On June 27-28, 2024, the International Student Research Seminar “Advanced Materials – from Synthesis to Applications” was held at the Institute of Physics of the University of Rzeszow. Thirty young researchers from the USA, Poland and Ukraine presented the results obtained during the summer research programs in numerous European universities including the University of Rzeszow, Warsaw University, The Institute of Fundamental Technological Research at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Lodz University of Technology, the University of Rennes (France), the University of Pardubice (the Czech Republic). The participating students represented the University of Rzeszow (Poland), Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine), Austin Peay State University (the USA), Adelphi University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (the USA). The American students stayed in Europe as part of The International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program. The seminar was held under the patronage of the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) and the Science and Technology Centre in Ukraine.

The main organizers of this Seminar were prof. Józef Cebulski, PhD, DSc and Yaroslav Shpotyuk, PhD from the University of Rzeszow, prof. Andriy Kovalskiy, PhD, and prof. Roman Holovchak from Austin Peay State University, and prof. Justyna Widera-Kalinowska, PhD from Adelphi University.

The main topics of the presentations were catalysts for plasma reactions, photocatalysis, functional nanomaterials for environmental applications, amorphous materials for biomedical applications, multicomponent non-oxide glasses and solution-processed amorphous and nanophase materials.

It should be mentioned that the University of Rzeszow, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and Austin Peay State University are part of the International Multilateral Partnerships for Resilient Education and Science System in Ukraine (IMPRESS-U). This program was initiated by the U.S. National Science Foundation and national funding organizations from five European countries, including NAWA in Poland to support excellence in science and engineering research, education and innovation through international collaboration and to promote the integration of Ukrainian scientists into the international research community. In May and June, 2024 nine students conducted joint research within the IMPRESS-U at the University of Rzeszow (three students from each country, from Poland, Ukraine and the USA).

The uniqueness of this project relies on the idea to combine the experience and knowledge of three participating institutions in realization of three sub-projects which belongs to one common area – amorphous materials science. Each sub-project was proposed by different institution and is supervised by their senior researcher, while two remaining institutions are participating in realization of the project.

The most important aim of this project is to involve students from participating institutions in international scientific collaboration. Creation of joint research teams (students and scientists) aims to attempt to capture scientific and intellectual synergy from the diverse educational systems of Poland, Ukraine and the USA.

The Seminar also included some accompanying events, such as attending a lecture of the Noble Prize winner Professor Aaron Ciechanover and a visit to the Castle Museum in Lancut.