AGATHONS – awards gala for outstanding employees of the Faculty | Faculty of Chemistry at the Gdańsk University of Technology

On 22 March 2024, the AGATHONY ceremony was held, dedicated to rewarding people who have made outstanding contributions to the Faculty of Chemistry.

The gala was hosted by: Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry Agata Kot-Wasik, and Vice-Dean for Science Marek Tobiszewski and Urszula Kampowska as presenters.

"The only way to know where the limits of our possibilities are is to push the boundaries, doing the impossible" - these words of Artur Clark summarize the achievements of employees of the Faculty of Chemistry in 2023.

"Agathons" are symbolic goods that are given to those who are particularly agathôs - that is, good at what they do. In the second edition of the awards established for employees of our Faculty, not only scientific achievements were awarded, which are quite measurable, but also organizational and teaching achievements, as well as those of artistic value.

In the first part of the ceremony, awards for special scientific achievements were presented. The patrons of these awards are outstanding scientists who worked at the Faculty of Chemistry and undoubtedly made a huge contribution to the development of the disciplines in which they specialized, creating their own scientific schools known not only in Poland, but also abroad.

At the ceremony, awards were presented in various categories, including the first Emil Taszner award for outstanding scientific achievements.

The basis for awarding the prestigious award named after Emil Taszner is the authorship of an article in Nature or Science or in a journal with an impact factor value greater than 20 or the authorship of a scientific book published by a reputable publishing house. This year's winner was Anna Zielińska-Jurek, PhD, DSc, Eng., professor at Gdańsk Tech, for the work : Dudziak, S., Kowalska, E., Wang, K., Karczewski, J., Sawczak, M., Ohtani, B., & Zielińska-Jurek, A. The interplay between dopant and a surface structure of the photocatalyst–The case study of Nb-doped faceted TiO2. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2023, 328, 122448 (200 points, IF = 22.1).

Another award, named after Tadeusz Pompowski was awarded for outstanding scientific and technological achievements with a significant social impact. The winners are: prof. Ewa Klugmann-Radziemska, PhD, DSc, and , PhD, Eng., Maciej Sienkiewicz, PhD, Eng., and Anna Zielińska-Jurek, PhD, DSc, Eng., professor at Gdańsk Tech, for "Development of a technology for recycling photovoltaic modules made of crystalline silicon" and "Development of a technology for obtaining a photocatalytic additive for asphalt pavement reducing the level of air pollution."

Ernest Sym’s  award for a young scientist was divided into 3 equal thematic categories: the category of BIO sciences and 2 categories: CHEM, named after Zofia and Włodzimierz Libuś and TECH, named after Wanda Szczępuła.

The winner in the BIO category was Agata Sommer, PhD, Eng., for the publication: Sommer, A., & Staroszczyk, H. Bacterial cellulose vs. bacterial cellulose nanocrystals as stabilizer agents for O/W pickering emulsions. Food Hydrocolloids, 2023, 145, 109080 (140 points, IF = 10.47). In the CHEM category - Natalia Jatkowska, PhD, Eng., for the work: Jatkowska, N., Marć, M., De la Guardia, M., Gallart, D., & Płotka-Wasylka, J., Greening procedures and analytical parameters. The polychlorinated naphthalenes analysis in complex matrices as proof of concept. Trends in Analytical Chem. 2023, 167, 117222 (140 points, IF = 13.1), and in the TECH category, Paulina Kosmela, PhD, Eng., for the work: Olszewski, A., Kosmela, P., & Piszczyk, Ł. A novel approach in wood waste utilization for production of catalyst-free polyurethane-wood composites (PU-WC). Sustainable Materials and Technologies, 2023, 36, e00619 (200 points, IF = 9.6).

Then, for the second time, the Golden Laurel of the Faculty of Chemistry was awarded to non-academic employees for exceptional activities for the Faculty of Chemistry. The award is granted by the Dean's College on the basis of submitted applications justifying the person's above-average activity, willingness to cooperate and reliability, going beyond the scope of duties. The Golden Laurel of the Faculty of Chemistry was awarded to Ms. Elżbieta Szyc and (for the second time) to Mr. Karol Pałczyński.

Next, the meeting organizers invited its participants to the world of precious metals: platinum, gold, silver and bronze, still in the spirit of broadly understood science and work for the Faculty and its well-being. The winners received packages of teaching checks in various denominations and colors of precious metals.

Moreover, the competition for the most beautiful Christmas tree of the Faculty of Chemistry and the most beautiful Christmas decoration was concluded. 19 Christmas trees and 4 decorations took part in the competition. The voting for the most beautiful ones took place during the annual Christmas meeting of the Faculty of Chemistry: the most beautiful Christmas tree was prepared ex aequo by two teams: employees of the Department of Analytical Chemistry and service employees who placed their tree on the ground floor of the Chemistry B building. The most beautiful Christmas decoration, which decorated the reception desk of Chemistry C, was prepared by Mrs. Anna Stępniewska.

Congratulations once again to all the winners, and we would like to thank everyone involved in the preparation and management of the event.

The event was prepared and hosted by:

• Bartosz Szulczyński, PhD, Eng., Sebastian Kowalski and Karol Pałczyński – musical and multimedia setting;
• Jerzy Kwiatkowski – photos;
• Urszula Kampowska – visual setting, decorations, organization of the ceremony;
• Ewa Żmijewska and Joanna Rózga – organization of the awards ceremony;
• Festoria company – catering.