Assoc. Prof. Mateusz Kopeć awarded the 2026 Minister of Science and Higher Education Scholarship for Outstanding Young Scientists.
We are pleased to announce that Assoc. Prof. Mateusz Kopeć at the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPPT PAN), has been awarded the 2026 Minister of Science and Higher Education Scholarship for Outstanding Young Scientists.
The scholarship is one of Poland's most prestigious distinctions for early-career researchers, recognizing exceptional scientific achievements and outstanding research potential.
Prof Kopeć's research focuses on experimental mechanics, materials engineering, and advanced characterization of engineering materials, with particular emphasis on additively manufactured materials, damage evolution, mechanical behavior under complex loading conditions, and high-temperature structural materials.
Affiliated with IPPT PAN since 2013, Dr Kopeć has served as an Associate Professor since 2024. Since 2021, he has headed the Laboratory of Materials and Structures Research, which obtained accreditation from the Polish Centre for Accreditation under his leadership. He is also actively involved in doctoral education at the doctoral schools of the Polish Academy of Sciences and serves as an expert evaluator for the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR).
His international research activity includes appointments as an Academic Visitor at Imperial College London and, since 2025, as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Derby, where he conducts collaborative research on additively manufactured materials and their mechanical performance.
His recent research has focused on additive manufacturing technologies (LPBF, DMLS and LENS), experimental identification of yield surfaces under multiaxial loading, fatigue damage mechanisms, high-temperature protective coatings for nickel-based superalloys, and the development of advanced non-destructive evaluation techniques based on Digital Image Correlation (DIC), acoustic emission and eddy-current testing.
Prof Kopeć has published over 100 scientific papers in leading international journals. His achievements also include three granted patents and eight patent applications, participation in numerous national and international research projects, and extensive collaboration with leading research institutions in Poland and abroad. He supervises doctoral students, serves on the Editorial Board of the journal Strain, and has completed more than 200 peer reviews for international scientific journals.
His scientific accomplishments have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the Prof. Życzkowski Award of the Committee of Mechanics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Scientific Award of Division IV of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Polish Society for Materials Science Award for the best doctoral dissertation in materials engineering, and multiple Director's Awards of IPPT PAN for scientific, educational, and organizational achievements.
We warmly congratulate Dr Mateusz Kopeć on this prestigious distinction and wish him continued success in his scientific career.
