We are pleased to announce that Faustyna Stopyra, a first-year Master’s degree student in Chemical Technology at the Faculty of Chemistry, Rzeszów University of Technology, a member of the Chmielarz Research Group and the Student and Doctoral Scientific Association of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering “IPSUM”, has been named among the laureates of the 15th edition of the “Golden Medal of Chemistry” Competition. The competition is organized by the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC PAS) in Warsaw in cooperation with DuPont. Its aim is to select the authors of the best Bachelor’s and Engineer’s theses in the field of chemistry and related disciplines. The event was held under the honorary patronage of the Polish Chemical Society, the Committee on Analytical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Foundation for Polish Science.
Faustyna Stopyra began her scientific activity in the third year of her Engineer’s studies through active participation in research conducted within the Student and Doctoral Scientific Association of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering “IPSUM.” As part of this involvement, she participated in research projects carried out under three editions of the program “Student Scientific Associations Create Innovations,” funded by the Ministry of Education and Science. She secured her place among the laureates of the Golden Medal of Chemistry competition through the completion of her Engineer’s project entitled “Synthesis of Functional Polymer Nanolayers Inspired by the Principles of Green Chemistry.” The research was conducted at the Department of Physical Chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Paweł Chmielarz.
The final stage of the competition took place on 20 November 2025 at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, where Faustyna Stopyra delivered an oral presentation including a brief introduction and a discussion of the most important and noteworthy results of the reviewed diploma thesis. The Engineer’s project focused on the development of an environmentally friendly method for producing functional polymer nanolayers with defined properties. For the first time, surface functionalization was carried out using both surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) and supplemental activator and reducing agent ATRP (SARA ATRP) employing metallic copper as an additional activator and reducing agent in a heterogeneous environment. The selection of the method and reaction medium enabled a reduction in the use of toxic solvents and catalysts, thereby aligning the developed technique with the 12 principles of green chemistry and the concept of sustainable development.
As a result of her final presentation, Faustyna Stopyra received a special distinction awarded by DuPont. This award highlights not only the high scientific quality of the project but also its strong application potential and represents exceptional recognition of the innovativeness and practical applicability of the developed method.
More information available at:
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