Professor of physics, winner of numerous national and international grants, supervisor, author of several dozen scientific publications on quantum theory, including the unmasking of the polygamous nature of quantum non-locality, as well as Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Gdańsk - prof. Wiesław Laskowski, Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Gdańsk, talks about how he became a scientist and why it is worth investing in science on Polish Science Day.

Dorota Rybak: - How did you become a scientist? What inspired you? When did you catch the scientific bug?

Prof. dr hab. Wiesław Laskowski: - I guess I just never stopped being one. Every child is a scientist by nature. Some just grow out of it (laughs). But seriously, my story began in the first year of high school, when - for some unknown reason - I was preparing for an astronomy competition. I was looking for books in the school library and came across the series ‘Feynman Lectures on Physics’. I would read them during breaks. Two years later, I participated in a workshop organised for students at my future faculty. That was the first time I thought this could be my life's path.

- Is it difficult to combine active scientific work with the role of Vice-Rector? What challenges do both roles present and which one is more difficult?

- Fortunately, I enjoy both scientific and organisational challenges equally. One allows me to take a break from the other. Science is my passion, and the role of Vice-Rector allows me to have a real impact on supporting science at our university. Being an active scientist helps me fulfil my managerial role - I also experience all the changes directly.

- Why is it important to invest in science, especially in basic research? It seems obvious to invest in applied research but basic research seems more abstract.

- Thank you for asking this question. Science is not a cost, it is an investment. Analyses show that for every pound invested in research, we get at least four pounds in return. But science is not a short-term investment. By conducting basic research today, we can think about applications maybe in a dozen or so years. The theory of quantum information, the field in which I work, was initiated several decades ago from very abstract concepts. At that time, hardly anyone took them seriously. Today it is one of the fastest growing trends in physics with very promising applications. For those who would like to limit their funding to applied and engineering research, I would like to quote George Smoot, an American astrophysicist: ‘If we only did applied research, we would still only be making better and better spears.’

- What scientific dreams do you have for our university?

- I dream of the University of Gdańsk being a research-friendly place. A place where our scientists, but also scientists from all over the world, can and want to realise their ambitious projects.

In the last year of the previous term, we reformed the project offices to support this area even more strongly. In a recent survey, Principal Investigators rated the offices' performance at an average of 8.6 on a scale of 0 to 10. This is a very good result. We now want to take the next step by strengthening the substantive level of the staff and providing even more support to researchers in obtaining the most demanding projects that are in line with regional, national and European priorities.

It is also important that we maintain and strengthen the university's scientific position. We are on the right track. If we look at how our researchers publish, we can see that a very large percentage of articles appear in the most prestigious journals, those in the top 10% according to the Scopus database. For three years, we have been among the top three classical universities in Poland in this respect. However, we remember that publishing is not an end in itself. It is easy to get lost in it and forget about the principles of ethics and reliability. This is not acceptable at the University of Gdańsk.

- Is there a scientific discovery that you are waiting for? Something that you are following with interest?

- I will answer a bit subversively. I am waiting for a discovery that no one is waiting for and no one expects. Many high-profile scientific discoveries were made by accident. This is how penicillin, X-rays, and superconductivity were discovered, for example. When it comes to the latter, I am waiting for the discovery of superconductivity at room temperature and normal pressure. In this phenomenon, the material conducts electricity without any resistance, which means no energy loss. Many interesting questions have also been raised recently in cosmology and astrophysics.

- Do you have a favourite scientist, someone who inspires you to this day? Or is there a scientist who, in your opinion, is not as recognised as they should be? Someone who deserves more attention in the public eye?

- I don't think I have anyone like that. In science, we don't really like authorities. What is important is what has been done, and perhaps less so who has done it. If I had to name someone, the first person who comes to mind is Emmy Noether, renowned for her revolutionary contribution to the development of mathematics and for formulating a theorem that combined symmetry with the principles of conservation in physics. She did it in 1918! For a long time, she was in the shadows, struggling with gender discrimination and a lack of official recognition of her achievements.

- How does Polish science compare to world science? Can we compete - or even better, cooperate effectively - with the world's leading research centres? What impact do financial issues have on this?

- I don't like the phrase ‘Polish science’. Science has no nationality, just as it has no gender. Over 40% of the publications indexed in Scopus with affiliations to Polish entities were created in collaboration with someone from abroad. At the University of Gdańsk, we take great care to ensure that research results are circulated internationally.

However, we can definitely talk about the state of Polish scientific institutions. I will give you a telling comparison: the budget of Oxford University is almost half of the total budget allocated to science and higher education in Poland. Institutionally, we are not able to catch up with the world at the moment. I consider last week's promises of Prime Minister Tusk to invest in science as the first pillar of the country's development to be very good and necessary.

There is another important and more positive aspect of the competitiveness of science practised in Polish institutions. I will answer with the example of the University of Gdańsk, a medium-sized and young university that finds it difficult to compete with large and ‘mature’ institutions, such as the University of Warsaw or the Jagiellonian University, not to mention large European universities. However, each of our disciplines has a subject in which we are recognised nationally and internationally. We must make this our advantage and the key to cooperation.

- You are a physicist. On the one hand, it is a very precise and demanding science, difficult for many people to understand, but on the other hand, it appeals to the imagination, explores the limits of the impossible and is often used in pop culture. Do you have a favourite pop culture work (book, film, series) that uses research in physics? If you watch a film that takes place in space, for example, do you look for scientific errors or do you take the fiction with a pinch of salt and ignore them?

- I'm not one of those people who look for errors and inaccuracies in films. But I have colleagues like that (laughs). Films have their own rules and will always contain inaccuracies. After all, who would want to watch a silent ‘Star Wars’? And yet there is a vacuum in space and sound cannot travel. An example of a film that fairly accurately reflects scientific facts, including the visualisation of a black hole, is ‘Interstellar’. The film's consultant was Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Kip Thorne.

But I must admit that I don't like science films. However, I really enjoy watching films that depict the scientific community in some way. I love the TV series ‘Big Bang Theory’.

- What advice would you give to young scientists starting their careers? Is it worth getting into science at all - and why the answer is yes?

- Of course, it's worth it! But you have to be aware of this choice.

There are no shortcuts in science. The most important thing is for everyone to find a niche for themselves where no one has looked yet. The feeling that you are the first person in the world (or perhaps even in the Universe) to know something is amazing. It is like an anecdotal ‘Eureka!’ by Archimedes.

And on the occasion of Polish Science Day, I wish you many such ‘Eurekas!’.