The winners of the most important Polish scientific award have been announced. Among the distinguished scientists is Professor Marek Samoć from the Faculty of Chemistry of Wrocław University of Science and Technology

The "Polish Nobel Prizes" have been awarded for twenty years by the Foundation for Polish Science. In this way, scientists are given recognition for their outstanding and ground-breaking research in various fields of science.

Professor Marek Samoć has been recognised for his discovery of the extraordinary optical properties of nanomaterials, which can be applied in areas including transforming optical signals, biological imaging, or energy conversion.

- I want to give my heartfelt thanks to the foundation for this prestigious award. In fact, it's an award for my entire research team of Wrocław University of Science and Technology - says Professor Samoć. - I'm very happy that the University put its trust in me and allowed me to conduct research projects appreciated by the scientific milieu - adds the researcher.

Professor Marek Samoć specialises in the field of physical chemistry, carrying out activities including research into new materials for optoelectronics and photonics. The University's scientist worked at the Centre for Laser Physics of the Australian National University in Canberra (Australia). Professor Marek Samoć also constructs worldwide unique devices for optical measurements. He is a winner of many prestigious grants, such as "The Master" - of the Foundation for Polish Science (2013), and "Maestro" of the National Science Centre (2014), as well as the Prize of the President of the Council of Ministers (2015) and the Wrocław Science Award (2016).

The "Polish Nobel Prizes" are awarded for exceptional scientific accomplishments and discoveries in four fields: life and Earth sciences; chemical and materials sciences; mathematics, physics and engineering related sciences, as well as liberal arts and social sciences. The winners are chosen by the competition committee made up of eminent professors. The value of the prize amounts to 200 thousand PLN.