Nearly 80 candidates entered this year's 17th edition of the Popularizer of Science competition. In the first stage, the Competition Jury selected 23 finalists. In the second stage, the jury selected competition winners in five categories as well as the Grand Prize winner, and awarded two special mentions. The editors of PAP - Science in Poland also granted the special Tomasz Trzciński Award.
The Grand Prize went to Dr. Piotr Rzymski from the Poznan University of Medical Sciences for his commitment and the enormous amount of work associated with the dissemination of medical knowledge in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The jury said: “He accessibly explains the content of scientific publications concerning SARS-CoV-2 and educates tirelessly. He wrote 90 articles in Polityka, and since March 2020 he has given more interviews. He is one of the initiators of the project Science Against the Pandemic. He has been promoting science for several years, and is a high level scientist.”
This year's winner in the Scientist category is Dr. Anna Łosiak from the Institute of Geological Sciences PAS.
The jury said: “She passionately and captivatingly promotes a relatively poorly known field of geology and related knowledge about the planets. She is flexible in her activities: she gives lectures and teaches workshops, writes articles, comments on media reports, co-organizes the European Rover Challenge, reaches science fiction fans.”
The award in the Animator category went to Adam Zbyryt.
“He discusses the latest research results, not only on birds, in a manner that is both interesting and understandable for everyone. He first promoted science as a person affiliated with the non-governmental organization PTOP, and now with a university. He makes radio and TV appearances, speaks at conferences of ornithological associations, he has written three books and numerous popular science articles,” the jury said.
In the Team category, the winner is the 3LAB - laboratory of High School No. 3 in Gdynia.
“The lab is an educational ecosystem, the participants of which share their knowledge, time and skills. They carry out broad and comprehensive activities, including the areas of medicine, aerospace, polar science, engineering, the latest technologies. They share knowledge and run projects. They activate and integrate the students, teachers, parents, scientists and experts. They combine science promotion with educational assistance.”
The award in the Institution category went to the Science Popularization Center of Silesian University of Technology.
“The Center works on many levels and reaches people of all ages. It participates in numerous projects, offering universal activities embedded in the local community and the region, and continuously searches for new forms of activity. It educates scientists in the area of science communication.”
Dr. Łukasz Lamża received the award in the Media category.
“He has been promoting science since 2014, and his activity is broad and multi-layered. He teaches at kindergartens and at Universities of the Third Age. He carries out interesting projects, which attract frequent recipients, including the series of 'Reading Nature' and 'In Search of Time'. He writes books and collaborates with local institutions and enthusiasts.”
The jury also decided to award special mentions.
The first of the two special mentions was awarded to the creators of the project Nauka. To lubię (Science. I like it).
“The editors of Nauka. To lubię maintain a high level in promoting science and the achievements of Polish scientists, and educating hundreds of thousands of Poles. The project has become a recognizable brand in the field of science promotion.”
The second special mention was awarded to the creators of the creators of the Zdzislaw Matuski Mathematical League.
“They chose mathematics, a field that is difficult to promote. They organize math competitions that allow students to maintain year-round contact with non-standard mathematical problems. And while doing that, they integrate.”
In addition, the editors of PAP - Science in Poland granted the special Tomasz Trzciński Award for the benchmark information policy. This year's award went to Dominika Wojtysiak- Łańska from the Promotion and Cooperation Team of the Foundation for Polish Science.
The 23 finalists sere selected in a vote by the Competition Jury, whose members included award and special mention winners in earlier editions of the Popularizer of Science. These were (in alphabetical order): Dariusz Aksamit from the Warsaw University of Technology and the Science Advocates Association; retired teacher and science popularizer Professor Wojciech Dindorf; Dr Ireneusz Kaługa from the EcoLogical Group; Professor Andrzej Katunin from the Silesian University of Technology; Iwona Kieda from the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research PAS in Olsztyn; Dr. Magdalena Osial from the University of Warsaw; Dr. Piotr Sułkowski from the University of Warsaw; Michał Szydłowski, who runs scientific shows as Mr. Korek; Professor Przemysław Wojtaszek from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.
The members of the second stage Competition Jury that selected the winners were: Professor Michał Kleiber (President) - one of the initiators of the competition, Vice President of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, former President of the Polish Academy of Sciences; Professor Magdalena Fikus - promoter of science, co-organizer of the Warsaw Science Festival; Robert Firmhofer - Director of the Copernicus Science Center; Krzysztof Michalski - scientific journalist at Polish Radio; Dr. Robert Mysejek - natural scientist, promoter of science; and a representative of the PAP - Science in Poland editorial staff.
Popularizer of Science is the oldest and most prestigious competition in Poland, which awards scholars, media people, institutions and social activists, whose passion is to share knowledge and uncover the mysteries of modern science for those not associated with the academic community.
Previous winners of the competition include: philosopher of nature Fr. Professor Michał Heller, neuroscientist Professor Jerzy Vetulani, author of popular science television shows Wiktor Niedzicki, promoter of astronomy Karol Wójcicki, the duo Crazy Nauka, creators of the website Nauka o klimacie, as well as institutions such as the Copernicus Science Centre, Polish Academy of Kids and the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology.
PAP - Science in Poland, Szymon Zdziebłowki
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