Marcin Chwała

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07.2025

The zNURTEM project has received funding from Wrocław University of Science and Technology

Together with the team consisting of Marek Kawa, Michał Pachnicz, Irena Bagińska, Lesław Bagiński and Michał Smolnicki, I have received funding through the university grant program "Support for Research Teams 2025". We will soon begin laboratory analysis of rock samples from lava tubes, in collaboration with Riccardo Pozzobon (University of Padua) and Francesco Axel Pio Romio (University of Ferrara).

04.2025

Joining the Editorial Board of a Leading Journal

I’m pleased to have been invited to join the Editorial Board of the ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering.

13.03.2025

LPSC 2025😀

It was a great privilege to once again participate in the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC2025) in The Woodlands, Texas. This opportunity would not have been possible without the funding provided by the National Science Center, Poland. You can find more information about the topic I presented here and on the project homepage. Below is the poster presented during the conference:

20.12.2024

Teaching award!

I am very grateful to all the students who played a part in me receiving the Teaching Excellence Award at Wrocław University of Science and Technology. This recognition came as a complete surprise, and I am truly honored by it. What makes this award especially meaningful to me is the fact that it comes directly from the student community. Knowing that my efforts have had a positive impact on you is the greatest reward😁

08.11.2024

Popular scienie event: Night of "PWr"!

It was a pleasure to present the initial results of the PROMISE project and explore civil engineering opportunities on the Moon with a broad audience. I’d like to thank all the attendees for their attention and for the fantastic questions raised during and after the lecture!

07.11.2024

The PROMISE adventure has begun!

The PROMISE project officially began in October, though the team has been collaborating for several months to study the size and safety of lunar caves. I am also pleased to announce the launch of the project website, where we will regularly share updates and results from our work😃

26.09.2024

Civil engineering on the Moon? - academic year inauguration lecture

I had the great pleasure of delivering the inaugural lecture at the Faculty of Civil Engineering. I hope that some of the students who have just begun their academic journey will go on to design infrastructure on the Moon in the near future 😃

15.08.2024

How do paleoregolith layers influence the collapse of lunar lava tubes?

Our stability analysis suggests that local collapses in stratified roofs of lunar lava tubes can result in rock slices to fall away, revealing layers of paleoregolith that may be accessible from cave interiors. More results and exploration implications are detailed in the paper (open access) or in the popular science article published on the Wrocław University of Science and Technology website, both available in Polish and English.

19.07.2024

Congratulations on Defending Your Doctorate, Daniel!

Daniel Teshager is the first PhD student I co-supervised who has defended his doctorate. It was nice working with you. Congratulations!😀

06.06.2024

Join PROMISE: Student Opportunity Available!

Details of the student scholarship offer can be found here. For inquiries, please contact me 😀

31.05.2024

PROMISE has been funded!

Probabilistic limit analysis for collapse reconstruction and stability assessment of lunar lava tubes (PROMISE) received funding from the National Science Center in the SONATA 19 program. This is fantastic information for everyone interested in lava caves on the Moon! This would not have been possible without the support of many people. At the initial stage, the comments and assistance from Marek Kawa and Yan Lavallee were invaluable. Special thanks to Anna Chwała, who meticulously reviewed the application at various stages and provided valuable insights. I am also grateful to Goro Komatsu for guiding me in this new field of planetary science. As the application neared completion, Justyna Abel's cost estimation support was crucial, and the comments and suggestions from Danko Jerez were outstanding. Special thanks to the members of Academia Iuvenum for inspiration and advice in writing grant applications. Thank you all! Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting topic!

You can read more on the project subject here [in Polish].

29.05.2024

May's Enriching Experiences

May was a busy month, featuring presentations on lava tube stability, a two-day lecture on limit analysis in Pescara, a seminar in Padua for the lava tube research team, and an invited lecture in Opole for the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture. Each event was a significant and enriching experience!

29.03.2024

55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC 2024).

It was a great pleasure to attend the conference and meet the planetary science community. Here you can find the presented poster and abstract

25.01.2024

Recent work on the stability of lunar lava tubes has received considerable media attention!

Mare Tranquillitatis collapse pit by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University)

The last week has been a bit crazy for my quiet life as a scientist. Many local and national websites have written about my research on the stability of lunar lava tubes. I had to quickly learn how to perform on the radio 😊 I gave interviews at the invitation of Informacyjna Agencja Radiowa, Radio Wrocław, Radio 357, Radio Rodzina & Radio Plus, and Trójka Polskie Radio. Now I'm back to work and I hope to be able to share more results soon.

You can read about the conducted research in the source Icarus paper, in a popular science article or listen on radio broadcasts [in Polish], Radio 357 in Partonautyka, Radio Rodzina or Radio Wrocław.