Ilona Jastrzębska is a Materials Scientist. Her interests focus on the design and properties of refractory materials and other high-temperature materials. Currently, she leads a research project called "LIDERXII" on the development of alternative Cr-free refractory materials for the copper industry, aiming to develop a completely new generation of more environmentally friendly refractories, together with her research group. She was the executor of five other research grants. She is the author or co-author of 50 research articles, including 20 publications in JCR journals, and has 2 patents. She presented the results of her work at international conferences 57 times. She serves as the supervisor of PhD students as well as bachelor's and master's students. She is the winner of several prizes: “The Scientist of the Future of 2022” in the category "Research of the Future” (2022) and in the category "Female Scientist Who Will Change the World" (2023) for innovative research works, and “The Gustav Eirich Award” for the best international PhD dissertation in the field of refractory materials. In her teaching life, she educates students on refractory materials science and the physics and chemistry of colloids.