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It is with great sadness that we have received the news of the passing of Professor Jerzy Wołowski (1936–2025) an outstanding physicist, long-time employee of the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, mentor, and friend.

Jerzy Wołowski was born in 1936 in Lubicz near Toruń. He graduated from the University of Warsaw in 1960, defending his master’s thesis in nuclear spectroscopy. In 1967 he received his PhD in physics, also at the University of Warsaw, on the basis of research in nuclear physics carried out at the Institute of Physics, UW. From 1961 to 1969 he worked at the Military University of Technology, first as an assistant and later as an adjunct, teaching physics to WAT students. Between 1969 and 1975, Dr Wołowski was involved in establishing the new Nuclear Physics Group at WAT and led research on laser–plasma interactions, already achieving results of international significance.

From 1976 he worked at the newly established Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, formed by merging four groups previously operating at WAT. As head of a laboratory, later a department, and deputy director for research, he focused on plasma physics generated by lasers and selected aspects of laser-driven thermonuclear fusion.

In 1991 he earned his habilitation degree after defending a dissertation on anomalous effects in laser plasmas. He led numerous national and international research projects and supervised many doctoral students. In 2014 he was awarded the title of professor. Three years later, the President of the Republic of Poland honoured him with the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta for outstanding achievements in scientific research and teaching, for the promotion of science, for supporting the development of Polish entrepreneurship, and for his distinguished service to the state and society.

Professor Wołowski was the author or co-author of over 190 papers in leading scientific journals and more than 200 conference contributions. He co-organised international conferences and was a member of several scientific organisations and committees.

We will remember him as an eminent scholar, a kind teacher and colleague, who left a lasting mark on the development of Polish research in the field of laser microfusion.

We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Professor Wołowski.

The management and staff
of the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion

On 19 September 2025, during the PLASMA 2025 International Conference on Research, Diagnostics and Applications of Plasma in Warsaw, the IPPLM will mark 20th anniversary of the coordination of research on nuclear fusion in Poland and the establishment of the Polish Euratom-IPPLM Association (CeNTE). This milestone event will bring together leading scientists, pioneers of the Association, and representatives of research and industry engaged in the global effort to make fusion energy a reality.

The anniversary programme will include keynote lectures on the history and future of fusion research in Europe, followed by two high-level panel discussions that will be streamed live on YouTube:

• Panel I: Polish Contributions to Fusion Research – Achievements and International Collaborations
  Speakers:

• Tymoteusz Ciuk, Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics
• Łukasz Ciupiński, Warsaw University of Technology (WUT)
• Monika Kubkowska, Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion (IPPLM)
• Jacek Rzadkiewicz, National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ)

• Panel II: The Future of Fusion Research – Key Milestones, Breakthrough Innovations, and Industry Collaboration
  Featuring:

• Tony Donné, Fusion for Energy Innovation (FEInn)
• Gianfranco Federici, EUROfusion Programme Manager
• Wojciech Królas, Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN)
• Fernanda Rimini, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA)

These discussions will explore Poland’s role in advancing fusion research as well as the broader European and global strategies for achieving fusion energy.

We warmly invite everyone to join us in celebrating this anniversary and to follow the livestream of the panel discussions on our YouTube channel.

The livestream begins at 12:00 (CET) on Friday, 19 September.

Join the live event here: www.youtube.com/@ifpilm/streams

During the 49^th Congress of Polish Physicists, held from September 5–11, 2025, in Katowice, the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion (IPPLM) was represented both among the speakers and in the event's organizational structures.

The Congress Program Committee included Dr. hab. Monika Kubkowska, IPPLM director, who was co-responsible for the content of this year's conference.

Three researchers from the Institute presented in the thematic session "Modern Technologies in Physics":

• Dr. hab. Agata Chomiczewska with a presentation entitled "Breakthrough scientific achievements in the field of nuclear fusion research",
• Dr. Eng. Natalia Wendler who presented the results of the work entitled "Analysis of plasma contamination in the baseline scenario during deuterium-tritium experiments on the JET tokamak",
• Dr. Eng. Agnieszka Zaraś-Szydłowska with the presentation "Comprehensive interferometry in laser plasma research".

Dr. hab. Agata Chomiczewska (from the left), Dr. Eng. Natalia Wendler and Dr. Eng. Agnieszka Zaraś-Szydłowska during their speeches at the 49th Congress of Polish Physicists

About the Congress of Polish Physicists

The Congress of Polish Physicists is the largest regular physics conference in Poland, organized biennially by the Polish Physical Society in collaboration with leading academic centres. This year's edition was co-organized by the University of Silesia in Katowice.

The event provides a key forum for the exchange of knowledge and experiences among the physics community, enabling the presentation of achievements in various branches of physics, as well as related sciences and technologies used in experiments and theory development. The program includes lectures, thematic panels, student and poster sessions, presentations by scientific circles, and a session facilitating networking between students and future employers.

The congress has a history spanning over a century. The first meeting of physicists took place in Warsaw in 1923. Since then, this event has almost continuously supported the development of national research centres, integrating the research community, and promoting the achievements of Polish physics on a national forum.

Photos: IPPLM

We are pleased to announce that the Minister of Energy, Mr. Miłosz Motyka, has appointed Dr. hab. Agata Chomiczewska to the position of Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs at the Sylwester Kaliski Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion (IPPLM), effective September 1, 2025.

Dr. hab. Agata Chomiczewska graduated from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw. In 2005, she began working at the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion. In 2012, she obtained a PhD in Physics and a postdoctoral degree in 2020, both from the National Centre for Nuclear Research. Since 2016, she has served as the National Scientific Coordinator for research conducted on European experimental tokamak-type thermonuclear devices located in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Germany, and Japan. She is a member of the Project Board in the European EUROfusion consortium, responsible for substantive supervision and setting strategic directions for the implementation of the nuclear fusion research program, as well as a member of the Council of the Plasma Physics Section of the European Physical Society.

Professor’s primary research areas are thermonuclear fusion, with particular emphasis on studying plasma impurities using spectroscopic methods in magnetically confined systems. She is the author or co-author of over 200 scientific publications. She actively participates in events promoting thermonuclear fusion and in organizing international scientific conferences.

Dr. hab. Agata Chomiczewska is part of an international team of researchers who in recent years achieved a breakthrough in the field of nuclear fusion during experiments at the world's largest tokamak, JET, in the UK, setting a world energy record.

Photo: Dr. hab. Agata Chomiczewska. © IFPiLM

For the first time in the history of the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion (IPPLM), the Scientific Council has adopted a resolution to confer the degree of habilitated doctor. This became possible after the Institute was granted the right to award academic degrees, in accordance with Article 185(1) and Article 218 of the Act of 20 July 2018 – Law on Higher Education and Science. This historic decision was taken at the Council’s meeting on 7 July 2025 and concerned Dr. Katarzyna Batani, who was awarded the degree of habilitated doctor in the field of natural sciences, in the discipline of physical sciences.

After reviewing the full documentation of the habilitation procedure – including expert reviews of the scientific achievement and the resolution of the Habilitation Committee containing a detailed justification – the Scientific Council of IPPLM concluded that Dr. Katarzyna Batani’s scientific, teaching and science communication achievements meet the criteria required for the award of the degree of habilitated doctor.

Dr. Katarzyna Batani’s academic portfolio is available on the IPPLM website under the section on habilitation procedures: https://tiny.pl/vfvpp-jq