All posts by netme

BUGA6300

The more international the better. The SPIL project moved to the next phase

[:en]News[:cs]Novinky[:], Projekt SPIL

Five years ago, the NETME Center presented a new scientific team, which, under the leadership of Professor Jiří J. Klemeš, began research on the efficiency of the process and energy industries. During this time, a truly international team of the Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory (SPIL) has established itself at the faculty. Even though the original project ends at the end of April, the well-run work continues.

0D7A6066International meeting of the SPIL project in April 2022 at FME (photo: Jiří Salik Sláma)

Achieve practical knowledge that will contribute to the greater efficiency of the industry. Contribute to the minimalis4ation of greenhouse gases, nitrogen oxides, and energy and water footprints. And also to build an internationally competitive research facility. The SPIL project, which the first phase ends by April this year, started in February 2017 with these considerable goals.

The success in the international scientific community exceeded Professor Klemeš’s expectations. “Instead of the planned 92 publications, we have 521, instead of six conferences we attended 118, and instead of eight lectures we had 336,” Klemeš sums up the team’s success. Prof. Klemeš himself is one of the most-cited scientists at the BUT and around the world.

The team was not stopped by a world pandemic, on the contrary. “During the pandemic, we all moved to a home office and our results have even improved. There was nothing else to do at home, so everyone worked, researched, wrote, published,” Klemeš praised.

0D7A5987Dean Jiří Hlinka also congratulated the team on its success (photo: Jiří Salik Sláma)

The pandemic affected the team’s work in other ways as well: reflected in the research topics. An article on plastics and the environmental burden associated with the pandemic, published in the journal Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, was a great success not only in the scientific community but also in several mainstream media around the globe.

“If you want to be successful, you must not only do good science but also respond to the serious issues of the time. When we wrote the article about plastics at the time of the Covid-19, thousands of people outside the scientific community were interested, because the focus of our research had a big impact on a whole society,” says Klemes, adding that.

New blood

The SPIL team relies on the collaboration of scientists from all over the world. “The more international research, the better,” Klemeš believes and continues: “Research is a bit like genetics: and new blood is always beneficial. I’m glad our research team consists of scientists from all over the world: from Slovenia, through Malaysia to China,” he added.

In this context, the pandemic played a paradoxically positive role, teaching scientists worldwide the so-called hybrid format of conferences, where some participants and speakers arrive and some connect online. It saves time and emissions from transport, and for SPIL the hybrid format is probably the new standard of scientific meetings.

BUGA6307Professor Klemeš does not hesitate to call Dr. Yee Van Fan a “rising star” (photo: Jiří Salik Sláma)

Not only the international spirit, but the young blood are the basis of Klemeš’s philosophy. “Young researchers make a huge contribution, they need to create great working conditions so that they can discover something new. We managed to find such a background in SPIL,” says Klemeš, and five fresh Ph.D. holders in his lab give him the truth. For example, Dr. Yee Van Fan has been with the team for many years and despite her youth Professor Klemeš is proud of her high H-index and does not hesitate to call her the “rising star”.

The SPIL project has now ended its five-year funding from European funds. However, the team continues to work, during the sustainability second phase, currently working on, for example, the RESHeat project, which aims to show how to save energy effectively.

BUGA6331International meeting of the SPIL project in April 2022 at FME (photo: Jiří Salik Sláma)

……………….

They said about the SPIL project

“I use the knowledge of the SPIL team in my lecturing, among other things. And this is one of the intended consequences of this team’s work: sharing knowledge and educating the next generation. For me, working with SPIL is a great experience and I would like the team to continue what they do and how they contribute to the whole company.”

Professor Sandro Nižetić (University of Split, Croatia)

“SPIL is a world leader in sustainability and energy systems research. It is a hub of scientific innovations in Europe, attracting worldwide talents. I am very excited about collaborating with SPIL for this trans-Atlantic research collaboration to strengthen the tie of global knowledge exchange contributing to UN SDGs.”

Professor Fengqi You, Roxanne E. and Michael J. Zak Professor (Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA), A member of the Academic Advisory board

“I am very proud of the SPIL team and grateful for all the support and help.”

Profesor Paweł Ocłoń (Politechnika Krakowska, Poland), A member of the Academic Advisory board

“The SPIL-related conferences are held all over the world, moving to different countries, to different continents. And they’ve affected more people in the scientific community than they might think. They are the basis of a number of collaborations that are not directly related to SPIL, but could only have been created thanks to these events. This is SPIL’s contribution to the scientific community and a contribution to solving global problems.”

Professor Ferenc Friedler (Széchenyi István University, Hungary), A member of the Academic Advisory board

The SPIL project (Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory) was supported by the Operational Program Research, Development and Education.logolink_OP_VVV_hor_barva_eng

ReMaP - novinka 4 (2)

The ReMaP project presented at the A3PS conference

News

At this year’s A3PS (Austrian Association for Advanced Propulsion Systems) conference on sustainable mobility, the ReMaP project was presented in the form of a poster.

On November 18-19, 2021, the A3PS conference “Eco-Mobility 2021: Paths to Climate-Neutral Mobility – Sustainable Propulsion Concepts and Energy Carriers for Carbon-Neutral Future: Europe as Frontrunner” took place in Vienna.

At the conference, the ReMaP project was presented to the internationally important participants in a poster session. In addition to general information about the project, the project goal, and the allocation of the individual research fields among the respective partners, current results were also presented.

The consortium can look back on a successful second year of the project: in 2021, numerous magnesium-based alloy compositions with a focus on high specific strengths for structural components were created and successfully processed in WAM (Wire Additive Manufacturing). Better mechanical properties could be achieved than in casting processes.

In the past project year, for example, a Mg-Al-Ca-Mn alloy was presented that achieves a yield strength of over 190 MPa thanks to its fine network of Mg-Al-(Ca) phases and a high proportion of dissolved aluminum. The pore analyses carried out at the computed tomography laboratory of the Wels University of Applied Sciences confirmed the high quality of the manufactured components.

Furthermore, the production of specimens from materials for medical applications was started. The alloys are free of aluminum and are characterized by high ductility and corrosion resistance.

In addition to the alloy development, the improvement of the entire process chain of additive processing methods represents an essential project objective of ReMaP. Significant progress has been made here both in the wire manufacturing route and in powder production. In addition to a newly implemented coiler for wire production, the atomizer newly set up at the University of Brno for powder production from wires is particularly worthy of mention. With the help of these two components, it is now possible to provide powder from special materials with high quality for additive manufacturing.

In the next project year, the ongoing developments will be continued, focusing on the characterization of the manufactured samples and further investigations of powder-based additive manufacturing of magnesium.

You may chceck the poster here.

More about the project here.

interreg_Austria_Czech_Republic_EN_RGBThe project is co-financed by the Cross–Border–Cooperation Programme Interreg V-A Austria–Czech Repulic for the funding period 2014-2020.

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New form in a new era: SPIL group from FSI organised the PRES and SPIL scientific conference in the hybrid form

[:en]News[:cs]Novinky[:], Projekt SPIL

The COVID-19 has been lasting for almost two years and has caused enormous changes in every aspect of our lives and work. The pandemic also challenged the field of scientific research and conferences. Scientific conferences which serve as a high‐impact international platform bring together researchers and multi-stakeholders from academia, government and private sectors to share the knowledge and experiences for the transformation towards a sustainable society. However, most of the conferences had to transform to an on-line form due to the mobility restrictions against the pandemic. The usual face-to-face lectures and discussions become supplemented by online audio, video, or even typing Q/A. It is evident that this fully on-line form can the smooth communication and effectiveness of the events.

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PRES conference opening day – group photo

At the starting point of organising the conferences (January 2021), which are the 24th annual conference on Process Integration for Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction – PRES’21, and the follow-up SPIL Scientific Conference on Energy, Water, Emission, Waste in Industry and Cities, it was challenging to foresee the situation with the pandemic after about 10 months and decide to be fully on-line or a regular face-to-face conference. According to statistical data from the previous conference, more than 400 participants from more than 50 countries would be there. It would be impossible to set up the conference fitting the situation of all international participants. After rounds and rounds of discussions within the organising committee, the PRES conference president, Professor Jiří Jaromír Klemeš, announced to held the conference in a hybrid form, which is on-line conference for most of the international participants who are not able to travel, and with a limited number of on-site (face to face) spaces for participants who being able to manage to come to Brno. The organisation was quite challenging due to the frequent changes in infection situations and measures against the COVID-19. Even in this tough time, the conferences were finally successfully held both on-line, and on-site at the Hotel International Brno, the PRES’21 Conference from 31st October to 3th of November, and SPIL conference from 4th to 5th November 2021.

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On-site PRES’21 Conference Parallel Session 1 lectures

Thanks to all the effort, supports and contributions from our PRES Conference President Prof Jiří Jaromir Klemeš, colleagues, collaborators, and all participants, the PRES Conference received a total number of 513 abstracts with 1,022 authors from 67 countries worldwide. Among these, 50 presentations with more than a hundred participants were delivered at the conference venue in Brno, with strict measures against COVID-19. In addition, ten invited lectures from distinguished professors and researchers, from world top universities and institutes, were also presented at both on-line and on-site conference. Prof Ignacio E. Grossmann from the Carnegie Mellon, a top US university, delivered the lecture titled “Optimal Synthesis and Planning of Sustainable Chemical Processes and Energy Systems”. Prof Santanu Bandyopadhyay from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and one of the pioneering researchers in Pinch Analysis, contributed with a lecture “Incorporating Uncertainties in Pinch Analysis”. Prof Raf Dewil, who is a leading expert in wastewater treatment, and the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Environmental Management, presented the plenary lecture with the title of “Energy Positive Wastewater Treatment: Creating Value from an Underexploited Resource to reveal the water-energy nexus developments”.

4

Awarding SPIL’21 Best Young Researcher Awards at the Conference closing ceremony

The conference also invited distinguished researchers from world top universities as Guest Speakers of Honour, including Prof Donald Huisingh from University of Tennessee, Prof Qiuwang Wang from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Prof Pen-Chi Chiang from National Taiwan University, Professor Stratos Pistikopoulos from Texas A&M University, Prof Soteris Kalogirou from Cyprus University of Technology and Prof André Bardow from ETH Zurich. In addition, there are 397 inspiring presentations on the virtual conference website, 1,354 comments and questions from the on-line participants. The lectures from Prof Grossmann received more than 400 views, which is right after the opening presentation from Prof Klemeš (543 views). Discussions are still continuing after the official ending of the conference, and we hope that will lead to many fruitful collaborations. This hybrid conference with all the presentations downloaded and commented enabled those who were interested “to be present” even if they missed them due to the impossibility of monitoring them in real time.

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Assoc Prof Ing Jiří Hlinka PhD opening the conference | Prof Ing Petr Stehlík, PhD, Dr.h.c. Plenary lecture presentation

The SPIL’21 Scientific conference, which followed the PRES conference, to reduce the environmental footprints for travelling, had also been successfully organised in hybrid form with the leading organisation of Dr Yee Van Fan. The conference hosted on-site more than 70 participants with 30 presentations at the conference venue and totalling 303 registered delegates. The conference started with a Welcome address by Vice-Dean Jiří Hlinka, and Opening Presentation by Prof Jiří Jaromír Klemeš (Head of SPIL), and the first invited lecture by Prof Petr Stehlík. A total of 14 invited lectures were presented to the participants, of which seven were delivered on-site. Prof Sandro Nižetić from the University of Split, Croatia, delivered his lecture with the title “A pathway to improve performance and applicability of photovoltaic technologies in energy transition”, sharing his visions in the future development of photovoltaic technologies in future energy supply. Prof Ms Aoife M. Foley, a leading researcher from Queen’s University Belfast and the Trinity Colleague, UK, and Editor-in-Chief of the high impacted journal Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews (IF 14.982) delivered the lecture titled “Green Energy Systems by 2050 for a ‘net’ Zero Carbon future”. Prof Fengqi You (Cornell University, US) and Prof Paweł Ocłoń (Cracow University of Technology, Poland) were another two invited plenary speakers of SPIL’21. A total of 106 presentations have been delivered on the virtual conference platform raising 1,380 comments and questions. The opening presentation of SPIL achievements was viewed on-line by 342 times. Guest Speakers of Honour included Prof André Bardow (ETH Zurich), Prof Dimitrios Gerogiorgis (The University of Edinburgh), Prof Iqbal M Mujtaba (University of Bradford), Prof Ignacio E. Grossmann (Carnegie Mellon University), Prof Petr Stehlik (VUT Brno), Prof Ferenc Friedler (Széchenyi István University), Prof Qiuwang Wang (Xi’an Jiaotong University), Prof Robin Smith (The University of Manchester), Prof Zdravko Kravanja (University of Maribor) and Dr Farooq Sher (Nottingham Trent University).

7

On-site SPIL’21 Opening Presentation by Prof Jiří Jaromír Klemeš

It has been a great challenge as well as a great experience for the whole organising team to manage the conferences in hybrid form for the first time. This is probably a new trend for academic conferences in the long term, not only because of the pandemic, but also considering the ability and feasibility of researchers to travel to the conference venue, a hybrid form can provide more possibilities for researchers from all around the world to learn, share, and inspire new knowledge. From the gained experience also benefited a recently accepted paper by NATURE Communications Journal “Trend of virtual and hybrid conferences since COVID-19 effectively mitigate climate change” co-authored by Professor Fengqi You, Roxanne E. and Michael J. Zak Professor at Cornell University, Ithaca, State New York, OS, his collaborators Yanqiu Tao, Debbie Steckel and Prof Jiří Klemeš, SPIL, FME, VUT Brno.

OP VVV_ENG

2021-09-02 16.46.48

The project meeting in Brno invited partners to the laboratories

News, Nezařazené

The ReMaP project partners met on September 2 at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology. The program included a discussion of the project results and tasks for the future. The meeting also enabled a visit to laboratories, especially the newly acquired atomizer, which we use to process magnesium wire into a fine powder. The atomizer is one of the crucial devices for the success of the project.

“During the meeting, we showed our colleagues the laboratories where we perform the additive manufacturing method of selective laser melting, in layman’s terms 3D printing from metal powders, and introduced them to the processes we use for the new materials. An excursion to a newly acquired atomizer followed. Later on, we discussed the next steps that we have to take in order to successfully finish the project,” described FME research leader Daniel Koutný.

You can visit the laboratory with us in the photo gallery below.

20210902_141431 2021-09-02 16.53.37 2021-09-02 16.50.372021-09-02 16.47.4320210902_164711

More about the project here.

interreg_Austria_Czech_Republic_EN_RGBThe project is co-financed by the Cross–Border–Cooperation Programme Interreg V-A Austria–Czech Repulic for the funding period 2014-2020.

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Successful application for a Marie Curie grant? Detailed, convincing, and passionate

[:en]News[:cs]Novinky[:], Nezařazené, Projektová podpora

Marie Skłodowska-Curie grants help researchers carry out their individual research mobility, gain experience abroad and rise a career. One call is open just now, another will run next year. Why does it make sense to apply for Marie Curie as a fellow? What does it mean to write a successful application? And what can a young scientist bring to the team he/she joins? We asked successful fellows and tutors from BUT.

Although there is currently no fellow working directly at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, a small connection could be found. Zdeněk Jakub, a graduate of physical engineering from FME, works in Jan Čechal’s research group at CEITEC BUT, which focuses on the development of new unique devices and materials. After studying at BUT, Jakub moved to the TU Wien, then returned to his alma mater thanks to a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant. “It has several advantages: it is a prestigious grant, relatively well funded and it will be a great experience for my next career,” says a new fellow Jakub.

His supervisor Jan Čechal himself has experience as a fellow, from 2010 to 2012 he joined a research group at the Max Planck Institute. “It was a big career change and big experience. They were among the first to make molecular systems, which we do here today,“ recalls Čechal. That’s why he likes to welcome young fellows to his team. “Marie Curie is one of the best individual mobility programs and also one of the few ways to pay for a PostDoc from abroad,” he says.

Zdeněk Jakub_foto HovorkováSuccessful fellow Zdeněk Jakub (photo: FME BUT)

The competition is high in Marie Skłodowska-Curie, only 15% of applicants succeed. However, Jan Čechal points out that in many cases it is possible to obtain money from the Czech Ministry, which – if the program is announced – will financially support quality applicants who have remained “below the line”.

Little bureaucracy, a lot of science

Mireia Diez Sánchez also has experience with Marie Curie, she worked at BUT as a fellow in a research group at the Faculty of Information Technology. “You have to work hard to prepare the application. I would recommend finding an institution involved to help you write the application because you have to put together a lot of things. But once you submit the application and you succeed, it’s done. You don’t have to do any interim reports, meet milestones and deal with administration. You can really focus on your research. I would recommend anyone who wants to “grow up” a bit as a researcher to try it,” says Sánchez.

What are their tips for a successful application? “Start in advance, don’t think it’s something you’ll write in a few weeks. It must be well organized, nothing must be missing. If you know someone who has already applied and succeeded, ask for their experience and advice on what to look out for, what to focus on,” Sanchez recommends.

www.emilgallik.com

“First of all, the applicant should carefully read the conditions, answer all the questions and leave nothing out, it is really necessary to comment on everything. And I think it must be written in such a way that the evaluators are enthusiastic about your research after reading the application,” says successful applicant Jakub.

And the tutor’s view? “The most important thing is to find a consensus on what we will be the research topic. The application must be reliable and as specific as possible so that the evaluator can imagine what you mean. So instead of writing “I will consult with my fellow regularly”, you better write “There will be a two-hour individual consultation every week”. The part of career development is also important, the applicant must explain why he wants to join us. When you apply for the ETH Zurich, you probably don’t have to explain why, but why Brno and BUT? How will this develop your career? We are lucky that we have very high-quality equipment that fellows can aim for,” concludes Čechal.

Projektový management

The partners shared the project progress in a joint meeting

News

The project communication team met on Wednesday, June 30, via videoconference to share news about the continuation of the international ReMaP project. Representatives of the Czech and Austrian institutions presented their communication plans to raise awareness of the project results among the general public, as well as experts in the field. In addition to communication, technical issues related to research and development were also discussed. If possible, the next meeting will be face-to-face at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Brno, where the Austrian partners may see the key scientific device – the atomizer.

More about the project here.

interreg_Austria_Czech_Republic_EN_RGBThe project is co-financed by the Cross–Border–Cooperation Programme Interreg V-A Austria–Czech Repulic for the funding period 2014-2020.

IMG_5331

An atomizer will help researchers develop new alloys. It turns a wire into a fine powder

[:en]News[:cs]Novinky[:]

Czech and Austrian scientists have joined forces and are working together to develop new magnesium alloys that will be useful for the production of lightweight parts and biomedical implants. Newly developed alloys should have better qualities than currently known commercial products, and scientists hope that they will also be cheaper and therefore more affordable. One of the first important steps in the project was the purchase of an atomizer for FME laboratories.

The international research project ReMaP started in 2020. Although there was a slight delay due to the pandemic, FME researchers are already working on the production of magnesium powder using the new atomizer, which they acquired for their laboratories at the NETME Center thanks to project funding. “We have had the device since August 2020, but its commissioning for magnesium materials proved to be a real challenge. The manufacturer has an atomizer tested on aluminum or titanium alloys, but did not use it for magnesium alloys yet,” explains FME research leader Daniel Koutný.

The atomizer can, in layman’s terms, make small balls the size of a micrometer out of metal wire. This creates a fine powder that can be used in a 3D printer. Wires from newly developed alloys are supplied by Austrian partners, the team at FME takes care of atomization and verification of the suitability of the material for 3D printing. At present, magnesium alloys in powder form are only available from the USA and are not only expensive but also subject to export restrictions. Thanks to the atomizer, which cost about three million CZK, the joint Czech-Austrian development of new materials can be fully launched.

More about the project here.

interreg_Austria_Czech_Republic_EN_RGBThe project is co-financed by the Cross–Border–Cooperation Programme Interreg V-A Austria–Czech Repulic for the funding period 2014-2020.

solar_pixabay

The RESHeat project aims to show how to save energy effectively

[:en]News[:cs]Novinky[:]

Renewable energy and green technologies are not totally new. But how to use them together so that it is an economical and therefore attractive solution? The international RESHeat project, in which experts from the SPIL laboratory at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering also participate, want to answer this question. There are also plans for two demonstration installations on public building complexes which face different climate conditions, in Palombara Sabina, Lazio, a commune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy, and Krakow, the historical capital Poland. These  are the final development steps before the system is launched.

Heating and air conditioning consume more than half of the civic sector annual energy consumption. In EU households, heating and hot water alone, account for 79% of total final energy consumption. What’s worse, three-quarters of heating and cooling requirements are still powered by fossil fuel energy. Nevertheless, the transition to renewables is still not smooth, often because it discourages high initial investments and operating cost.

obr_panelyThe testing of smart solar collectors for RESHeat (project partner Czamara site in Poland)

„Not that existing technologies are not technologically good. The problem with current renewable energy sources, however, is that in most cases, they have to be subsidised. The goal of the RESHeat project is to develop the technology so that it is economically  advantageous. If we succeed, renewables will be green. That is why we are preparing two demonstration installations in different climatic conditions, where those interested could come and see them and learn everything about how the system works,” explains Professor Jiří Klemeš, head of the SPIL laboratory at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology. The project focuses on residential units, so demonstration installations will be on residential buildings in Rome, where it is relatively warm, and in Krakow, which is to the north of us and considerably cooler. Experts will be able to compare the effectiveness of both systems in different latitudes.

Klemeš

Prof Jiří Klemeš, Head of the SPIL laboratory

It is the team of the Laboratory of Process Integration for Sustainability, abbreviated to SPIL, that, as the name suggests, is in charge of integrating all technologies so that they become a functional and efficient system. “In general, a lot of energy can be saved, and emissions avoided, but again it consumes some funding for operating cost. For example, almost all heat pumps run on electricity, which means that we save something but consume something again. We will run the research to integrate renewable sources so that the pump also takes energy from solar collectors,” explains Prof Klemeš. For solar collectors, they plan to use more efficient, so-called, smart units, which spin like sunflowers behind the sun to get the maximum energy input. This is very important, especially during the winter period, when the energy is much needed.

Civic Sector still has reserves in energy efficiency and related emissions

Researchers also want to solve another problem, and that is the fluctuating performance of renewables. “Fluctuations occur both in regular day-night cycles and with changes in weather or season. To make a real breakthrough in the use of renewables, we need to address energy storage. In our project, we want to use advanced underground energy storage. If you have soil with suitable properties, as, e.g. clay, heat can also be stored in the ground. It’s relatively cheap and safe, so also promising,” says Jiří Klemeš.

RESHeat_schéma

Scheme of integrated solution in RESHeat project

This time, the target group of the project is not industry alone, but cities, regions and other public entities as well. “It’s promising because industry has been dealing with energy savings for some time. Even advanced industrial plants can still save  some energy, but it’s not tens of percent. On the contrary, the area of civic amenities still has higher reserves, and further research is also needed here,” stated Jiri Klemeš.

The EU RESHeat project is planned for four years, ending in November 2024. In the first three years, researchers plan to work on process integration and gradually install and test parts of the system in sample residential units so that the last year of the project runs and data can be collected and the effectiveness of the solution verified. The project involves research institutions, cities and companies, that plan to subsequently introduce the technology or its components to the market. “These companies had to contribute 30% towards the development of the project, which is already a good example of the fact that they believe it will be useful. And of course, we believe that too. Energy savings will only work if it really spreads en masse” concludes Jiří Klemeš.

An important part of the RESHeat project is the demonstration and dissemination, where SPIL, FME, VUT has a remarkable record in smart media dissemination and organising worldwide conferences, e.g. as SPIL’20 attended by 443 participants from 49 countries and coming hybrid (both face2face and online) conference PRES’21 (31/10 – 3/11 2021, Brno, Czech Republic) , where already more than 1,650 authors from 59 countries submitted their research works.

EUThis project is supported by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 956255, project RESHeat (Renewable Energy System for Residential Building Heating and Electricity Production).

 

Project SPIL is funded by Czech Republic Operational Programme Research and Development, Education, Priority 1: Strengthening capacity for quality research Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_ 003/0000456).

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A new generation of radiators is being developed at BUT. The first prototype has already been tested in a car

[:en]News[:cs]Novinky[:]

Tens of millions of car radiators are produced annually in Europe alone. They are usually made of metal, but experts from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at BUT have been working for several years on the development of a completely new type of a radiator made of hollow polymer fibres. The first-generation prototype has already been tested in a car, but the new type of an exchanger could also be used in air conditioning units, in battery cooling or in places where a metal radiator is not suitable, for example, due to corrosion.

Read more here.

Jiří Klemeš_náhled_foto Igor šefr

Jiří Klemeš from FME belongs to TOP 1 % cited researchers in the world

[:en]News[:cs]Novinky[:]

Professor Jiří Jaromír Klemeš, from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering BUT, has been named on the annual Highly Cited Researchers 2020 list from Clarivate Analytics. This highly anticipated annual list identifies researchers who have demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. Their names are drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for the field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index. Professor Jiří J Klemeš first appeared in the top ranking in 2018.

Read more here.

Jiří Klemeš_náhled_foto Igor šefr (2)

Plastic does not always mean evil, researchers say in response to the coronavirus pandemic

[:en]News[:cs]Novinky[:]

Environment is said to be another victim of the novel coronavirus. Many countries were determined to fight plastics last year, but during the pandemic, people more often reached for plastic packaging or personal protective equipment. Based on their research, researchers from an international team led by the experts from Brno University of Technology point out that plastics do not have to be automatically bad; it mainly depends on how they are handled. In order to map the environmental impact, the team has introduced a new concept called Plastic Waste Footprint (PWF), which should help determine the environmental footprint. The concept was presented in the article published in the renowned journal Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews.

Read more here.

Spolupráce. Zdroj: Pixabay.com

SYMPOSIUM on „How to network internationally?“

[:en]News[:cs]Novinky[:]

NETME Centre is pleased to invite you to SYMPOSIUM on „How to network internationally?“. The Symposium has been fostered by the Dean of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Brno University of Technology – doc. Ing. Jaroslav Katolický Ph.D.

Date & Time:           Wednesday, 26 February 2020, 9:00am – 4:00pm

Address:                   Antonínská 1, Brno, Štukový sál, 3rd floor

Registration 

PROGRAM

  • 9:00 – 10:00  Registration and Welcome coffee
  • 10:00 – 10:05      Welcome Speech by the Dean of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering BUT doc. Ing. Jaroslav Katolický Ph.D.
  • 10:05 – 10:15     Introduction of the iNETME project – doc. Ing. Jiří Hlinka, Ph.D.

Panel 1: Diplomats’ viewpoint:

10:00 – 10:50  Prof. Pierre Bruno Ruffini

  • “Science diplomacy, what it is and what it is not – Answers to key questions”

Professor of International Economics at the University of Le Havre (France), Faculty of International Affairs. From 2000 to 2005, he served as the President of the University of Le Havre. He is a former Counselor for Science and Technology at the Embassy of France in Russia and Italy. He presently acts as expert in the ongoing European research project “Inventing a Shared Science Diplomacy for Europe” (InsSciDE – H2020).

10:50 – 11:20  Dr. Otakar Fojt

  • Cooperation with British scientific organizations
  • Brexit and Horizon Europe
  • Examples of established cooperation

Works as a Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe. He has been working as a British scientific attaché at the British Embassy Prague, the Czech Republic for 16 years. Otakar Fojt has an overview of what is happening in science and research field in Britain and around the world. Apart from his post as a science attaché, he poses as a Czech and abroad lecturer in innovations, technology transfer, science programmes, politics and strategies.

Panel 2: Introduction of European projects

Science diplomacy as a topic is also very attractive for researchers from all over the world, and several EU-funded projects are currently exploring and conducting research on tool for diplomacy.

11:20 – 11:35  Mgr. Eliška Tomalová, Ph.D./Mgr. Eliška Černovská

Works at Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague. She has been recently involved in the H2020 project S4D4C, “Using Science for/in Diplomacy for addressing global Challenges” which aims to support current and future European science diplomacy for the benefit of European capacities, EU foreign policy goals and especially the development of solutions for global challenges. She is leading the water case study, researching best practices in science diplomacy and water management.

11:35 – 11:50  Prof. Pierre Bruno Ruffini

InsSciDE is a Horizon 2020 funded project centred on the development of a shared science diplomacy across Europe through international, interdisciplinary and groundbreaking research. The project aims to create an inclusive and innovative dialogue, highlighting the contribution of Science Academies and networks of Science Diplomats to addressing global challenges. 

Panel 3: Network Opportunities for connecting to SME partners

 11:50 – 12:00  Ing. Eva Kudrnová

Technology Centre AS CR, responsible for Enterprise Europe Network net in CR.

  • EEN net Services
  • Assistance with search for project partners

12:00 – 12:10  Mgr. Zdeněk Havel

Project manager for R&D at CzechInvest

  • introducing of opportunities how to promote the demand of Czech scientists for abroad partners on abroad market
  • abroad technology mission

12:10 – 12:20      Discussion

12:20 – 13:30 Informal discussion and lunch  

Panel 4: Experience from Researchers, ERC grant holder

13:30 – 14:00      Ing. Petr Neugebauer, Ph.D.

ERC grant holder, he works at CEITEC BUT with paramagnetic resonance. He is a graduate of BUT and spent his doctoral studies in Grenoble, France. After the graduation, he spent two years in Frankfurt am Main in Center for Bimolecular Magnetic Resonance. Before he finally returned to the Czech Republic, he stayed at University in Stuttgart for 5 years.

  • Dr Neugebauer will share his career story and will introduce the path that led him to receive ERC grant

Panel 5: Practical tips

14:00 – 14:30      PhDr. Lenka Mynářová

Years of knowledge and experience in research marketing and science and global scale technology transfer marketing. As a member of Elmarco, s.r.o. board, she led marketing process for introduction of Nanospider technology for global market. She participated in commercialization of results of research during her work in Advisory Committee Bochemie a.s. She currently leads Horizon 2020 projects, Eurostars projects and Hydal project on their way to global market. She lectures marketing of science and research and technology transfer in CR and abroad.

  • Possibilities in exploitation of marketing in science and research
  • PR of scientific results and marketing mix of scientific results
  • How to start successful marketing of science and research

Panel discussion: „Opportunities of Czech researchers in international science“

14:30 – 16:00      host Dr. Mgr. Aleš Vlk

Professional host of Czech and international events in research and science, cofounder of educational company Alevia. One of the key people of vedavyzkum.cz portal.

Panel members:

  • prof., Ing. Vladimír Majer, CSc. – Professor of physical chemistry, was working in Universities in USA and France and as scientific diplomat for the French CNRS. Since 2014 he has assignments at the Technical University in Liberec and as expert for the European Commission and Czech governmental organizations.
  • prof. Ing. Vlastimil Růžička, CSc. – Professor of physical chemistry, rector emeritus of the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, currently working at the Technology Centre of CAS in the Strategic Studies department. In the past he was the vice-minister for research and higher education at MEYS and the managing director of the ELI Beamlines project, building of a pan-european research infrastructure in the field of laser physics at Dolní Břežany.
  • Dr. Markéta Kubánková – Obtained a Ph.D. and EPSRC Fellowship at Imperial College London. Currently works at Max Planck Institute in Germany. Co-founder of platform Czexpats in Science (czexpatsinscience.cz).
  • MVDr. Zlatuše Novotná  – strategical partnership, CEITEC MU (Central European Institute of Technology)
  • Ing. Petr Neugebauer, Ph.D. – ERC grant holder at CEITEC BUT
  • Ing. Jan Ostřížek, Ph.D. – Head of International Relations at RECETOX, Masaryk University

REGISTRATION: https://forms.gle/gaKXfGmzEFccjf4r7

Contact:                                           Ing. Blanka Marušincová, MSc 

Logo MŠMT

Symposium is supported from LTI19001 iNETME – International NET for Mechanical Engineering project funded by INTEREXCELLENCE programme, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

 

The SPIL Research Team

The 3rd SPIL Conference: Energy, Water, Emission & Waste in Industry and Cities

[:en]News[:cs]Novinky[:]

The main goal of the SPIL Scientific Conference is to share new knowledge and implementation progress from all areas of Process Integration and Sustainability research. The presenters are world-leading researchers, who will provide unique insights into their team’s latest focuses and developments. 

Date: 21. – 22. 11. 2019

Place: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology

More information (including registration form) is available here. Read more about about the 2nd SPIL Conference here.

SPIL project, and its conference, is co-funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, via grant No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_003/0000456 of the “Operational Programme Research, Development and Education”, Priority 1: Strengthening capacity for quality research. More information here.

OP VVV_ENG

 

 

 

 

European School of Makers se konala díky zapojení strojLABu do projektu FabLabNet

FabLabNet BIGFest in Trento, the FabLab festival

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Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May, at the MUSE in Trento, the big closing event of the EU FabLabNet project

 After three years of work, Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May, the FabLabNet Project will conclude its journey with a two-day celebration and meetings, dedicated to all lovers of technology and innovation, young and old. For the occasion, the nine FabLabs of the INTERREG Central Europe FabLabNet project will meet in Trento for a public presentation of the activities and results achieved in the field of digital prototyping and shared innovation. Two days in which conferences and technological demonstrations will alternate with music, interactive activities, flight tests with drones and – for night owls – a night of music, video mapping and technological sounds. The FabLabNet BIGFest will be an unmissable opportunity for technology enthusiasts, families looking for a special weekend, or even the merely curious who want to meet experimenters, inventors, creatives and artists in an international environment.

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The programme starts on Saturday morning with three conferences at Palazzo delle Albere, where national and European experts will be exploring the role of FabLabs in the world of Business (9am-1pm), Education (2pm-4pm) and Communities (4pm-7pm).

Starting from Saturday afternoon, and for the whole day on Sunday, the nine FabLab project partners – from Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia – together with more than twenty representatives of FabLabs and Italian companies working in the field of technological and social innovation, will be presenting prototypes, activities and stands related to creativity and digital inventions to the public.

A special flight cage will be set up to allow visitors to experiment with flying drones.

Saturday evening, starting at 6pm, “FabNight” will open: a multimedia event in the name of technology in which speakers, gamers and artists will be performing. Young creatives, incredible inventions and numerous well-known names such as YouTuber Andrea Galeazzi, presenter Paolo Labati, beatboxer Lil Klips, musicians Anansi, Ardan Dal Rì, ReacTj, Tina Baffy and Sabota VJ, along with many others, will take turns on stage.

To recharge your batteries, food trucks will be open for the duration of the event.

All activities will be free, admission to conferences will be open while seats last (online registration is recommended).  For the occasion, the MUSE will be open to the public at the special rate of €3.

The full programme of the event and the online registration to the conferences are available at: http://fablab.muse.it/fablabnet-big-fest/

FOCUS: the International Conferences

On Saturday 18th, the BIGFest will start with 3 International Conferences, of particular interest to technology enthusiasts, experts and professionals. Held in the prestigious setting of Palazzo delle Albere, the three conferences will discuss the interactions between FabLabs and Companies (9am to 1pm), FabLabs and Education (2pm to 4pm) and FabLabs and Communities (4pm to 7pm).

Expert speakers on the theme of “FabLabs and Companies” will include Ann Christin Döding from lvh APA Bozen Confartigianato Imprese, Paolo Gregori and Matteo Perini from PROM Facility, Trento. The MakerSpace in Munich will present its experience with BMW, while the FabLab in Budapest will illustrate its partnership with leading robotics company KUKA.

On the subject of “Education”, experts from MUSE FabLab, FabLab Bielsko-Biala (PL) and the University of Brno (CZ) will talk to Tine de Pauw (Brussels Photonic Team), Orietta Daprà (training consultant in educational services), Daniele Khalousi and Marcello Scaravella of the FabLab in Parma.

Lastly, we will talk about “FabLabs and Communities” with Happylab in Vienna, RogLab in Ljubljana and FabLab in Zagreb. Prof. Bojan Baletić (University of Zagreb), educators Emanuela Leva (Soprasotto, Milan) and Vittoria de Mare (Carpe Diem, Trento), and makers Zoe Romano (WeMake, Milan) and Matilde Bognolo (MUSE FabLab) will focus on the ways in which FabLab can catalyse social and technological innovation.

Admission to the conferences is free and includes coffee breaks and light lunches, but places are limited and we recommend that you book your place at the link below well in advance:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfUniDG8RC3l0rdaeFA6bhG9b0evkI6P7FVdSlJcyNx_jGRTw/viewform

The full programme of the FabLabNet BIGFest: http://fablab.muse.it/fablabnet-big-fest/

FOCUS: FabDays

For children, families or the merely curious, the BIGFest will offer two days of activities, stands and technological demonstrations starting on Saturday afternoon and throughout Sunday at the MUSE and its garden.

31 national and European FabLabs will be presenting prototypes and activities. Particularly interesting events for children of the many activities going on will include Flight Testing to safely test drones, Nintendo LABO to play with Switch in a new and creative way, and PixelArt to create art like a real computer! For those who feel like it, with Insetti Robot it will be possible to create a cyber-beetle to take home (reservation required at the link: www.roglab.si/en/fabbox/2019/robotic_beetles).

To recharge your batteries between one discovery and the next, food trucks will be available in the MUSE garden on both Saturday and Sunday.

Programme and list of exhibitors: http://fablab.muse.it/fablabnet-big-fest/

FOCUS: FabNight

On Saturday 18th, from 6pm onwards, creatives, inventors, artists, gamers and YouTubers will take turns on the stage of the MUSE for an exceptional evening of music and ideas on the theme of technology and innovation.

The evening will begin with TECHNO BLA BLA BLA (7pm to 9pm), a series of short, easy to understand talks that will describe what it means to innovate today.

A group of young Alfieri della Repubblica (Filippo Pasquazzo, Enrico Cescato, and Samuele Ropelato, accompanied by Prof. Monica Ropele, of the De Gasperi Institute of Borgo Valsugana) will then take turns on the stage, winners of the prestigious title for their App “My Voices”, created to help one of their classmates with communicative and relational disabilities. Edoardo and Federica Taori will present Plants Play: a device for listening to the “voice of plants”; Necomimi will demonstrate a strange way of using brain waves; the Fire Brigade will be flying their Hi-Tech drones; the artist Lil Klips will tell you what he means by “DIY” music; Miss Lala will play with light; the Makey Makey kit get you playing with the strangest objects; and Ardan Dal Rì will present “Body Glove: when technology makes DNA resonate”.

This will be followed by the GAMERS’ DIALOGUE (9 pm to 9.30 pm), in which gamification guru Fabio Viola will talk with Elisa Di Lorenzo – the first Italian game producer – about the possibilities of developing the video game medium in the coming years.

After the TALKS, “L’altromovimento” company will be offering something more purely entertaining, with their “Dance with Drones” choreography. YouTuber Andrea Galeazzi and presenter Paolo Labati will then take an entertaining and irreverent look of what you can – and can’t – do with technology, nowadays…

From 10pm onwards, the music will start with beatboxer Lil Klips (Isam Maarouf), the musical experiments of Anansi & Ardan Dal Rì and – directly from “Italia’s Got Talent” – the ReacTj show with its surprising interactive table.

Finally, you can dance with the DJ set by Tina Buffy & Sabota VJ.