International Scientific Committee (ISC)

MagTop’s International Scientific Committee (ISC) Meetings chaired by Prof. Laurens Molenkamp

December 19, 2025 (remote)

According to MagTop’s Grant Agreement, ISC evaluated the performance of five MagTop’s groups in the period starting on June 1st 2024 by grading (i) progress in group completion; (ii) research performance; (iii) ways to commercialization; (iv) other issues (collaboration, outreach), and indicated: (I) strong points; (II) weak points, and (III) R&I and organizational suggestions for future. The Chair of ISC Prof. Laurens Molenkamp supervised the process, and two ISC members took care of the particular group.

On December 19, 2025 the Chair of ISC sent the letter with information that ISC members approved the project. The votes from 12 ISC-members (out of 14) were:

• Approval: 12, without any objections or concerns
• Rejection: 0
• Abstention: 0

March 2025 (remote)

On March 2025, the ISC considered new Team Leader Competition. The Committee decided that the strongest two candidates are: Dr. Saicharam Aswartham and Dr. Anna Semisalova. The ISC recommendation was to have an interview with both candidates for a final decision. After both candidates visited Warsaw, got to know the MagTop’s laboratories, listened to the seminars they presented and determined the realistic date when they could start working at MagTop, it was decided to employ as Team Leader  Dr. Saicharam Aswartham.

October 22-23, 2024 (in person)

On October 22 and 23, MagTop organized workshop “Focused expert meeting on interfacing magnetism and superconductivity with topological matter” in which ISC members, among others, participated as lecturers.

On October 23, during the ISC meeting, the Committee considered 10 applications for the team leader position and decided that none of the candidates provide an appropriate research or expertise level.

January 17-18, 2023 (in person)

Meeting combined with the Focused Expert Meeting on Interfacing Magnetism and Superconductivity with Topological Matter (https://magtop.ifpan.edu.pl/magtop-meeting-2023/)

Schedule:

1. Presentation of the new ISC members
2. Tomasz Dietl – Information about MagTop progress in view of talks delivered by MagTop members
3. Laurens Molenkamp and ISC opinions and recommendation
4. FNP delegate Wiktoria Wojtyra – acknowledgment to the ISC for their involvement
5. Discussion about a future P.I. of MagTop – anonymous recommendation of Tomasz Dietl by the ISC members
6. The new ISC members: Annica Black-Schaffer, Piotr Deuar, Tadeusz Domański, Dariusz Kaczorowski, Carmine Ortix, Oliver Rader who replaced Manfred Bayer, Łukasz Cywiński, Alberta Bonanni, Jacek Szade, Jakub Tworzydło.

January 26, 2022 (remote)

Schedule:

1. Information of the ISC by MagTop’s PI about MagTop’s organizational and research developments and progress
2. Recommendations of the ISC concerning MagTop’s PI
3. ISC recommended Carmine Autieri as a leader of the Majorana Group
4. Other issues risen by the ISC, MagTop members, or the representative of the Foundation for Polish Science

April 28, 2020 (remote, combined with the second midterm evaluation)

Schedule:

1. Tomasz Dietl – presentation of the progress of the project and development of MagTop centre
2. Andrzej Wiśniewski – Cooperation with business partners
3. Laurens Molenkamp and other ISC members: MagTop’s progress, recruitment and future
4. Discussion, experts’ questions

November 21,  2019 (in person)

Schedule:

1. Information of the ISC by MagTop’s representatives about MagTop’s organizational and research developments and progress
2. ISC recommended Marcin Matusiak as a leader of the Weyl Group
3. Formulation by the ISC of general guidelines on the directions of development of the MagTop with the aim to ensure an internationally recognised position of a scientific excellence centre  and possible extension of the MagTop Project till the end of 2023
4. Discussion on the data management plan and possibly its acceptance

 December 4, 2018 (in person)

Schedule:

1. Information of the ISC by MagTop’s representatives about MagTop’s organizational and research developments and progress
2. ISC recommended Vinayak Bhat as a leader of the Group of Characterization and Processing
3. ISC recommended Mircea Trif as a leader of the Dirac Group
4. Formulation by the ISC of general guidelines on the directions of development of the MagTop with the aim to ensure an internationally recognised position of a scientific excellence centre

November 24, 2017 (in person)

Schedule:

1. Information of the ISC by the Management Board about MagTop’s organizational and research developments and progress
2. ISC recommendation on a transfer of the MagTop project to a new unit in the Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences
3. ISC recommended Timo Hyart as a leader of the Majorana Group
4. ISC recommend the MagTop Management Board to start the negotiations with Lukasz Plucinski to become leader of experimental group.
5. Formulation by the ISC of general guidelines on the directions of development of the MagTop with the aim to ensure an internationally recognised position of a scientific excellence centre