curatorial coordination led by Andrzej Hoja (CBH PAN, Berlin). Its aim is to present the profiles of outstanding scientists, showcase their modern successors, and link their achievements to the priorities of the EU’s research and development policies, including the Horizon Europe programme.
The event will feature distinguished representatives of PAN institutes whose profiles are presented in the exhibition, including:
- Prof. Maciej Górny, Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History, PAS – a historian specializing in the history and historiography of Central and Eastern Europe. He is the author of several influential works on the intellectual history of the region.
- Prof. Monika Kusiak, Institute of Geophysics, PAS – a geologist and geochemist specializing in polar research. She has led numerous expeditions to Antarctica and contributed to the revitalization of the Dobrowolski Polish Antarctic Station. As a mineralogist, she discovered crystalline lead in Antarctic zircon grains. Her talent and work have been recognized with MSCA grants and an invitation to NASA.
- Prof. Janusz Lewiński, Institute of Physical Chemistry, PAS – a chemist whose research focuses on the synthesis of new materials and nanostructures, contributing to advances in materials science. He developed innovative methods for creating perovskite materials, improving their photovoltaic properties.
- Prof. Paweł Olko, Institute of Nuclear Physics, PAS – a physicist specializing in medical physics. He has significantly contributed to the development and implementation of proton beam therapy for cancer treatment in Poland, particularly through his leadership of the Bronowice Cyclotron Center.
- Prof. Andrzej Gamian, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, PAS – biochemist and immunologist, Director of the Institute, specialising in research on vaccines and bacterial antigens.
This event offers an opportunity to meet prominent figures of Polish science, exchange reflections on its role in Europe, and discuss the challenges faced by contemporary researchers. We warmly invite all those interested in science, history, and culture to participate in this interdisciplinary gathering that bridges past and present while opening perspectives for the future.
The exhibition will be open to visitors at the PAN Scientific Center in Paris from October 1 to 28, 2025, between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM.
