Malgorzata Witko

Malgorzata Witko is a full Professor and Director of the Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry at the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS) in Kraków, Poland. She has held continuous positions at this institute since 1973, progressing from assistant to professor in 1997 through presidential nomination. Her institutional affiliations include membership on Scientific Councils of the Institute of Nuclear Physics and Institute of Physical Chemistry in Poland, and active roles in the European Federation of Catalysis Societies (EFCATS) and European Research Council evaluation panels.

Professor Witko's research focuses on quantum chemical approaches to catalytic processes, with expertise spanning heterogeneous, homogeneous, and enzymatic catalysis. Her work particularly examines electronic structures of transition metal oxide catalysts, oxygen activation mechanisms, and nanospace constraints in catalytic systems. She employs advanced computational methods including density functional theory (DFT) to model reaction mechanisms and surface phenomena.

Her publication record includes over 130 papers with 1,740 citations and an h-index of 24. Recent research demonstrates consistent focus on computational catalysis, with publications covering vanadium/titanium oxide systems, porphyrin-based oxygen activation, enzyme reaction mechanisms, and nanospace effects in supported catalysts.

• Member of Polish Academy of Sciences (elected 2012)
• Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2011)
• Vice President of EFCATS (2005-2009)
• Member of European Research Council Evaluation Panels (2006-2012)
• 1978 President's Award and 1st Prize from Polish Academy of Sciences

Professor Witko has delivered over 110 international conference lectures including keynote addresses at NATO Advanced Institutes and major catalysis conferences. She has organized numerous international symposia on quantum chemical approaches to catalysis and serves on editorial boards of Catalysis Letters and Topics in Catalysis. Her extensive international collaborations include research groups at Fritz-Haber-Institut (Berlin), University of Vienna, and Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris).