The Latest Scientific Achievements of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Staff
We are pleased to share the latest achievements of our department’s staff:
The article “Has the War in Ukraine Changed Europeans,” co-authored by Prof. Natalia Letki, received the 2025 Jeremy Richardson Best Paper Prize. The publication brings together perspectives from many fields: public policy, political behavior, public opinion research, migration, European Union studies, and multilevel governance.
Dr. Dominika Harasimiuk has been appointed project manager of AIGENT, which has received funding under the Horizon program. The project, which will begin in October 2026, aims to create a new European digital twin infrastructure that will enable the simulation and analysis of the relationships between health, housing, climate, and transportation.
An article co-authored by Prof. Anna Kurowska, titled “The Bumpy Road From a Well‐Paid Earmarked Parental Leave to Engaged Fatherhood: Externally Driven Reform in a Persistently Gendered Culture,” was also published in the prestigious journal “Gender, Work & Organization”. The publication is one of the outcomes of a project funded by the National Science Center.
Under the leadership of Prof. Marta Jas-Koziarkiewicz, the research team received a grant from the Mieroszewski Center to carry out the project “The Architecture of the New Normal: How the War Has Reshaped the Polish and Ukrainian Labor Markets, Education, and Political Landscape.” The project is dedicated to analyzing and exchanging experiences among Polish and Ukrainian researchers regarding the realities of life in both countries following the outbreak of war in 2022. The Polish team participating in the project includes: Dr. Jadwiga Nadolska, Prof. Krzysztof Szewior, Ph.D., Iryna Pavlenko, Ph.D., and Vadym Zheltovskyy, Ph.D., professor.
Prof. Krzysztof Tomaszewski, Ph.D., completed the MBA in AI & Digital Transformation program at the Warsaw University of Technology Business School and defended his thesis prepared as part of the SkillMatrix AI project. This is an important component of developing his expertise and teaching skills in the areas of digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and strategic management.
Ph.D. candidate Karolina Hermann has received a grant under the Western Balkans–Visegrad Fellowships program. This is the only grant awarded to a Polish candidate in the field of international relations in this year’s competition. During her stay at the University of Belgrade in the spring of 2027, Ms. Hermann will, among other things, deliver a series of lectures on the significance of the Serbian Orthodox Church as a non-state actor in international relations.
An article by Dr. Olga Lavrinenko titled “The FEMPOWER Dataset: Mapping the Fragmentation of Women’s Organizations Worldwide” was published by Cambridge University Press and introduces a dataset covering approximately 9,000 women’s organizations operating in 190 countries between 1980 and 2023. The publication was produced as part of the NCN SONATINA and SONATA grants led by Dr. Lavrinenko.
Prof. Marek Madej is participating in the INFLUENCE project—Russian Influences in the European Periphery: Interdependencies, Narratives, Power—carried out as part of the Horizon 2020 program, Maria Skłodowska-Curie Actions. This is an international doctoral network dedicated to studying the mechanisms, structures, and tools of Russian influence in Europe, particularly in the Baltic states and the Western Balkans. The University of Warsaw will play a leading role in two doctoral projects carried out within the network.
Recently, the prestigious publisher Routledge released a book in its Contemporary Security Studies series that addresses current aspects of the Russian-Ukrainian war, titled *Values and Ethics in Russia’s War Against Ukraine: The Axiological Dimension of Conflict, edited by Dr. hab. Cezary Smuniewski, Prof. at the University of Łódź; Dr. hab. Przemysław Wywiał, Prof. at the University of Poznań; and Błażej Bodo, M.A. The book presents an interdisciplinary analysis of Russia’s war against Ukraine from the perspective of values and ethics and demonstrates how axiological aspects related to national identity, society’s capacity for self-organization, disinformation, gender roles, and geopolitical changes manifest themselves in the context of Ukrainian resistance, and to what extent and in what direction this resistance is shaped. The publication includes articles by members of our academic staff:
- Introduction: An Axiological Perspective on the Study of Russia’s War Against Ukraine ( Prof. Cezary Smuniewski, Prof. Przemysław Wywiał, B.A. Błażej Bado)
- The Axiological Dimension of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Political Leadership (Ewa Maria Maciniak, Ph.D., and Agnieszka Magdalena Zaręba, Ph.D.)
- Funeral Ceremonies for Ukrainian Soldiers in 2022–2024: A Theological and Political Study of Funeral Speeches(Cezary Smuniewski, Ph.D., Professor; Paweł Marek Mrowiński, M.A.)
- Will a Values-Driven Approach Prevail? EU–Ukraine Relations in Times of War ( Vadym Zheltovskyy, Ph.D., Professor)
- The Evolution of Poles’ Attitudes Toward the War in Ukraine and Its Social Determinants (Ewa Maria Maciniak, Ph.D., and Jonathan Scovil, Ph.D.)
- Conclusion: The Axiological Horizon of Russia’s War Against Ukraine ( Cezary Smuniewski, Ph.D., Prof.; Przemysław Wywiał, Ph.D., Prof. at the University of Poznań; Błażej Bado, M.A.)
We extend our heartfelt congratulations on these inspiring achievements! They demonstrate the scope, diversity, and international significance of the research conducted at our Department.
