Ewa Gorecka is affiliated with Warsaw University, Department of Chemistry. Her group specializes in characterization of soft matter structure. Her main interests are: chiral liquid crystalline structures build of achiral molecules, hybrid inorganic–organic structures, polar phases, gels and complex structure of polymers. She is an expert in applying X-ray techniques to study soft matter. She has published over 300 articles. 

Education

• 1985–Feb. 1992 (PhD) Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
• 1980–May 1985 (MS) Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

Appointments

• 2010–date, Head of Laboratory of Dielectrics and Magnetics, Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Poland
• 2018–2019, Visiting Fellow at Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US
• 2001–2002, Visiting professor at CNRS, Strasbourg, France
• 2000–2001, Visiting professor at Chalmers Technical University, Sweden
• 1994–1995, Researcher at Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

Honors

• 1990, Japanese Applied Physical Society award for the participation in the discovery of the antiferroelectric liquid crystals
• 2018, Prime Minister award for research related to soft matter
• 2020, The G. W. Gray Medal, British Liquid Crystal Society, GB
• 2020, The Foundation for Polish Science Prize – an individual prize for eminent researchers

International responsibilities

• Chair of the Awards Committee, International Liquid Crystal Society
• Associate editor of Soft Matter (Royal Society of Chemistry, GB)
• Member of Editorial Board of Liquid Crystals (Taylor & Francis Group, GB)

Janusz Parka, Ph. D., D. Sc., Eng, Full Professor

Institute of Applied Physics, Department of Advanced Technology and Chemistry, Military Academy of Technology, Head of Photorefractive LC and Metamaterials Group, Warsaw, Poland.

MS, Engineer (Physicist), 1977; PhD, 1983; DSc, 2001; Prof., 2003–present.

Institute of Applied Physics, Military University of Technology Physics, Assistant, Adjunct, Full Professor (1977–present). And at the same time Professor in Institute of Optoelectronics and Microelectronics, Department of Electronics and Information Technology Warsaw University of Technology (2002–2019). Member of Scientific Councils in Department of Electronics and Information Technology (2003–2019). Member of Scientific Council of Department of Chemistry and Advanced Technology Military University of Technology. Head of Electrooptic Liquid Crystal an Metamaterials Group. Author and co-author of nearly 140 scientific papers. Promotor of 7 PhD Thesis.

Studies of electrooptical effects in liquid crystals, specially color effects in liquid crystals “guest–host system” with azo and anthraquinone dyes, properties and other physical phenomena of Twisted and Supertwisted, Chiral Nematics, technological problems with orientation and surface processes for display applications. The effects of main interest: optical and nonlinear phenomena in doped liquid crystals, photorefraction processes in thin liquid crystal layers, reorientation of LC molecules by light, dynamic holography, optical data storage and information processing. Optical recording of polarization grating recording in chiral nematics and smectics. For 12-year investigations of metamaterials, tunable transducers with liquid crystals, tunable hyperbolic metastuctures. Applications of metamaterials for photonic devices like tunable phase shifters, antenna and multiband filters.

Xabier Quintana is professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UMP). He has developed his activity in the ETSI of Telecommunications of the UPM since 1993. His research interest has focused on Guided Optical Communications (anisotropic waveguides, unconventional fibers), unguided Optical Communications (atmospheric transmission, space), Photonic Applications of Liquid Crystals (displays, micro-displays, phase devices, tunable filters, modal lenses) and organic electronics (OLEDs).

He is co-author in more than 50 international publications in scientific journals with an impact index. He has made more than 150 communications to international conferences. He is also co-inventor of 8 patents and he has directed  7 doctoral theses, most of them in liquid crystal technology.

He has developed graduate and postgraduate teaching activities, mainly at the Higher Polytechnic School of the Carlos III University of Madrid (1997–98) and since then at the Higher Technical School of Telecommunications Engineers of the UPM and at the Higher Technical School of Civil Engineers of the UPM (Graduate in Materials Engineering). He has taught about 10 undergraduate subjects of different Study Plans, and as many postgraduate degrees in Doctorate and Masters. He is co-author of several Handbooks of Laboratory Practices. He has participated in several educational innovation projects.

Prof. Quintana has given lectures, courses and seminars, mainly on optical communications and liquid crystal devices.