Dr. Marcin Procek ‑ new postdoc at STC

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I’m from the small village Lukow Slaski, near the city of Rybnik in the south of Poland. I found my passion in physics and applied sciences in high school and in 2011 I graduated from the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Poland, at Faculty of Mathematics and Physics. My field was Applied Physics, with specialization of Measurements Methods and Systems.

In 2011 I started my PhD studies at the Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and obtained my degree in 2016. My PhD thesis was entitled “Application of the nanostructures of wide band gap semiconductors in systems for concentration measurements and detection of selected gases”. Since then my scientific career has been connected to the Department of Optoelectronics where I was working as a scientific employee, first as a scientific and didactic assistant and since the end of 2018 as an assistant professor.

In 2018, I did a postdoctoral internship at the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona IMB-CNM, Bellaterra, Barcelona in Spain, within the group of the Chemical Transducers (GTQ).

What is your area of interest?

My main area of interest is gas sensing using different methods. From the beginning of my PhD studies I am focused on different kinds of gas sensors, including electrical sensors (chemoresistors and transistors), optical sensors (plasmonic sensors, fiberoptic sensors) and gravimetric sensors (both surface acoustic wave - SAW and bulk acoustic resonators like QCM).

The focus is to investigate sensing properties of materials and nanomaterials like metal oxide semiconductor nanostructures, polymer semiconductors and also biopolymers. My work is connected to the field of solid-state electronics, material engineering, physics, chemistry and general nanotechnology. My research is often based on characterization of electrical, optical, morphological and chemical properties of sensing materials.

I am familiar with material characterization and nanoindentation methods like scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microcopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, spectral ellipsometry, confocal microscopy, X-ray based methods and many others. Very important part of my research are gas sensing experiments, where I am responsible for proper conditions for tested gas sensors what includes preparation of experiments, designing and building of gas measurement systems and data analysis. I am also focusing on physicochemical gas sensing mechanisms which are the principles of operation of gas sensors.

What is it that you are going to research in here at STC?

Here at STC I am working in the MiLo project in the field of gas sensors based on the silicon nanowires (SiNW). I would like to focus on the functionalization of SiNW for application in selective methane and hydrogen sulfide sensing.

Why did you choose Mid Sweden University? 

For some time, I was looking for interesting project related to my area of interest to improve my scientific experience. Finally, I found the offer of position to the MiLo project related to gas sensors based on Si nanowires, which looks exactly like the one that I was looking for. I checked out the Mid Sweden University's equipment, project requirements and the city of Sundsvall. Everything looks perfect for me, so I applied for the position, had the interview and here I am.

How do you like it here so far? 

I arrived to Sundsvall and to the university a month ago, but but it feels so much longer. Everything thanks to very kind and open people that I met here. Everyone is friendly and very helpful, it is a pleasure to work with people with smile on the face. I am still exploring the university and the city but at the moment now I am very happy here, and without any doubts I can say 'so far, so good'.

What do you do in your spare time?

I love travelling and exploring new places, so right now I have a new area to visit. I am also spending free time by playing guitar, snowboarding, listen to music, playing volleyball, reading books and watching movies. However, my biggest passion is science and I often spending spare time to read or review papers, searching for new ideas and trying to improve myself.