Author: Local organizing committee

The 48th Congress of Polish Physicists was held in Gdańsk from September 1 to 7, 2023. The congress was organized by the Polish Physical Society Main Board, the Gdańsk Branch of the PSS, the Faculty of Technical Physics and Applied Mathematics of the Gdańsk University of Technology and the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science of the University of Gdańsk. This year's PSS Congress had a special character, as it was held on the 100th anniversary of the first Congress, which took place in April 1923 in Warsaw. The purpose of the event, in accordance with the formula adopted at previous congresses, was to promote physics, highlighting the scientific and didactic achievements in this field to date. The event was aimed at the broadly understood community of physicists, both well-established in the community and young scientists, enthusiasts, as well as physics teachers and their students. The Congress was attended by approximately 480 participants. The first two lecture days - Saturday and Sunday (September 2 and 3) were largely devoted to the didactics of physics in primary and secondary schools, as well as to the popularization of physics.

A few months before the Congress, an extensive information campaign was carried out in various related to the sciences magazines, as well as on social media. The aim of this campaign was to attract the attention of as many physicists as possible, especially teachers, and to encourage them, along with their students, to participate in this important event. The organizers, in cooperation with the Elementary School No. 86 of Gdansk and the  Gdańsk Educational Publishing House, announced a number of competitions for elementary school pupils: a contest for the mascot of the 48th Congress of Polish Physicists, a poster contest for the 48th Congress of Polish Physicists, a "Physics Festivals" contest, a "Snapshots from Physics" contest and an educational project "Together we will discover physics." A total of more than 1,700 children and young people from all over the country participated in all these activities. The ceremonial presentation of most of the prizes and awards was held at a separate session, on September 2.  A calendar for 2024 was created from the awarded artworks ("Portraits of physicists through the eyes of children"), and an exhibition was organized from the mascots submitted to the competition. In addition, during the event, the awards and prizes of the Gdańsk Department of PPS for the popularization of physics - the Ignacy Adamczewski medals - were ceremoniously presented. The medals went to Maria Alicka, Beata Bochentyn, Aleksandra Mielewczyk-Gryń and Joanna Gondek. As part of the didactics days at the 48^th Congress, it was possible to take part in the Physics Fair, i.e. to present one's own original ideas for interesting physics experiments and methodological aids, improving teaching or making the didactic process more attractive. There was also a meeting of the National Demonstrators Club. For the first time, a panel discussion "The condition of physics teaching in Polish schools - opportunities and risks" was held as part of the plenary session, due to the importance of the problem. The situation, or rather the collapse in the training of physics teachers in Poland - one of the reasons for the poor perception of physics as a subject at school and the lack of those willing to study the subject - was critically assessed. It was assessed that without top-down, structural changes in the teaching of physics in elementary and secondary school, this crisis will worsen, despite attempts to introduce various original curricula. The problems of preparing and implementing such programs were discussed at a special session entitled "Teaching Physics."

During the first plenary session of the Congress, a number of PPS awards were presented for outstanding scientific achievements, the best doctoral and master’s thesis, and awards for the best teachers and popularizers of physics. The Marian Smoluchowski Medal, the highest distinction awarded by Polish Physical Society for scientific achievements in the field of physical sciences, was awarded   to Prof. Ryszard Horodecki.

An important theme of this year's Congress was the subject related to last year's Nobel Prize: entangled states of photons and quantum computing. Participants could listen to three very interesting lectures, given by distinguished experts on these topics: Nobel Prize winner Prof. Anton Zeilinger (the lecture was conducted remotely), his colleague Prof. Marek Żukowski and Prof. Ryszard .Horodecki. The topics were also covered in many subsequent lectures during the thematic sessions. Nine plenary sessions and twenty-nine thematic sessions presented an overview of the achievements of Polish scientists, working in Poland and abroad. The lectures did not lack proposals for the further development of research in areas of physics important for the development of the economy, such as: nuclear energy, quantum materials engineering, quantum technologies and support for medicine. However, the most exciting aspect of the Congress was the topics, concerning the development of fundamental research and the search for "new physics."

Noteworthy was the numerous participation of young physicists in the poster session and in the special scientific and teaching session, where selected authors presented their achievements and ideas. A specially appointed commission awarded the most interesting "scientific" and "didactic" posters out of more than a hundred presentations. Young scientists at the meeting with the General Board of the Polish Physical Society had the opportunity to express their comments and expectations, regarding the functioning of the PPS and the financing and development of the physical sciences in Poland.

            The Congress was also an opportunity to learn about the possible research infrastructure offered by the National Center for Synchrotron Radiation SOLARIS, Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI ERIC) and XFEL - X-ray free electron lasers. The participants could also learn about the science offers of  the publishers: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Gdanskie Wydawnictwo Oświatowe, Wydawnictwo Szkolne i Pedagogiczne and Nowa Era.

In addition, the Congress participants had the opportunity to see the accompanying exhibitions and demonstrations: an exhibition of old prints and antique collections, old drafting tools, antique physical instruments or the "Pioneers of Physics at Gdansk University of Technology" exhibition. Of separate note is the interactive exhibition on optics, which is sure to inspire many original ideas and demonstrations to be carried out at school or at home. This exhibition remained open to organized groups and individual guests for 3 more weeks after the Congress. During this period, about 800 people explored the secrets of optics, not only from the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Some of the visitors also participated in lectures with demonstrations, providing an introduction to the topics presented at the exhibition – all in order to make the presented physical issues as close and understandable as possible for the visitors.

The Congress was accompanied by various events, integrating the scientific community, fostering the exchange of ideas and creating collegial relationships: the original Logos & Techne exhibition, presenting works, inspired by science and created using IT tools; the demonstrations of marine physics, presented by physicists who sailed to Gdansk from Lübeck on the schooner STS Kapitan Borchardt; night tours through the charming streets of Old City of Gdansk as part of the "Night of Museums" – these are only some of the events. A concert by the Bonsai String Quartet provided an unforgettable experience, and a cruise on the Gulf of Gdansk, ending the intensive time of the Congress, will certainly remain long in the memory of the participants. Of great interest was the open lecture, entitled "Quantum Cryptography: How to Break Unbreakable Ciphers?", delivered by Professor Marcin Pawłowski of the University of Gdansk. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the Congress of Polish Physicists for the first time had its own musical logo - a fanfare, composed by a young composer from Gdansk, Franciszek Rusek.

The Congress was held under the patronage of the Rector of the Gdansk University of Technology, the Rector of the University of Gdansk, the Daniel Fahrenheit Association of Universities in Gdansk, the Pomeranian Superintendent of Education, the President of the City of Gdansk, and the Governor of Pomerania and the Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, as well as the media: TVP Nauka, TVP Gdańsk, Radio Gdańsk, Pulsar, and the magazines Wiedza i Życie and Świat Nauki.

The event was sponsored by: funding from the State Budget under the Excellent Science program, "Supporting Science Conferences" module, funding under the IDUB Carbonium Supporting Conferences program of the Gdansk University of Technology, ELI ERIC, LABSOFT sp. z o.o., NETZSCH, Grupa Zibi S.A., Profi Competence, Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Oświatowe, Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN and Nowa Era.

A detailed schedule of the 48th Congress of Polish Physicists and a photo gallery of the event can be found on the website: https://ftims.pg.edu.pl/48zfp