• Dariusz Strugarek received a scholarship to revolutionize satellite Earth observation missions
• Daria Marczak was awarded for a biodegradable technology that may protect Wrocław from further floods
• The Scholarship Committees awarded Michał Dudek for contributing research to create a strategy to protect black earth in Poland

The Student Scholarship Programme is run by the Wrocław Academic Centre at the initiative of the Mayor of Wrocław. In this year's edition of the programme, scholarships were awarded to 24 PhD students from Wrocław universities who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in their fields of study. Additionally, 33 PhD students received honourable mentions from the Scholarship Committees. PLN 432,000 was allocated to finance the winners.

The Scholarship Committees assessed the candidates’ applications in 8 categories. PhD students of the UPWr Doctoral School were awarded in three of them, one of which was awarded a scholarship.

Winner of the Student Scholarship Programme - Dariusz Strugarek

Dariusz Strugarek received a Jan Mozrzymas scholarship which is awarded in the field of interdisciplinary research. He was recognized for his PhD thesis, in which he demonstrated an innovative use of observational data of two satellite geodesy techniques – satellite laser ranging (SLR) and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), to implement reference systems and determine geodetic properties of the Earth. The results of the research were published in scientific articles, leading journals and were presented at international conferences such as the ILRS conference in Stuttgart, where they were appreciated by a group of experts.

Currently in space, on low Earth orbits approx. below 2,000 km, there are many observation satellites that provide various types of data about the planet. For example, the Sentinel-3 mission to study the sea and ocean levels, the Swarm mission to study the Earth's magnetic field, or the remote sensing mission TanDEM-X used to study the Earth’s deformations. In order to provide reliable and accurate data, their orbits must be precisely defined. Therefore, they are equipped with various satellite geodesy instruments.

Standard GNSS and SLR observations are used to precisely determine the position of satellites in space and to check the quality of their orbits. In his work, Dariusz uses this data not only to verify the quality of satellite orbits, but also to implement global reference systems and to determine geodetic properties of the Earth. By improving the data integration and systematic error modeling of SLR and GNSS observations, he determined the precise coordinates of the measurement stations, parameters describing the movement of the Earth's center of mass, the movement of the Earth's pole and the length of the day. The parameters studied by Dariusz are crucial to precisely describe the phenomena of the Earth system. They give satellite observation missions new applications, more accurate reference systems, and cause global geodetic parameters to translate into better data for the scientific community, institutions, companies and society. They will improve many areas of life and science related to monitoring tectonic movements, melting glaciers, studying vegetation supplies of or navigating vehicles.

Honourable mention in the field of engineering and technical sciences - Daria Marczak

Daria Marczak received an honourable mention for her research on the development of a new technology of biodegradable water-sorbing geocomposites (BioGSW) in the Marian Suski scholarship category, which is granted in the field of engineering and technical sciences.

Daria's work is important to protect Wrocław from the river Odra overflowing as it is a part of the modernization and construction of the city’s embankments which are often devoid of vegetation, causing them to erode. Protecting embankments with vegetation improves their efficiency in the event of a flood, but the challenge is to ensure the right conditions for the plants.

The BioGSW is an innovative technology for storing water in soil so that it is available to plants to survive periods of drought. It consists of three elements: a non-woven fabric, an internal skeleton and a superabsorbent (SAP). The non-woven fabric is designed to capture water from the soil, which is then stored by the SAP that has the ability to absorb large amounts of water. The skeleton provides room for the SAP to expand. Plant roots are then able to soak up the water stored in the BioGSW, so that they can easily survive a period of drought.

A synthetic version of the water-absorbing geocomposite technology has already been patented and commercialized at UPWr and is known as Hydrobox. Daria is working on perfecting this technology and creating a biodegradable version. The use of biomaterials will reduce the accumulation of plastic in the soil and allow the product to be more successful abroad. The BioGSW can also be used in green urban areas, when planting trees and shrubs.

Honourable mention in the field of Earth and environmental sciences – Michał Dudek

Michał Dudek, a PhD student at UPWr Doctoral School, was awarded an honourable mention by the Scholarship Committees in the Alfred Jahn scholarship category, given for successes in the field of Earth and environmental sciences. Michał’s research focuses on studying the changes that have taken place in the black earth soils of southern Poland.

In Poland, black earth runs through Hrubieszów, Przemyśl, near Krakow, ending close to Wrocław. Currently however, it only makes up a few percent of soil in Poland. It’s very valuable because it’s high in carbon, has a good structure and is rich in nutrients for plants. The amount of black earth in Poland is unfortunately decreasing over time because it’s subject to degradation.

Soil degradation is mainly caused by exploitation and climate change. To stop the process it can be fertilized, preferably with natural fertilizers, and taken care of by planting a layer of vegetation so that it’s not exposed to erosion. Mainly however, the focus should be on preventing the loss of organic matter that is caused by agricultural over-exploitation, causing the black earth to lose its properties.

Michał's research will contribute to developing a black earth protection strategy. Spectroscopic methods which Michał uses tell him which plants formed the organic matter accumulated in the deep layers of the soil. With this information he will be able to examine how the soil formed in the past. Once he knows everything about the black earth's past, he will be able to predict the direction of it’s changes in the future.

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