Materials Research in Poland K.J. Kurzydłowski

Transcription

1 Solid State Phenomena Vol. 94 (2003) pp (2003) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland doi: / Materials Research in Poland K.J. Kurzydłowski Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Scientific Research, Warsaw University of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Woloska 141, Warsaw, Poland Abstract. Research in materials science in Poland is undertaken in a number of institutes and universities. All research institutions in Poland are evaluated every four years by the State Committee for Scientific Research, KBN, which is a major research funding agency in Poland. The recent evaluation exercise took place at the end of This exercise has been carried out separately by 13 sub-committees, each of them evaluating a specific field of science. The Materials Engineering and Technology sub-committee reviewed over 40 research organizations with the majority representing research institutes supervised by the Ministry of Economy. Of these, 7 were ranked into the highest category three industrial research institutes, one institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences and three university departments. Introduction The research institutions in Poland can be divided into three major groups. The biggest consists of the universities, industrial research institutes form the second largest group and the third are the institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The universities in Poland are generally offering high quality education. The major academic centres are in Warsaw and Krakow, both cities having a long history of higher education. The Jagiellonian University in Krakow has existed for over 600 years and the Warsaw University of Technology has its roots in a preparatory school, which opened in The universities in Poland are divided into universities of technology (technical universities) and humanities. In addition, agricultural, medical and business schools usually act as separate entities. Applied research has been traditionally mainly been carried out at the universities of technology. The industrial research institutes were created under the central planning of the economy to serve the needs of various branches of industry and were supervised by the respective government ministries. In the current market driven system they are too dispersed, over-staffed and underfinanced. The dispersion in terms of both localization and constricted research subjects. This in particular applies to research institutes, which are located, because of historical central planning decisions, predominantly in the southern part of the country. As a rule the institutes insignificantly contributed to the development of spin-off companies but, at the same time, the potential industrial partners might be hundreds kilometers away and with a relatively poor transport infrastructure, such a distance becomes a considerable barrier. As said earlier, the institutes were also designed to serve relatively narrowly defined research fields (welding, machining, forming etc.). In the manufacturing world, now characterized by growing complexity and integrity of operations, such a structure of research institutions is a further obstacle to improving cooperation between science and industry (see for example [1,2,3]). The Polish research institutions are generally reporting a tight financial situation. A relatively small part of their income come is derived from industrial contracts. Additional support, which is based on the evaluation of their performance, comes from the state, in the form of statutory funding and approximately 25% from research grants won in competitive procedures [3-5]. All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of TTP, (ID: , Pennsylvania State University, University Park, United States of America-05/06/14,02:23:27)

2 350 Interfacial Effects and Novel Properties of Nanomaterials Evaluation procedure Research institutions in Poland are evaluated every four years by the State Committee for Scientific Research, KBN, which is a major research funding agency in Poland. The recent evaluation exercise took place at the end of Each institution receiving funding from the KBN 1 has been appraised in terms of its efficiency in producing scientifically valid results, promoting young scientists and the application of the research results. The following parameters have been used to rank the institutions: number of publications in international and domestic journals, number of degrees awarded, number of patents and registered innovations, number of certified test laboratories weighted number of proved applications of their research results outside the institution. The general rules for ranking the achievements of each institution were decided by the Ministry of Science. It has been stipulated that publication in internationally recognized journals might range from 6 to 24 points. For comparison, up to 30 points could be scored for each registered research contract with an industrial partner and 24 for international patents. The State Committee for Scientific Research consists of 13 sub-committees dedicated to specific fields of research. Of these, 7 deal with the applied sciences and most decided to assign relatively less point to publications. For example the Materials Engineering and Technology sub-committee agreed to a maximum of 12 points. In this way, the importance of cooperation with industry was stressed. The results The Materials Engineering and Technology sub-committee reviewed over 40 research organizations with the majority being research institutes supervised by the Ministry of Economy. Some analysis of the evaluation results is given in the Tables. As could be expected the research institutes are generally more efficient in commercializing their results than the universities, with the latter being more competent in fundamental research. However, under closer examination, a group of establishments can be identified which are more efficient than others in a similar class. Institutions in this group are analyzed in terms of their size, location and focus of research. It can be noted from Table 1 that the highest efficiency, in terms of the combined results for publications and contract research achieved, are Warsaw University of Technology Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Institute of Non-ferrous Metals and The Institute of Ferrous Metals. These last two are located at the same city, Gliwice. 1 The only research establishments not included in the survey are R+D units of private companies. The data about such entities in Poland is scarce. The general feeling is that their number is marginal.

3 Solid State Phenomena Vol Institution Papers Patents Contracts Personnel Efficiency Class EU Warsaw UT , (2) Institute of Non-ferrous metals , (1) Institute of Ferrous metals ,32 1 Metalurgy PAN ,37 1 (1) Tricotextil ,11 1 Academy of Mining(NF) ,9 1 Czestochowa UT ,76 1 Poznan School of Economics Institute of Packaging Academy of Mining Academy of Mining (F) Institute of Textiles Institute of Logistics Institute of Welding Institute of Polymeric Materials Institute of Textile Materials Academy of Mining (M) Katowice UT Table 1. The institutions ranked in class 1 and 2. (data from the unpublished results of the survey curried out by the KBN in 2001) The highest efficiency in the field of publications is an institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences with the second position held by the WUT. The data is shown in Table 2. Institution Points Personnel Efficiency Metallurgy PAN Warsaw UT Academy of Mining (C) Bielsko UT Katowice U Table 2. The best performing institutions ranked by the number of publications in absolute and personnel weighted points (data from the unpublished results of the survey curried out by the KBN in 2001) It should be noted that despite the fact that the Institute performs research in metallurgy and materials science - both disciplines of an applied nature, its score in the research contract and patents was nil. On the other hand, the best performing institutions in the industrial applications are the research institutes supervised by the Ministry of Economy. The leading two are already mentioned Ferrous and Non-ferrous Institutes. The statistics for industrial research contracts are given in Table 3.

4 352 Interfacial Effects and Novel Properties of Nanomaterials Institution Efficiency Industry Patents Contracts Personnel Institute of Ferrous metals Institute of Non-ferrous metals Tricotextil Institute of Polymeric Materials Institute of Textile Materials Table 3. The best performing institutions in the field of industrial research contracts (data from the unpublished results of the survey curried out by the KBN in 2001) By comparing Tables 1, 2 and 3 it can be seen that the high overall position of WUT is based on a relatively balanced industrial and publishing activity. The results of evaluation exercise carried out in 2001 showed that among the best research institutions in the area of materials science are the relatively large units, which focus on the needs of the traditional industries, such as metal extraction and textiles. In Poland contract research for companies in these industrial sectors is mainly in the area of product improvement. As a result, the research is dispersed into rather small contracts. For the more challenging task of developing break-through technologies, integration of the research institutes in Poland is needed. National research program in Poland on Nanomaterials, Intermetallics and Biomaterials The State Committee for Scientific research also finances national projects in materials science. Currently two such projects are carried out and the third is in the final stage of preparation. The two existing projects concern nano-materials and intermetallics, and the third biomaterials. The Nano-materials project is coordinated by the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering of Warsaw University of Technology (for more information see It combines a total of 26 research topics covering all major types of engineering materials such as metals, ceramics, polymers and composites. The research teams involved come from 7 academic and research centres, most being associated with institutions located in Warsaw (12 groups). 14 groups concentrate on nano-metals and 12 on nano-ceramics. Nano-metals studied in the program are produced via 3 different routes: (a) severe plastic deformation, (b) compacting of nanopowders and (c) nano crystallization from amorphous and liquid state. Novel techniques used in this case include laser excitation, electric impulse sintering and shock wave compacting. A number of methods are used for processing nano-metals via severe plastic deformation. Bridgemen torsion, angular channel extrusion and cyclic extrusion compression techniques are employed to obtain nano structures of Al, Ti, Fe and their alloys. The research covers both fundamental and applied aspects of nano-metals. One of the projects aims at a quantitative description of grain boundary effects on mechanical properties of nano-metals obtained via different technological routes (nanocrystallization, powder compacting, severe plastic deformation). In addition to the mechanical properties other relevant properties investigated include magnetic properties (soft and hard magnets) and capacity for hydrogen storage. Nano-ceramics studied in the project are developed for a variety of applications. These include materials for lithium ion batteries, light sources, super conducting materials and bioceramics. Modern nano-ceramics with high toughness at room temperature and exhibiting super plastic behaviour are also investigated.

5 Solid State Phenomena Vol Cooperation with industry In the last 10 years Poland has transformed itself from central planning to a market economy. This transformation has been a major challenge to both industry and academia. Until 1989, industry enjoyed a risk-free situation of a supply driven market well protected against foreign competition. It should be also noted that almost the entire economy was based on the activity of state owned enterprises and private firms, for ideological reasons, were pushed into a narrow margin. Introduction of the market economy has exposed the whole of industry to a new environment. In a short period Polish companies had to adopt to a totally new system driven by the demand of customers and characterized by almost unrestricted competition. Market rules also started to be visible in the higher education sector in which a large number of private schools have emerged. Introduction of an algorithm for distribution of budgetary funding between the public universities resulted in their open competition for students. During the transition period, Polish companies had to restructure themselves. Most of their efforts have been devoted to retraining of staff in the principles of a market economy and business management. Much less attention has been given to new technologies and materials. Currently, an increasing interest in new technologies can be seen and there is a growing demand for contract research. Also foreign companies are becoming interested in utilizing local research resources. Small business sector Small businesses in Poland, is a very dynamic sector and a rather mysterious one. It consists of almost 3 million companies but they employ less than 9 million people. Among these companies large number are offering relatively simple services (e.g. grocery, agro-tourism). The other, technologically more advanced, generally suffer from under-financing. It is difficult to assess the demand in this sector for research. Public perception of the activity of small companies is still, to a large extent unfavorable. Nostalgia exists for the large and contempt for the the small. The principles of the current national policy in science are rather general and underline the importance of research for maintaining high standards of education. The policy also recognizes the meaning of research excellence and the international character of the science. The State Committee for Scientific Research has also pledged support for innovations in Polish industry. A brief analysis in the field of materials science suggests that much of the money is directed to relatively large, formerly state owned enterprises, in the sector of the so called old economy. The State Committee of Scientific Research is one of the institutions playing a potentially important role, particularly for emerging high tech. companies. The Committee runs a special program of targeted grants. In an attempt to make its policy towards SMEs more effective, the KBN decided recently to offer special procedures to subsidize R&D at SMEs. New development European programs In recent months a new opportunity has been opened for both Polish industry and academia. This opportunity is a consequence of Polish participation in the EU Fifth Frameworks Program. One of the important consequences of participation in 5FP is the exposure of Polish scientists, working both at research institutions and in industry, to European standards. Some of the research institutions took the opportunity and are now recognized as Centres of Excellence. Others presented themselves as useful partners in larger European consortia. In the field of materials research there

6 354 Interfacial Effects and Novel Properties of Nanomaterials have been over 10 research centres granted the recognition of excellence by the EU. The list of these centers and a short description of their activities is given in the Appendix. Conclusion Despite all the odds, obvious in the situation of a country struggling to catch-up with the developed world after years of stagnation under a centrally planned economy, the Polish materials science community is doing reasonably well. Wider participation of Polish scientists and students in international programs will certainly help to close the gap between Polish and Western science and industry. Hopefully, it may also pay back to the international materials science community. References 1. M. Dietrich and K.J. Kurzydłowski: "A New Relationship Between Higher Education and Business in Poland", Industry and Higher Education, 7, (1993), K.J. Kurzydłowski, C.C. Jones and A.K. Campbell: "Development of a university related incubator in a transition economy: the Polish experience", Industry and Higher Education, 8, (1994), Science Technology in Poland (2000), Central Statistic Office (2002) 4. Innovation activities in industrial enterprises in Poland ( ). Central Statistical Office (2002) (summary in English) 5. J. Kozłowski, S. Kubielas, Science Technology in Poland, KB, (2001)

7 Solid State Phenomena Vol APPENDIX List of Polish Centres of Excellence related to Materials Science. TITLE ACRONYM ORGANIZATION CONTACT High Pressure Methods in Optoelectronics, Nanotechnology And Biotechnology Centre for Low Temperature Studies of Promising Materials for Applications Krakow Research Centre of Molecular Catalysis and Soft Matter Chemistry PRENABIO CELTAM CATCOLL Physics and Technology of Photonic CEPHONA Nanostructures New Technologies for Medical Applications: Studying and Production of Carbon Surfaces NANODIAM Allowing for Controllable Bioactivity Centre of Excellence in Nano- and Microscale Characterization and Development of Advanced Materials Centre of Excellence for Magnetic and Molecular Materials for Future Electronics Surface Phenomena and Reactions Centre for Photoactive Materials Centre of Competence High - Tech Textile NAMAM MMMFE SURPHARE CPM HTT High Pressure Research Center, PAS Institute for Low Temperature and Structure Research, PAS Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, PAS Institute of Electron Technology Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Technical University of Lodz Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, PAS Institute of Molecular Physics, PAS Institute of Physical Chemistry, PAS Institute of Physical Chemistry, PAS Institute of Textile Architecture sylvek@unipress.waw.pl jklamut@int.pan.wroc.pl nchaber@cyf-kr.edu.pl cambroz@ite.waw.pl rector@sir.p.lodz.pl nmmoser@imim-pan.krakow.pl Narcyz.Pislewski@ifmpan.poznan.pl klatrat@ichf.edu.pl klatrat@ichf.edu.pl iat@iat.formus.pl Centre of Competence for Advanced Polymeric Materials of Industrial Importance POLMATIN Industrial Chemistry Research Institute Wojciech.Lubiewa- Wielezynski@ichp.pl Center of Competence in Integrated Technical and Quality Systems for Corrosion Protection CORPROT Institute of Precision Engineering nakon@imp.edu.pl Centre of Competence for Aluminum Modern Technology and Integrating of Aluminum Research Area Centra1 Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals zbigniews@imn.gliwic.pl Centre of Excellence for Advanced Chitin Materials and Structures Nanometer-Scale Science and Advanced Materials Centre of Competence in Safety of Pressure Equipment CEChit Institute of Chemical Fibres iwch@mazurek.man.lodz.pl NANOSAM Jagiellonian University ufwarcza@cyf-kr.edu.pl PRESAFE Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Science Materials and Engineering wku@rekt.pw.edu.pl

8 356 Interfacial Effects and Novel Properties of Nanomaterials Nanocrystalline Materials: Fabrication, Structure, Modelling, Properties and Applications NanoCentre Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Science Materials and Engineering Centre of Excellence in Physics and Technology of Semiconductor Interfaces And Sensors CESIS Silesian University of Technology Center of Excellence "Sol-Gel Materials And Nanotechnology" SGM&N Technical University of Wroclaw, Institute of Materials Science and Applied Mechanics

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