Additional recruitment to the Doctoral School of Exact Sciences beyond the limit of places

Project description:      NCN OPUS 2024/55/B/ST5/02212

Liquid crystals may seem paradoxical—how can something be both liquid and crystalline? Yet they flow like liquids while maintaining some molecular order, with their molecules aligned in a specific direction. The simplest form, the nematic phase, consists of rod-like molecules that align directionally but lack a fixed position. Since their discovery in 1888, various liquid crystal phases have been found, most famously used in display screens. This project focuses on a recently discovered class called ferroelectric nematics (NF). In ferroelectric materials, molecular dipoles align in a polar fashion, creating an internal electric field. Though predicted over a century ago by Max Born and Peter Debye, this behavior in liquid crystals was only confirmed in 2017. In 2024, scientists in Warsaw identified a new twist-bend ferronematic (NTBF) phase with a helical dipole arrangement. NF phases show remarkable properties. They are highly responsive to electric fields—hundreds of times more so than regular nematics—and can spontaneously form thin liquid filaments stabilized by dipolar interactions. These filaments are stable despite surface tension and exhibit optical effects based on their helical structure, which responds to temperature and electric fields. These features make NF materials promising for ultrafast optical devices like tunable filters or light modulators. Despite their potential, NF liquid crystals are mechanically weak and degrade quickly. To overcome this, we are developing flexible polymer membranes to support and protect them. Our research aims to: 1. test NF materials as optical/electrical sensors and actuators, 2. assess their response speed to external stimuli, 3. study their mechanical behavior under confinement, and 4. enhance their durability for real-world applications. Combining NF crystals with ultra-thin, heat-resistant polymer membranes (stable up to 400°C) may enable the creation of materials that react in milliseconds to electric fields, light, temperature, or humidity. This could lead to next-generation sensors, microrobotic actuators, and other advanced technologies using the unique capabilities of ferroelectric nematics.

Principal investigator:  Prof UAM dr hab. Bartłomiej Graczykowski NCN 2024/55/B/ST5/02212

Recruitment 

Selection Committee

            prof. UAM dr hab. Barłomiej Graczykowski– chairman

            prof. UAM dr hab. Mikołaj Pochylski

            prof. UAM dr hab. Aleksandra Trzaskowska 

            prof. dr hab. Gotard Burdziński

            prof. UAM dr hab. Jacek Gapiński

            mgr  Anna Kolańczyk- Marszałek  – secretary

Schedule of  the Doctoral  School enrolment procedure: 

Recruitment fee

The recruitment fee is 75 EUR.

Form of the selection procedure

One stage procedure.

Language of the selection procedure, including interviews:

Polish or English language. 

Required documents:

Candidates applying based on exceptional academic achievements must include a scan of the following:  

1) For first-cycle graduates: the diploma and supplement. 

2) For students completing the third year of a unified master’s programme: a certificate indicating their academic average from years 1 to 3, along with a transcript. 

Candidates educated outside Poland must additionally submit: 

1) A scanned copy of their higher education diploma and supplement for both first- and second-degree qualifications (Bachelor’s and Master’s), in the original language and a certified translation into English or Polish.

2) A scanned copy of their passport (for foreign applicants). 

 Evaluation criteria

 1. A minimum grade of "very good" or equivalent from a second-cycle (master’s) or unified master’s degree diploma (5 points). Candidates applying on the basis of exceptional scientific achievements (e.g., grant awarded under the “Pearls of Science” competition) will also receive 5 points. 

2. Evaluation of up to three documented scientific achievements submitted during registration in the IRK system, assessed according to the detailed criteria of the candidate's accomplishments (maximum of 20 points). 

3. Assessment of other documented activities, based on up to three achievements indicated by the candidate, as per the specific criteria for the discipline (maximum of 5 points). 

4. The outcome of the interview, which assesses: 

a) The candidate’s knowledge and competencies relevant to their intended research, including discipline-specific expertise. 

b) Research methodology appropriate to the chosen discipline. The interview has a maximum duration of 30 minutes and awards up to 50 points. 

5. Evaluation of the research project prepared for admission, or in the case of recruitment tied to a grant project, the author’s concept for implementing the project (maximum of 20 points). Assessment focuses on: 

a) Formulation of the research objective and presentation of the research problem. Page 6 of 9 

b) Originality of the research idea and approach to solving the research problem. 

c) Methodology suited to the indicated discipline. 

d) Awareness of the current state of research, supported by a basic bibliography. 

e) The project’s significance for the development of the chosen discipline. 

Condition of admission to the Doctoral School 

Education Program

Education at the doctoral school lasts 8 semesters. Education at the Doctoral School  is offered on the basis of a framework curriculum and an individual research plan and ends with the submission of a doctoral dissertation.

The framework curriculum at the doctoral school includes a catalogue of modules of compulsory classes, elective compulsory classes and optional classes. It also:

1)    defines their schedule

2)    defines the way in which the classes are taught

3)    defines how learning outcomes are verified.

Supervisors

A doctoral student works under the supervision of a supervisor or supervisors, or a supervisor and auxiliary supervisor, who will be appointed by the Deputy Rector at the request of a doctoral student (within 3 months of the start of his or her studies at the Doctoral School).

Scholarships

Scholarship: 5000 PLN gross per month (about 3800 PLN net per month) for two years and 6500 PLN gross per month in third and fourth year of PhD study.