During the ceremonial inauguration of the new academic year, the titles of "Best Graduate", "Best Student" and "Best Student-Athlete" of the Nicolaus Copernicus University were awarded.
The best graduate of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in the last academic year was M.Sc. Eng. Katarzyna Pianka, who completed full-time second-cycle studies in chemistry with an average grade of 4.93. In 2023, she defended her master's thesis entitled "Multifunctional fluoropolymer membranes with controlled surface properties". In the 2020/2021 academic year, she joined the Membranes and Membrane Processes Research Team, where she was actively involved in research in the area of chemistry and materials engineering, separation techniques, with particular emphasis on membrane separation techniques and their implementation in food chemistry and technology and water purification processes. Katarzyna Pianka gained experience in student programs, and scientific projects, as well as during trips and internships, including as part of the Erasmus+ program. Currently, she is preparing to go to Turku in Finland, where, thanks to the Erasmus+ program, he will complete a graduate internship in the physical chemistry team. So far, she has completed studies at the Technical University of Brno, an internship at the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana, and studies at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague. In 2021-202, she was a beneficiary of the "Study with a Mentor" program, during which she participated not only in research carried out at the Membrane and Membrane Processes Research Team, but was, among others, involved in work on the Sonata NCN project. She was also the grant holder of the research project in the second edition of the "Grant4NCUStudents" program implemented as part of the "Excellence Initiative - Research University" project at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. In the 2021/22 academic year, Katarzyna Pianka was the winner of the Scholarship of the Mayor of Toruń and the Rector's Scholarship multiple times (in 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23). The graduate's most important successes include the Minister's Scholarship for students for significant achievements in the 2022/23 academic year and the DuPont distinction in the Gold Medal of Chemistry competition organized by the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (12th edition). Katarzyna Pianka was also a member of the team that was awarded the 1st-degree award of the Rector of the Nicolaus Copernicus University for achievements in the field of science and research for the year 2022/23. She presented her achievements at numerous scientific conferences, both domestic and foreign. She is a co-author of four scientific articles in renowned journals with a total IF above 38.
Congratulations and we wish you further success!