Paulius Kazlauskas, a master’s student in the Faculty of Physics at Vilnius University (VU), is participating in the Toruń Student Summer Program in the Exact Sciences (TSSP ExSci 2026) at Nicolaus Copernicus University (NCU) in Poland.
P. Kazlauskas is conducting research on astronomy in Toruń, where, together with Dr Pawel Zielinski, he is working with observational data on the gravitational microlensing effect from the Gaia space mission. Using spectral observations, he aims to determine the parameters of distant stars.
Kazlauskas stands in the centre of the front row. Photo by R. Skiba.
The student in the VU Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics program, along with other program participants, is carrying out projects in astronomy, physics, mathematics, and computer science under the guidance of researchers from the UMK Faculties of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, and Mathematics and Computer Science.
“For me personally, the most interesting part of the program is the topic of my project. It’s closely related to my upcoming master’s thesis and will definitely be a great help to me in the coming months. The workplace at the observatory, in the village of Piwnice, about 10 km from Toruń, is also very beautiful—they have stunning nature, lots of flowers, and most importantly, an office cat,” said P. Kazlauskas.
Program participants also have the opportunity to learn about the research conducted at the faculties through specially prepared lectures. For example, Dr Marta Pelc presented on the field of graphene nanostructures, while Dr Grzegorz Kowzan introduced students to research in ultrafast molecular spectroscopy. Students are also encouraged to participate in group activities and explore the rich history and culture of Toruń.
Fifteen students from Denmark, Finland, Greece, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Morocco, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, and Hungary are participating in the 4-week-long program.