PSNC wins the Crystal Brussels Prize!

PSNC wins the Crystal Brussels Prize!
Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center was considered the best Polish institution which carries out European research projects. National Contact Point for EU Research Programmes awarded PSNC with the Crystal Brussels Prize. The award was received by Dr. Norbert Meyer, the Head of the Supercomputing Department, at the hands of the Minister for Science and Higher Education – Prof. Barbara Kudrycka and European Parliament President – Prof. Jerzy Buzek. The prize giving ceremony was held at the Second European Congress on Economic in Katowice.
Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center is the winner of the 10th anniversary edition of the Crystal Brussels Prize. The award is for the best and most active Polish institutions and researchers participating in the Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development of the European Union. Poznań was awarded in the category of best research institution. This year’s edition was very special. It was an opportunity to summarize 10 years of Polish participation in the program, and rewarded the best teams participating in the 5th, 6th and 7 Framework Programme of the European Union.

There were 12 outstanding research centers in Poland which fought for the award in the category of best research institution, among others.: the Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics of Polish Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Oceanology of PAS, The Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology of Warsaw University of Technology , Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Automatics, Computer Science and Electronics of Academy of Mining and Metallurgy, Faculty of Medicine of the Jagiellonian University and the Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering of Warsaw University of Technology.

The basis for the nomination was a statistical analysis of the participation of the institutions in the Framework Programmes over the past 10 years. What was taken into account was: the number of submitted and accepted proposals, the type of project, size of EU funds allocated and the number of coordinated projects.

The winners are chosen by the Chapter of the Crystal Brussels, appointed by the Minister of Science and Higher Education. The composition of this year’s jury was, among others: the Minister of Science and Higher Education, professor Barbara Kudrycka, Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Economy, Waldemar Pawlak, the Chairman of the Board of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, Bożena Kasprzak Lublińska and the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences, professor Michał Kleiber.

The Crystal Brussels Prize is awarded since 2001 and has a special meaning. During the five previous editions Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center affiliated to the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of PAS received six nominations to the award in various categories, which resulted in two prizes.