Author: Karolina Chodzińska

My name is Maryam and I am from Iran. I am currently working as a data management specialist in the Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences. I have studied natural resources engineering in the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, in my hometown. After completing my degree, I worked in Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The university atmosphere gradually inspired me to continue my study not only in higher levels but also abroad. I decided to join Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) to conduct my M.Sc. in applied geophysics. I became familiar with geophysical methods such as remote sensing, resistivity, magnetic, seismic, etc., and I had the chance to apply a few of these methods to monitor environmental pollution. I published several papers based on the results of the project. Then I have been offered a position of research assistant (data officer) at the Center of Seismic Imaging, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, in Malaysia, for two years. Meanwhile, I attended some of national and international conferences to learn more and to make new connections in our field societies.

In 2019, along with my family, I moved to Poland, and I decided to seek a job related to my background. Considering the fact that my husband was working as a researcher at the Institute of Geophysics, PAS, I  knew about the Institute very well. Since I had a previous experience with data management, moreover, I was familiar with the geophysical data and projects, hence I applied for my current position at the department of Technical Support (IT). Today, after four months working at the Institute, I strongly believe that I have learnt a lot about the new ways to manage research data, and how important it is to develop a database for efficient access and sharing the data. Here, I take this opportunity to appreciate Dr. Dorota Olszewska for all her effort to train me for this position. Finally, I encourage all researchers of IG PAS, to utilize the data portal for sharing their research data, whether publicly or privately, which will have a great impact on the future of their career.

Hello Everyone!

I am Tanmay Keluskar from India. I enrolled as a doctoral student at the Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Science in October 2020. I will be working under the guidance of Dr. Hab. Monika Kusiak and Dr. Daniel Dunkley on the project “Tracing Archean crust in the North Atlantic Craton (NAC) of Northern Labrador.”

I was born in Mumbai, India, a city situated at the western margin of Deccan Volcanic Province, one of the world’s largest Large Igneous Province. Right from my childhood, while traveling and trekking, I’ve always wondered about the formation of such giant rocks. This curiosity dragged me into the field of Geology for my Bachelor’s studies. Dr. Raymond Duraiswami from the University of Pune, India, introduced me to the Deccan Volcanic Province and its evolution during fieldwork, which was a triggering point for me as a student, and I start developing an interest in Volcanology.

During my Master’s studies at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, I got a chance to work under Dr. Hetu Sheth’s guidance. He encouraged me to pursue my research in the field of Volcanology. While working with him, I started developing an interest in Geochemistry along with Volcanology. I was selected as a Sakura Science Research Intern awarded by the Japanese Government. During this internship, I worked with Prof. Maeno Fukashi on morphologies and geochemistry of lava flows at Izu Oshima Island, Japan. This internship helped me to develop critical thinking and instrumentation experience essential for my research career. During my Master’s thesis work under Dr. Hetu Sheth’s guidance, I worked on Ignimbrite deposits from North-western Deccan Volcanic Province. As a result of our team’s hard work and consistency, we could publish our research work in a couple of reputed Geoscience journals while 3^rd publication is under process.

After completing my Master’s studies, I decided to expand my research scope and work on subjects other than Volcanology. During this period, I found an opening for admission at the International Environmental Doctoral School, University of Silesia. I found the project posted by Dr.Hab. Monika Kusiak regarding Geochronology and Geochemistry. While reading research publications of Dr. Hab. Monika Kusiak and other literature related to the project I found that this project has extensive applicability in future Geoscience research. Fortunately, I was successful in securing admission and enrolled in the Institute. In this project, we will work on Geochemistry and Geochronology of  Archean rocks of North Atlantic Cration. This project aims to understand continental crust’s evolutionary trend and constrain the geological events in a given time frame using Geochronological techniques. Our research focuses on the U-Th-Pb geochronology of Zircon crystal and deciphering the isotopic trends to better understand early continental crust evolution.

It has been a couple of months since I am working under the guidance of Dr.Hab. Monika Kusiak and Dr. Daniel Dunkley. The virtual meetings with my supervisors and colleagues have made me believe that I am on the right path in my research career. Every doctoral student requires an experienced and understanding supervisor and colleagues to achieve his or her research goal during doctoral studies. I am fortunate to have Dr.Hab. Kusiak and Dr. Dunkly to guide me as well as colleagues like Mr. Marcin Mieszczak and Mr. Piotr Król to accompany me during this journey.  IGF PAN staff support me a lot during my Visa and admission procedures. I feel proud to be a part of such a prestigious institute. I am committed to the Institute And would work hard to maintain research standards set by Institute.

Dear All,

In August 2019, after the Ministry of Science and Higher Education published a new list of journals, the rules for awarding bonuses for publications in the IG PAS were updated.

The new regulations rewarded articles that were published in the highest scored journals, i.e. for 100, 140 and 200 points. Each author was entitled to a bonus only once a year for a selected article or its fragment in the case of multi-author works.

From January 2021, the bonus rules will be slightly modified. The person applying for the bonus will have to define a percentage of their contribution to the preparation of the article. Bonuses for publications will be awarded until the employee obtains 100% of the contribution to the development of the publication in a given year. Only articles published in the highest-scoring journals will continue to receive bonus.

The above changes are to emphasize the long-term publication policy of IG PAS. Its main goal is to encourage all employees to publish regularly in good journals, with a large author’s contribution. As you can see, the bonus does not apply to “slots”, which are the ministerial way of evaluating research units. The task of scientists is not to “fill the slots”, but to solve important problems, and to communicate their results in the form of good publications. The publishing bonus is not meant to be a reward for each publication, but to encourage reaching for more influential publishers. In the long term, a smaller number of good papers with a large contribution will lead to both the recognition of the authors and the entire Institute. As an A + institute, we must have higher standards than just ministerial slots.

I hope that in the New Year we will be able to return to the normal mode of work, which will translate into even better publication results for all of us. Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs, Assoc. Prof. Mariusz Majdański.