On 12 March, we welcomed representatives from the Central Institute of Mining – National Research Institute to the National Centre for Nuclear Research. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss new areas of cooperation between the Institutes. The guests also visited the Department of Nuclear Equipment HITEC and the MARIA research reactor.

11 March 2026 marked the 15th anniversary of the events surrounding the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. As part of the anniversary commemorations, the Japanese Institute of Environmental Radioactivity organised a scientific seminar. The event was attended by a representative of the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ), dr Piotr Kopka from the Division of Nuclear Energy and Environmental Studies.

The National Centre for Nuclear Research reports that an attempted cyberattack on the Institute's IT infrastructure took place recently. Thanks to the swift and effective action of security systems and procedures in place for such incidents, as well as the rapid response of our teams, the attack was prevented and the integrity of the systems remained intact.

At the beginning of March, a meeting entitled “How Prepared is our Union for Nuclear Disaster? European Perspectives on Radiological Emergency Preparedness and Response” was held at the European Parliament in Brussels, devoted to European readiness for radiological and nuclear hazards. The event was attended by representatives of the Hazard Analysis Centre (MANHAZ) at the National Centre for Nuclear Research – dr Sławomir Potempski, head of the centre, and dr Anna Wawrzyńczak-Szaban.

The National Centre for Nuclear Research has developed a concept for a nuclear reactor that could simultaneously generate electricity, heat for industry and hydrogen. According to researchers from the NCBJ – Janusz Malesa, Błażej Chmielarz, Dominik Muszyński and Maciej Skrzypek – a solution based on high-temperature gas-cooled reactors could help reduce CO2 emissions and support the energy transition.

The National Centre for Nuclear Research is launching new infrastructure enabling irradiation with a thermal neutron beam in the MARIA research reactor. This is an important step towards the development of an innovative method of cancer treatment – boron neutron capture therapy, which allows cancer cells to be destroyed more precisely while protecting healthy tissues.

Physicists from the National Centre for Nuclear Research and the International Atomic Energy Agency have carried out some of the most detailed calculations on the fission of heavy atomic nuclei. The results of the research help to better understand the stability of the heaviest elements and can be used in modelling nuclear reactions. The article was published on 4 March 2026 in the journal Physical Review C.

Last week, the National Centre for Nuclear Research hosted a delegation from Westinghouse Electric Company. The visit was an opportunity for Westinghouse representatives to learn more about the research capabilities of the NCBJ.

At the end of February, the results of the SONATA BIS 15 competition organised by the National Science Centre were announced. Among the projects selected for funding were two initiatives by scientists from the Department of Fundamental Research at the National Centre for Nuclear Research.