Month: March 2022

Hi, I’m Geetika Chauhan from India. I grew up in Mumbai, but my hometown is in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, India. I’m in my first year of Ph.D. studies in the Department of Hydrology and Hydrodynamics. My Ph.D. supervisors are Dr. Hab. Eng. Krzysztof Kochanek and Dr. Eng. Iwona Kuptel-Markiewicz. My Ph.D. topic is ‘The Uncertainty of Maximum Flow Quantiles Resulting from Measurements Imperfections’.

My journey in Geoscience began when I was in the 11th grade, and it fascinated me. I began college as a bachelor’s in Geology major and later got my master’s degree in Geology. I also have four years of working experience as a GIS analyst where I worked on different projects involving the generation of hydrological maps, groundwater analysis, and deriving the deforestation rate of wetlands using satellite imagery.

I was drawn to studying floods after seeing the horrifying damages caused by floods in my hometown that swept away entire villages and many hydropower dams. Floods are difficult to understand because of the complexity of the hydrologic system, and solid deterministic mathematical models are yet to be developed. As a result, statistical methodologies have been widely used to give relevant studies for planning hydraulic facilities and infrastructure. The goal of my Ph.D. is to develop flood models with the least uncertainty to help reduce the damages caused by floods.

I chose Poland as my study destination because of its hospitable people and the beautiful world heritage sites. The Polish saying “Gosc w dom, bog w dom” is like the Hindi saying “Atithi Devo Bhava (the guest is a god)” also the proposed research topic was something I wanted to work on. It’s been over six months in Warsaw and the academic, as well as the non-academic staff at IGF, has been helpful in not only the academic part but also in dealing with day-to-day activity.

Besides my academy profile, I’m a three-time state-level basketball and one-time state-level Dodge ballplayer. I also like to go on long bicycle rides.

I’m looking forward to doing good scientific work and eating a lot of Pączki, Naleśniki, and Pierogi.

Ladies and gentlemen,

February 2022 was a difficult time. We are all struggling with pandemic constraints and gearing up for the negative economic effects of the post-pandemic. The events of last week and the unjustified attack by the Russian Federation on Ukraine is another shock for the entire international community.

A full-scale war in Europe, just across the border of Poland, is unimaginable in the 21st century. Only the common voice and activity of European states condemning aggression give hope for stopping the aggression and restoring peace. As an Institute, we join this voice of opposition.

What can we as IG PAS do? Many people and institutions organize help for refugees. These are activities that are well organized and controlled by state units. As the Institute, we would like to help in the long term. In addition to participating in various humanitarian actions, the IG PAS offers support to colleagues and their families from Lviv and Kiev. Our infrastructure makes it possible to offer a temporary home to these people and provide them with shelter.

Besides, as employees, we should continue our work. We have to reckon with more false bomb alarms, false information about the lack of fuel and other forms of escalating social unrest. The Institute’s situation is, however, stable and we must believe that both the hostilities of our neighbors and the pandemic restrictions will soon end.

Szanowni Państwo,

Luty 2022 był trudnym okresem. Wszyscy borykamy się z ograniczeniami pandemicznymi i szykujemy się na negatywne skutki gospodarcze po pandemii. Wydarzenia ostatniego tygodnia i nieuzasadniony atak Federacji Rosyjskiej na Ukrainę jest kolejnym szokiem dla całej społeczności międzynarodowej.

Pełnoskalowa wojna w Europie, tuż za granicą naszego kraju, jest czymś niewyobrażalnym w XXI wieku. Jedynie wspólny głos i aktywność państw Europejskich potępiający agresję, dają nadzieję na powstrzymanie agresji i przywrócenie pokoju. Jako Instytut dołączamy się do tego  głosu sprzeciwu. 

Co my jako IGF możemy zrobić? Wiele osób oraz instytucji organizuje pomoc dla uchodźców. Są to aktywności dobrze zorganizowanie i sterowane przez jednostki państwowe. Jako Instytut chcielibyśmy pomóc w dłuższej perspektywie. Oprócz udziału w różnych akcjach humanitarnych, IGF oferuje wsparcie dla współpracowników i ich rodzin ze Lwowa i Kijowa. Nasza infrastruktura daje możliwość przyjęcia tych osób i zapewnienia im schronienia. 

Poza tym jako pracownicy powinniśmy kontynuować naszą pracę. Musimy liczyć się z kolejnymi fałszywymi alarmami bombowymi, fałszywymi informacjami o braku paliwa i innymi formami eskalacji niepokojów społecznych. Sytuacja Instytutu jest jednak stabilna i musimy wierzyć, że zarówno działania wojenne u naszych sąsiadów jak i ograniczenia pandemiczne szybko się skończą. 

Dyrekcja IGF