Dr. Przemyslaw Gawel
Przemek studied Chemistry and Biotechnology within the College of Inter-Faculty Individual Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MISMaP) at the University of Warsaw. During his studies, he spent two summer projects in the lab of Prof Henning Hopf at the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany where he studied cyclophanes. In 2012 he moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where he did his PhD with Prof. François Diederich at ETH Zurich studying functional cumulene-based synthetic materials. In 2015 he joined the group of Prof. Harry L. Anderson at the University of Oxford as a Swiss National Science Foundation postdoctoral research fellow and in 2017 he was appointed as a research associate in Kebe College. In Oxford, Przemek was studying sp-hybridized allotropes of carbon stabilizing them on the surface and by supramolecular encapsulation. In line with his interest in materials science, Przemek moved to Cambridge Display Technology Ltd. in 2019 where he was developing new materials in a broad area of digital transformation. In October 2020 Przemek received a Polish Returns grant from the National Agency for Academic Exchange to start his research group at the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences. His academic interests include carbon-rich chemistry, materials science, organic optoelectronics, and supramolecular chemistry. In his free time, Przemek likes to spend time with his family, traveling on his motorbike, mountain biking, snowboarding, and sailing.
Postdocs
Maciek studied chemistry at the University of Warsaw, graduating in 2012. He continued his academic career in Prof. Tomasz Bauer’s group at UW studying towards his Ph.D. He developed new sugar-based phosphoramidites and applied them in asymmetric synthesis as ligands, obtaining his Ph.D. in 2016. At the beginning of 2017, he undertook his postdoctoral fellowship in the group of Prof. Janusz Jurczak at the Institute of Organic Chemistry (IOC) Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), where he was investigating new hybrid phase-transfer catalysts and their application in asymmetric synthesis. Apart from organic chemistry, Maciek enjoys spending time outdoors. He is passionate about fishing. In addition to the broadly understood nature, Maciek is a cooking lover, so he constantly tests his new dishes on his friends.
Abhishek Pareek comes from India’s north-western state Rajasthan. Prior to beginning his Ph.D. studies at the Central University of Rajasthan under the direction of Dr. Srinivasarao Yaragorla, he received his master’s degree from the Jai Narain Vyas University in Jodhpur. His graduate research was focused on catalysis and methodology development. Then, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow (November 2020 to January 2023) at the University of Warsaw, Poland, under the supervision of Dr. Marcin Kalek. His postdoctoral research was focused on the dearomatization of pyridinium salts under Morita-Baylis-Hillman conditions. Apart from chemistry Abhishek likes cricket, music, cooking, and exploring new places.
PhD Students
Before joining the Gawel Group for her PhD, Vishali completed her Bachelors in chemistry from the University of Delhi, India in 2018. Following this, she went on to pursue Master in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, India. During her M.Sc. thesis, she worked on the development of a new methodology for the conversion of arylmethyl halides to aromatic carbonyls using Nitrosoarene Catalysis under the supervision of Dr. Indranil Chatterjee. Other than chemistry, Vishali enjoys reading blogs, novels and spending time outdoors playing basketball.
Minu is a joint PhD student with Dr. Cina Foroutan-Nejad making single-molecule electronic candidates. She graduated with a BS-MS Dual degree in Chemical Sciences from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Thiruvananthapuram, India in 2021. During her undergraduate studies, she did short-term projects on “Alcohol Dehydrogenation over Ruthenium Catalysts” at the Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, India, and on Porphyrin Synthesis at IISER TVM, India. Her Master Thesis was focusing on the synthesis of “Pyrene Incorporated Porphyrin Conjugates” and was carried out at IISER TVM under the supervision of Dr.Gokulnath Sabapathi. Apart from Chemistry, Minu enjoys spending time painting, exploring new places and cuisines, and singing. She also loves watching movies and series during her free time.
Beata is a passionate chemist with a master’s degree from the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Chemistry (2022). Under dr. hab. Piotr Kwiatkowski’s guidance, she conducted research on asymmetric, organocatalytic addition of aminofurans to enales for her diploma thesis. In her second MSc degree, Beata explored forensic chemistry, studying synthetic cannabinoids and their crystallographic structures in Dr. Michał Dobrowolski’s team. Apart from her scientific pursuits, Beata is an avid reader, particularly enjoying factual literature and crime novels. She also loves to travel, favoring mountainous regions and Scandinavian countries.
Undergraduate Students
Maciej Bojar
Maciej is a third-year undergraduate student of chemistry at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw. He leads the university’s chemistry club, LUMINOL, and he is involved in promoting science through conducting chemical demonstrations and workshops. During his studies, Maciej completed internships at the Warsaw Sanitary and Epidemiological Station and worked as an assistant in an analytical laboratory. As a chemist, he is passionate about researching the chemical composition of herbs used in medicine and cosmetology, and apart from chemistry, he is interested in herbalism and martial arts.