Katarzyna Małek, Head of the Astrophysics Division of the National Centre for Nuclear Research, was awarded the title of Professor of Science and Natural Sciences in the discipline of astronomy in March 2025. Our sincere congratulations!

Katarzyna Małek graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw and a master’s degree from the Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of Cardinal Wyszyński University. In 2011 she defended at Cardinal Wyszyński University her doctoral thesis „On the photometric properties and variability of astrophysical sources” at Cardinal Wyszyński University under the supervision of Lech Mankiewicz prepared at the Center for Theoretical Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 2021, she was habilitated at the Jagiellonian University in the field of physical sciences and the discipline of astronomy. In a decision dated March 5, 2025, she was awarded the title of professor of science in the discipline of astronomy.

Professor Małek’s main field of work is the study of the evolution of galaxies. Her research is focused on estimating the fundamental physical properties of a galaxy from the energy distribution in different wavelength ranges, studying the content of interstellar dust, or the star formation rate in galaxies of different types. She also works on galaxies with low surface brightness, that is, galaxies whose brightness is lower than the surrounding background, making them invisible to most astrophysical surveys.

Katarzyna Małek’s research experience includes modelling galaxies’ spectral energy distributions, analysing dust attenuation in galaxies, implementing machine learning algorithms for astrophysical data, spectroscopic redshift measurements, and studying low surface brightness galaxies. She is a dedicated supervisor and enjoys working with young researchers and inspiring them to pursue scientific careers.

Member of the Committee on Astronomy of the Polish Academy of Sciences since 2024. Head of the Group of Astronomy of the National Center for Nuclear Research since 2023.