Pienkowski Award

The Professor Stefan Pienkowski Award

The award was established by the Council of the Faculty of Physics at University of Warsaw to commemorate Professor Stefan Pieńkowski, the founder of the Warsaw center of physics. It has been awarded since 2004 (biennially since 2020) to young Polish scientists under the age of 40 for significant scientific achievements in experimental physics, astronomy, chemistry, and biology. Particular emphasis is placed on the candidate’s ability to build or co-create research teams and to introduce new research directions into Polish laboratories.

The initiator and first funder of the award was Dr. Marek Maria Pieńkowski, acting through the Marek Maria Pienkowski Foundation. Since 2020, The Kosciuszko Foundation has served as a co-funder.

The laureate receives a scholarship of PLN 50,000 and a medal from the Marek Maria Pienkowski Foundation.

The award was created both to honor the legacy of Professor Stefan Pienkowski and to promote his vision of scientific work – one that has a meaningful impact on the development of the national research community. The award is national in scope and recognizes outstanding scientific achievements in experimental physics, astronomy, chemistry, and biology that contribute to the advancement of Poland’s scientific landscape.

In recent years, the award regulations have undergone significant revisions, including:

• since 2020, the award has been granted every two years;
• The Kosciuszko Foundation became a co-founder;
• the prize amount was increased to PLN 50,000;
• greater emphasis has been placed on candidates’ ability to build or co-create research teams;
• the upper age limit for candidates was raised to 40 years old;
• the selection process is now conducted in two stages, including presentations by top candidates before the Award Committee’s executive board;
• the laureate is required to deliver a lecture on their research at the Pienkowski and Infeld Colloquium at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw.