New teams to be established at the University of Gdańsk thanks to funding from the National Science Centre will investigate the mathematical aspects of quantum computing and the molecular mechanism and functions of the GNOM protein in plant development. The NSC Sonata BIS competition is aimed at researchers with experience in independent scientific work and is designed to support the creation of new research teams conducting basic research.
Source: Narodowe Centrum Nauki
The three projects to be carried out at the University of Gdańsk are ‘Efficient higher-order quantum computing’ (Principal Investigator: dr hab. Michał Studziński, prof. UG, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science; funding amount: 2,784,960 PLN), ‘Molecular mechanism and evolution of the GNOM protein function in plant development’ (Principal Investigator: dr inż. Maciej Adamowski, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG and MUG; funding amount: 4,931,528 PLN) and ‘Mathematical optimisation in quantum information’ (Principal Investigator: dr Felix Huber, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science; funding amount: 2,911,590 PLN).
The project ‘Efficient Higher-Order Quantum Calculations’ focuses on developing efficient methods of storing and manipulating quantum programmes and providing new mathematical tools for describing quantum systems with symmetries. This research is part of a global trend of searching for the fundamental principles of operation and possible practical applications of hypothetical quantum computers.
‘The funds from the NSC will finance the research group's activities for a period of five years, including the employment of a postdoctoral researcher and two doctoral students,’ says dr hab. Michał Studziński, prof. UG. ‘This will enable us to create a competitive research team that will deal with both the theoretical aspects and potential applications in quantum information processing. We also plan to work closely with foreign partners on selected research tasks. Receiving the Sonata BIS 14 grant is a great honour for me and an opportunity to carry out ambitious research at the intersection of mathematics, physics and quantum computing. I am glad that I can build my research group in such a dynamically developing academic environment as the University of Gdańsk.’
The GNOM protein, which will be the focus of the second of the funded projects, is a plant regulator of intracellular transport. It plays a key role in the formation of the plant body during its development, but despite more than thirty years of research, the exact molecular mechanism of its functioning is still not well understood. It is also unclear how this unique plant protein evolved from a common ancestor with the ARF-GEF proteins present in all eukaryotes, including humans.
‘My team will try to answer these questions over the next five years. I hope that the results obtained will prove to be a valuable contribution to basic research on plant development,’ says dr Maciej Adamowski. ‘I became involved with the University of Gdańsk last year thanks to the initiative of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, which aimed to recruit a new Group Leader in an open competition conducted under the supervision of the International Scientific Council of IFB UG and MUG. Now, thanks to the funding obtained, the Plant Cell Biology Laboratory, which I have the pleasure of managing, will be able to start operating properly. The funding will allow me to hire a team of three young scientists and purchase laboratory equipment for molecular biology, as well as specialised plant growth chambers. I see this grant not only as an expression of recognition for my achievements to date; it is a serious commitment to both the funding agency and, above all, my future team.’
The third project to be granted funding by the NSC, ‘Mathematical optimisation in quantum information’, aims to answer the question of how to solve difficult problems related to quantum computers not on paper, but numerically.
‘The key idea is to use optimisation methods that come with guarantees: this way, it can be shown that the numerically found solution is close to the true one or mathematically proven that the given problem has no solution at all. Overall, this provides a new set of strong tools for quantum computer research,’ says dr Felix Huber. "This project fits naturally into the strong research environment of the University of Gdańsk in the fields of computer science and quantum computing. Ultimately, it also contributes to the larger goal of building a Polish quantum computer. It is an exciting opportunity to build the first team in Poland that focuses on mathematical optimisation methods for the development of quantum computers. The funds obtained from the grant will allow for the employment of two PhD students and one person with a doctoral degree.’
According to the National Science Centre, 417 applications were submitted in the Sonata BIS 14 competition, of which 63 were awarded funding (a success rate of 15.11%). The current edition of the competition was intended for researchers who obtained their doctoral degree between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2019. In January 2025, the NSC Council decided to increase the budgets of the MAESTRO 16 and SONATA BIS 14 calls, which made it possible to fund more projects.