Laboratory of Organometallic Catalysis

Piotr Pawluć – Professor (since 2021) at the Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (AMU). After defending his PhD thesis under the supervision of Prof. Bogdan Marciniec, he began working at the Department of Organometallic Chemistry, with which he has been associated ever since. He is the leader of a young and enthusiastic team at the AMU Center for Advanced Technologies, focused on the development, understanding, and refinement of catalytic methodologies in (metal)organic chemistry. In 2008–2009, he completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Lille, in the group of Prof. André Mortreux. His scientific output includes over 80 publications, book chapters, and patents. He has led 6 research projects funded by the National Science Centre (NCN). He has supervised 4 PhD students (with 3 more currently in progress). He is a member of the NCN expert panel, and a reviewer for grants from the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the European Research Council (ERC). Former Vice Dean for Doctoral Studies at the AMU Faculty of Chemistry, and Director of the Doctoral School of Exact Sciences. Since September 1, 2024, he has served as the Vice-Rector for Staff and Doctoral Schools at AMU.

Łukasz Banach got his first experience in synthetic organic chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Zbigniew Ochal at the Warsaw University of Technology (WUT), where he has been working on the preparation of various halogenated alkyl-aryl sulfones. In 2010, he joined the research group of Prof. Dorota Gryko at the Institute of Organic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, where he has been synthesizing new derivatives of vitamin B12 and protoporphyrin IX as potential vasorelaxation agents. In 2016, he obtained a Ph.D. in Chemistry from WUT for his research in the field of synthesis and catalytic activity of organometallic nickel complexes, which was conducted under the supervision of Prof. Włodzimierz Buchowicz. Immediately after that, he joined the group of Prof. Karol Grela at the University of Warsaw as a postdoctoral researcher to work on Ru-catalyzed ring-closing olefin metathesis for the preparation of macrocyclic compounds under high substrate concentrations. In 2017, he moved to the University of Birmingham, where he conducted research on glucose-responsive materials based on boronic acids with Prof. John S. Fossey. Since 2019, he has been working at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań in the group of Prof. Piotr Pawluć, where he continues his research in the field of first-row transition metal catalysis

Maciej Zaranek was born in 1990. He graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań in 2014 with a master's thesis under the supervision of Prof. Piotr Pawluć. In 2014, he started his doctoral studies at the same faculty also under the supervision of Prof. Pawluć. In 2019, he defended his doctoral dissertation entitled Reactivity of silanes in silylation of alkenes and alcohols in the presence of alkali metal trialkylhydroborates. Since November, 2019, he has been working as an assistant professor at the Center for Advanced Technologies at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Maciej is a laureate of the START scholarship from the Foundation for Polish Science (2020) and the French Government Scholarship (BGF) for a research internship at the University of Lille, in the group of Prof. Andre Mortreux and Regis Gauvin, on the topic of alkyne metathesis (2015).

His research interests cover the development of new reaction systems for (hydro)functionalization of unsaturated compounds, primarily with the use of non-noble metal (pre)catalysts.

Besides doing science, Maciej likes to read fantasy novels (Discworld!) and books about psychology and (useful) philosophy. He indulges in symphonic/power metal music.
A declared cat person.

Piotr Andruszak joined the Pawluć group in 2018, where he focused on catalysis for hydrogermylation reactions. He earned his BSc in 2020 and then began working on Sonogashira cross-coupling reactions, completing his MSc in 2022. Both degrees were obtained from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. In the same year, he began his PhD studies, researching hydroboration reactions of unsaturated compounds catalyzed by cobalt complexes. In 2023, he interned with the Shinichi Saito group in Tokyo, where he worked on diboration reactions of diynes and enynes. Currently, he is a member of the Doctoral Council of the School of Exact Sciences and the University Doctoral Council.

Jakub Robaszkiewicz was born in 1998 in Poznań. In 2017 he joined the Pawluć group and started working on organosilicon chemistry. As a result, he received B. Sc. Degree in 2019 at AMU, M. Sc. Degree in 2021 and was awarded among others Ministerial scholarships for students for significant achievements, and Rector scholarships for outstanding students. In accordance to his passion to chemistry, for 4 years he was a member of AMU scientific circle of Chemists and thanks to his meritorious service, he was honoured by becoming an Honorary Member. In 2021 he took a PhD student position in OPUS grant 2019/35/B/ST4/00329 and now his research is focused on addition and cross-coupling reactions catalyzed by cobalt and nickel compounds. He has done an internship in Christophe Thomas research group in Paris. Additionally, he is a member of the Doctoral Council of the School of Exact Sciences and the University Doctoral Council.

Bartłomiej Szarłan is a third-year PhD candidate in chemistry. He conducts research in the field of chemical catalysis, focusing on reactions catalyzed by metals commonly found in nature, such as nickel and cobalt. His work emphasizes the development of practical applications for these elements in catalysis, with the goal of discovering more sustainable and cost-effective solutions for industrial chemistry. As part of his research, he has completed two one-month research internships at Musashino University in Tokyo, where he developed skills in advanced experimental techniques. He is a co-author of three scientific publications in leading journals, contributing to advancements in this field of study. Outside of research, he is interested in music as well as literature and film in the fantasy genre, which provide both inspiration and a welcome break from daily scientific challenges.