Professor Michał Horodecki from the UG’s Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Information Technology has joined the most outstanding Polish scientists to be honoured with the Minister of Science and Higher Education Award.
Professor Michał Horodecki has received his award in the category of basic research. In his studies he concentrates mainly on quantum physics and is considered to be one of the world’s most eminent specialists in research on quantum entanglement. Professor Michał Horodecki is an author of over 130 scientific articles, both published and cited in prestigious scientific journals. He has also received many science awards, including the prestigious “QUROPE Quantum Information Award” given to young scientists for their outstanding achievements in the field of quantum information.
The grand award-presentation gala was held on 12 October 2015 in the Primate’s Palace in Warsaw. The laureates collected their statuettes from the Minister of Science and Higher Education, Professor Lena Kolarska-Bobińska. Those honoured included the most outstanding researchers in their fields, discoverers of new technologies and authors of significant theories and scientific papers.
The Minister of Science and Higher Education Awards are given each year for outstanding scientific or science and technology achievements (in three categories: basic research, research for the development of society and research for the development of economy), for achievements in scientific and didactic mentoring, for lifetime scientific achievement and organisational achievements. The names of prospective candidates for the Minister of Science and Higher Education Award are put forward by scientific councils, faculty councils or organs representing other academic institutions and non-governmental organisations which work for the benefit of science, as well as the Chairman and particular committees of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
The entire list of award laureates and more information by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education is available at: www.nauka.gov.pl
It is worth noting that for many years the University of Gdańsk has been one of the top scientific centres specialising in quantum physics. It is here that concepts and solutions applied worldwide have originated, and the results of scientific papers have been cited in thousands of works by other authors and used in dozens of laboratories. This in turn led to the creation of the National Quantum Information Centre in 2007, which plays the part of an important link in European quantum informatics. Academics from the UG’s Department of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, gathered mainly in teams led by professors Horodecki and Żukowski (both of whom work in the field of quantum physics and have received many academic awards, including the Foundation For Polish Science Prize, the so-called Polish Nobel) are carrying out research into quantum cryptography, entangled states, quantum memory, the cloning and deletion of quantum information and quantum interferometry. Professor Charles H. Bennett from the USA and Anton Zeilinger from Austria have both been awarded honorary degrees by the University of Gdańsk.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Professor Michał Horodecki works at the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics of the University of Gdańsk and at the National Quantum Information Centre in Gdańsk. He is a member of the Gdańsk quantum information group which has contributed to the formation of the basics of the quantum entanglement theory and run numerous national and international projects. Professor Horodecki is the leader of the Gdańsk branch of the RAQUEL project in the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme. Last year he received the National Science Centre award and is also the winner of several other scientific awards, including the prestigious “QUROPE Quantum Information Award” given to young scientists for outstanding achievement in the field of quantum information.
His academic achievement comprises more than 130 publications which have been cited over 9,000 times. He is currently working, among others, on the enhancing of quantum mechanical possibilities, which can be used in the future to provide security in cryptographic protocols such as bank transfers, for example. He is also concerned with the area between quantum information and the principles of thermodynamics, including the theory of solids.
Mr Horodecki was honoured with the Minister of Science and Higher Education Award for, among others, demonstrating the correlation between the so-called surface law for entropy and the rapid disappearance of correlation as well as for the application of quantum information methods for thermodynamics in microscopy.
Dr Beata Czechowska-Derkacz
University of Gdańsk spokesperson
