On October 12, the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences hosted the inauguration of the academic year of the GeoPlanet Doctoral School honored with a lecture by Professor Monika A. Kusiak, dedicated to the project “Poles Together – the missing link between Arctic and Antarctic early Earth record“. This was the first inauguration of the year in this School held in the in person form (with online connection).
The gathered Guests were welcomed by Prof. Monika Kalinowska, who last month assumed the position of Coordinator of the GeoPlanet Doctoral School on behalf of the Institute of Geophysics. The entire ceremony was conducted by Prof. Radoslaw Smolec, from the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center in Warsaw, head of the GeoPlanet Doctoral School. Prof. Radoslaw Smolec welcomed representatives of the institutions that make up the School. The inauguration was honored with the presence of:
- Professor Krzysztof Pawłowski, acting director of the Center for Theoretical Physics
- Professor Agata Różanska, Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs at the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center
- Professor Anna Wysocka, Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs at the Institute of Geological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences
- Professor Edyta Zawisza, Coordinator of the GeoPlanet Doctoral School at the Institute of Geological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences
- Professor Wieslaw M. Macek, Head of the Doctoral Program at the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences, who participated in the meeting in an online format.
The Director of the Institute of Geophysics, Professor Paweł Rowiński, welcomed the guests, directing many words of support to the international community of doctoral students, at the first such meeting since the pandemic.
Professor Agata Różańska also spoke, congratulating the young science students on choosing this career path.
After listening together to “Gaudeamus igitur,” the international student anthem performed by the Harmonia Choir of the University of Silesia in Cieszyn, first-year students took the oath.
The key point of the program was a lecture by Professor Monika A. Kusiak, introducing the participants to the goals and results to date of the project “Poles Together – the missing link between Arctic and Antarctic early Earth record”. The speaker presented, among other things, the equipment of the geological laboratory, which was created as part of the project and is located at the headquarters of the Central Geophysical Observatory IGF PAN in Belsk Duży – GeOBeLa – Geoprocessing Belsk Laboratory. Professor Kusiak also presented extremely interesting photos and stories from her scientific expeditions to Labrador, Greenland and Antarctica.
Finally, Dr. Agata Goździk, Head of Scientific Communication and Education Department, also spoke, encouraging doctoral students to create popularization content together using social media.
Thank you for attending the meeting and the high attendance.
Photo: Piotr Terlecki