Post Docs | PhD Students | Students | Former Students
PhD
Dr Monika Rzonsowska comes from Kościan, Poland. She graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan in June 2009. She was a Principal Investigator in the PRELUDIUM project (2014) “Synthesis new alkynyl-substituted organogermanium and organogermasilicon compound” funded by the National Science Centre. In 2015 she received PhD degree under the supervision of prof. dr hab. Bogdan Marciniec, prof. UAM dr hab. Beata Dudziec). In 2016 Monika completed a 7-months Post Doc internship in Dr Michał Chmielewski’s group in Warsaw and later she worked as a Post Doc in OPUS 12 project, coordinated by dr hab. Beata Dudziec (“New perspectives for tetrafunctional double-decker silsesquioxanes as molecular scaffolds for organic reactive groups”). Nowadays, she has taken the position of Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Chemistry. Her research activity is focused on organosilicon chemistry and catalysis of organometallic compounds with a special emphasis on the functionalization of silsesquioxane derivatives of different structures. After lab work, she loves reading crime stories and climbing the mountains in the summer with her family.
ORCID No.: 0000-0002-4739-070X
Dr Katarzyna Mituła was born in Poznań, Poland. She studied Chemistry at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań receiving Her BSc in 2014 and MSc in 2016. The same year she started her PhD studies in the research group of Prof. Dr. Hab. Bogdan Marciniec and Dr Beata Dudziec at the Centre for Advanced Technologies in Poznan. She was a Principal Investigator in her own two research grants: PRELUDIUM 14 „New hybrid materials based on polysiloxanes modified with silsesquioxanes” (2018) and ETIUDA “Polysiloxanes modified with functionalized silsesquioxanes – synthesis and characterization” (2020), funded by the National Science Centre. In 2019/202,0 she participated in a 3-month internship with Prof. Carmela Aprile Research Group at the University of Namur (Belgium) and in 2022 in a 4-month internship in Prof. Laine’s research group, at the University of Michigan (USA). Her PhD Thesis entitled “Polysiloxanes modified with functionalized silsesquioxanes – synthesis and characterization” was defended, and awarded and on 8th July 2022, she became a PhD. Apart from chemistry, she likes to spend time with family and friends. She enjoys travelling around the world and discovering new cultures and cuisines. She spent one year (2023) as a Post-Doc in Prof. Miguel Esteruelas’s Group in Departamento de Química Inorgánica Facultad de Ciencias at Universidad de Zaragoza. From December 2023 Kasia has been working at the Faculty of Chemistry, AMU.
ORCID No.: 0000-0002-0907-2831
PhD students
MSc Julia Frąckowiak comes from Skoki, a town near Poznan. She joined our group just after her 1st year of studies as a volunteer. In 2023, she defended her BSc Project in our group, and in 2025, she became an MSc. At the moment, she is a 1-year PhD Student dealing with hybrid, silsesquioxane-based coordination compounds.
But most of all: „ (…) she loves chemistry because thanks to it I can understand the world around me.” In her free time, she practices taekwondo, is formally a trainer and works with kids.
ORCID No.: 0009-0002-3566-2576
Aleksandra Kaniewska, MSc, comes from Słupno, a village near Płock, Poland. She joined our research group as a volunteer shortly after her 2nd year of undergraduate studies. What started as an early involvement in scientific research gradually developed into a long-term collaboration. She completed her BSc thesis in our group in 2024 and earned her MSc degree in 2025. Now, as a first-year PhD student, Aleksandra continues her scientific journey, focusing on the design, synthesis, and coordination chemistry of hybrid silsesquioxane-based compounds.
ORCID No.: 0009-0000-4196-8948
Students
Karolina Zacłona – a proud engineer, defended in 2026, with a specialization in applied chemistry. She is working on her MSc thesis with the aim of synthesising coordination compounds with an organosilicon core.
Julia Zdunek – a proud engineer, defended in 2026, with a specialisation in applied chemistry. Now she is working on her MSc thesis focusing on coordination compounds with an organosilicon core.
Former Members
Dr Joanna Szymkowiak comes from Poznań, Poland. She completed her MSc under the supervision of Prof. Urszula Rychlewska (the Crystallography Group) in 2013, and her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Marcin Kwit (the Organic Stereochemistry Group) in 2018 at AMU in Poznan. Joanna’s research interests revolve around macro- and polycyclic Schiff bases, their synthesis, structural properties, and molecular recognition. Her Doctoral dissertation, as distinguished in the field of organic chemistry – stereochemistry, was awarded the Aleksander Zamojski Award, funded by the Polish Chemical Society, the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Nobilus Ent company. Afterwards, Joanna was working on a 15-month postdoc contract at the Poznan Science and Technology Park. In 2020-2022, she completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship (awarded from the Bekker Programme of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange) focused on the study of iridescent chiral nematic mesoporous materials, under the supervision of Prof. Mark MacLachlan at the University of British Columbia. From 2023 to 2025, Joanna worked in our group with silsesquioxanes, dealing with their synthetic issues for applications in coordination systems with specific physicochemical properties.
ORCID No: 0000-0002-5212-6647
Dr Aleksandra Mrzygłód, born in Kołobrzeg, Poland, started studying forensic chemistry in 2014 at Adam Mickiewicz University. In May 2015, she joined dr hab. Beat Dudziec group. She was a member of the Scientific Association of Chemists of Adam Mickiewicz University and also ESN UAM Poznań (Erasmus Student Network). In 2017 she started her master’s studies in materials chemistry. From September 2018 to February 2019 she participated in the ERASMUS + program in Spain and an internship in the research group of Prof. Jesus Pérez-Torrente at Instituto de Síntesis Química y Catálisis Homogénea at Universidad de Zaragoza. The same year she defended her MSc thesis and started her PhD studies at Dudziec Group. She became a PhD on 12 June with a Thesis entitled “Dendritic systems based on functionalized silsesquioxanes – synthesis and characterizations“. In the autumn of 2023, She started working in a pharmaceutical company in Swarzędz. Good Luck Ola!
ORCID No.: 0000-0002-4300-7080
Dr Julia Duszczak-Kaczmarek comes from Poznań, Poland. She obtained Her BSc in 2015 with the thesis entitled: “Biological properties of hybrid materials based on organic polymers and silsesquioxanes- application in medicine” in Prof. Pietraszuk research group. The same year She completed a 3-week scientific internship at the University of Bayreuth under the supervision Prof. Rhett Kempe. In 2017 She obtained her MSc degree and started her PhD studies, at Dudziec Group. In 2019/2020 she worked during a 3-month internship in Prof. Carmela Aprile Research Group at the University of Namur (Belgium), performing research in silsesquioxane-based optoelectronics. On 16th December 2022 She became a PhD with a Thesis entitled “Di- and tetrasubstituted double-decker silsesquioxanes as building blocks for molecular and macromolecular frameworks“. Since 2021, she has been working as a chemistry and physics teacher in Primary and High School in Nowy Tomyśl. Good Luck Julia!
ORCID No.: 0000-0001-6491-8812
Bartosz Pilarski – comes from Kalisz. He got into chemistry back in middle school and ended up studying in Poznań. He was working with polyoxazolines and tried to modify them with organosilicon compounds. This was his BSc thesis, which he defended in October 2026.
Natalia Guzik comes from Szczecin, Poland. Her passion for chemistry began as early as middle school. In 2019 she started her chemistry studies at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and received her Bachelor’s degree in 2023 with a thesis titled: „Influence of pickling on the fatty acid profile of cabbage”. She decided to join the Dudziec Group and start doing her Master’s thesis.
Kamil Olszewski comes from Gryfów Śląski. In 2019 he started chemistry studies at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan and then joined our group. He was working on O-silylation process of diols and their application in the synthesis of dendric silsesquioxane derivatives.
Patrycja Opach is from Zielona Góra and came to Poznan in 2019 to study chemistry. The beauty of experiments was what she got interested just in primary school. The reality kept her waiting for her studies but it was worth waiting. In 2021 Patrycja joined our group and worked in the area of synthesis and characterization of Schiff complexes. In 2022, she obtained Her BSc degree.
Marek Witaszczyk comes from Poznań. He found his interest in chemistry through a show called Brainiac: Science Abuse. Since 2017 he has been studying materials chemistry in his hometown at Adam Mickiewicz University. To extend his interest in organometallic chemistry, he joined the Dudziec Group. His BSc project was devoted to cyclosiloxane modification and the research for his MSc thesis he started in 2021, working in the field of silsesquioxanes as specific cores for dendrimer systems.
Filip Pakulski comes from Gorzów Wielkopolski. He started studying forensic chemistry at Adam Mickiewicz University in 2017 and in 2019 he joined Dudziec Research Group to perform his BSc thesis (2020) and in October 2021 he started his research for the master thesis, working in the field of coordination compounds combined with silsesquioxanes that was defended in June 2022. In his free time, he is a bass guitarist and co-founder of the Poznan thrash/death metal band.
Natalia Dudek comes from a small Masurian town – Szczytno. She is a third-year student of Applied Chemistry at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. She joined Dudziec Research Group in the first year of her studies and she is working there as a volunteer. In 2022 she obtained Her BSc degree. Her biggest passions are sport, travelling and cooking. She loves travelling and has visited Greece, Montenegro, Sweden, and Lithuania, but her dream is to visit Paris.
Ilgaz Lara Toraman comes from Istanbul, Turkey. She has been studying Chemistry since 2014, at Eskisehir Technical University. Her Bachelor thesis (2019) was about ‘Synthesis, Characterization of Metal complex and their Catalytic activities’. In 2018, she did her first internship in BASF, in Turkey. Since August 2021 she has been on a 4-months Erasmus+ Internship in Dudziec Group in Poznan (Poland), working on silsesquioxanes and Salen-Metal complexes. In her leisure time, she loves travelling and tasting new food, experiencing new things in different cities and countries.
Bartłomiej Szarłan was born in Międzyrzecz, Poland. His journey with chemistry began in 2013 while he was in high school. He has studied at the Faculty of Chemistry, at the University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznan since 2016 and the same year joined Dudziec Research Group as a volunteer. He finished his BSc and MSc Thesis Thesis working on the area of silsesquioxanes and their modifications. In October 2021 he became a PhD Student in prof. Piotr Pawluć Group. Besides chemistry his main hobby is music. He finished 6 years of a music school in his hometown and he is still trying to develop his skills in playing the guitar and the piano.
Helena Hernández Recuenco studied in Zaragoza, Spain. She joined our Group in October 2020 but with the COVID-19 lockdown, we could come back to the Lab in Spring 2021. Nevertheless, Helena successfully did her Bachelor Project entitled “Hydrosilylation as a synthetic tool for the formation of di(hexenyl)substituted double-decker silsesquioxane”. She is now back in Spain.
Katarzyna Kozakiewicz was born in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland. Since 2015 she was studying Cosmetic Chemistry at Adam Mickiewicz University in Posen. In 2015 she joined Dudziec Group and defended her BSc and in 2020 her MSc thesis concerning the synthesis of silsesquioxanes possessing N-donating type ligands. In her free time, she likes reading books and travels. She defended Her MSc thesis on 15th July 2020.
Nuria Miguel was born in 1998 in Soria, Spain. Since 2016 she was studying Chemistry at the University of Zaragoza. This year is her last year of bachelor and she is in Poznan with an Erasmus scholarship. She joined Dudziec Research Group to work on her Bachelor Thesis concerned the synthesis of cyclotetrasiloxanes that were modified with silsesquioxanes. She graduated in June 2020 and got back to Spain. In her free time, she likes traveling and playing the guitar.
Daria Głowacka was born in 1995 in Kołobrzeg. She started studies in Forensic Chemistry in 2014 at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. Starting a Master’s Degree, she changed her speciality to Materials Chemistry. In 2015, she joined Dudziec Group and performed her BSc degree and in 2019 she defended her MSc thesis under supervision of prof. UAM dr hab. I. Kownacki and prof. dr hab. Beata Dudziec.
Kinga Zmudzińska was born in 1995 in Gorzów, Poland. She is interested in sports, photography and reading books. Since 2014, she is studying chemistry at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. In 2015, she joined Dudziec Group. In 2017, she began speciality analytical chemistry, did her BSc and in 2019 she defended her Master’s thesis “The research on silylative coupling of mono-, di- and tetraethynylsubstituted T8 and double-decker type of silsesquioxanes with vinylsilanes” and became MSc.
Dr Dariusz Brząkalski started his work in our Lab under the formal supervision of prof. Bogdan Marciniec in 2012. His BSc thesis (2013) and MSc thesis (2016) considered using hydrosilylation as a procedure for modification of ethynylsilsesquioxanes. Dariusz started his PhD studies and successfully applied for Preludium 15 to NCN “Functionalized POSS systems as filler’s modifiers for thermoplastic polymers and epoxy resins”. In September 2022 he defended his PhD under supervision of prof. Bogdan Marciniec. His work concerned studies on the impact of functionalized silsesquioxanes on selected classes of polymers and their physicochemical properties.