Title: Semiconductor Nanocrystal Optoelectronics for Lighting and Displays: Pushing the Limits, Breaking Records

Abstract: 

Lighting and displays are integral parts of human activities and economic development. Semiconductor nanocrystals, now offering a market volume exceeding 1 Billion Euros annually, have attracted great interest in quality lighting and displays in the last decade. Such colloidal semiconductors enable enriched color conversion essential to superior lighting and displays.These colloids span different types and heterostructures of semiconductors, starting in the form of colloidal quantum dots about three decades ago and extending to the latest subfamily of nanocrystals, the colloidal quantum wells, in the last decade. In this talk, we will present most recent examples of photonic structures and device architectures using the colloidal quantum wells [1-4] for lighting and displays. Also, we will present a powerful, large-area selfassembly technique for orienting these colloidal quantum wells either all face down or all edge up [5]. We will demonstrate threedimensional constructs of their oriented selfassemblies with monolayer precision [6]. Among their extraordinary features important to applications in lighting and displays, we will show record high efficiency from their colloidal LEDs [7] and record gain coefficients from their colloidal laser media [8] using heterostructures [2-4] and/or oriented assemblies [5,6] of colloidal quantum wells. Given their current accelerating progress, these solutionprocessed quantum wells hold great promise to challenge their epitaxial thinfilm counterparts in semiconductor optoelectronics in the near future.

References

[1] B. Guzelturk et al., HVD, Nano Letters 19, 277 (2019)

[2] N. Taghipour et al., HVD, Nature Communications 11, 3305 (2020)

[3] Y. Altıntas et al., HVD, ACS Nano 13, 10662 (2019)

[4] F. Shabani et al., HVD, Small 18, 2106115 (2022) 

[5] O. Erdem et al., HVD, Nano Letters 19, 4297 (2019) 

[6] O. Erdem et al., HVD, Nano Letters 20, 6459 (2020) 

[7] B. Liu et al., HVD, Advanced Materials 32, 1905824 (2020) 

[8] J. Maskoun et al., HVD, Advanced Materials 33, 2007131 (2021)

Date: 13th of January @10.00 CET 

About the speaker: 

Hilmi Volkan Demir (IEEE Fellow, OPTICA Fellow) is a professor at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, together with the Schools of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and of Materials Science and Engineering at NTU Singapore. Professor Demir established the Centre of Excellence for Semiconductor Lighting and Displays, LUMINOUS! at NTU. Demir earned his PhD (2004) and MSc (2000) degrees from Stanford University, USA, and his BSc (1998) from Bilkent University, Ankara, one of the top engineering schools in Turkey. Concurrently, Dr. Demir is a professor of electrical engineering and physics at Bilkent University, his alma mater,and UNAM–The National Nanotechnology Research Center at Bilkent. His current research interests include the science and technology of semiconductor lighting and displays, nanocrystal optoelectronics, and smart metastructured implants. Demir published over 350 peer-reviewed research articles in major scientific journals, 125 of which belong to Nature Index journals, and delivered over 250 invited seminars, lectures and colloquia in industry and academia around the globe. As a PI, Demir has contributed to commercialization and licensing of over 10 new enabling technologies, generating over 100 patent applications (granted and pending) as a principle inventor. These scientific and entrepreneurship activities resulted in several important awards including Nanyang Award for Research Excellence, NRF Investigatorship Award of Singapore, EURYI Award of European Science Foundation, and TÜBİTAK Science Award of Turkey.

http://volkan.bilkent.edu.tr/ 

Goggle Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iIPTR3EAAAAJ&hl=en 

Recorded Lecture: https://youtu.be/CW5466sCpzk

Title:  Taking advantage of the magnetic functionality of nanostructures with induced movement

Abstract: 

The incorporation of magnetic nanostructures into a nano/micromotor design is a very convenient strategy for magnetic actuation. Accordingly, herein, some advantages with which nanostructures become endorsed when including magnetic nanoparticles in the final assembly, will be detailed.

One one hand, we can consider the basic physical mechanism by which a magnetic field can be used to generate motion in fluidic environments, namely by inducing the so-called magnetophoretic motion by applying forces due to the magnetic field gradients, which require a spatially inhomogeneous field. Furthermore, this effect can be exploited jointly with self-propulsion of swimmers, such that, the movement becomes directed. On the other hand, we can also take into account the ability of magnetic nanoparticles to deliver heat, via the external stimulation using an alternating magnetic field. This heat delivered can have a tremendous impact in the induced movement, as it can be employed to catalyse the reactions involved in the concentration gradient generating the movement or to change the surrounding environment.

Date: 27th of January, 2023 @10.00 CET

About the speaker: 

Verónica Salgueiriño obtained her Ph.D. degree in 2003 at the Universidade de Vigo. After two years of post-doc, first in Universität Duisburg-Essen (Germany), then in Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering - Arizona State University (USA), she joined the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela as a IPP researcher. In 2008 she was awarded the L'Oréal-UNESCO (Women in Science) Award, and in March 2009 she joined the Universidade de Vigo as a Ramon y Cajal fellow. She is associate professor (PTU) at the department of Applied Physics since 2017. 

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=el&user=Nrw92JgAAAAJ 

Recorded Lecture: https://youtu.be/a4jK1ZExNXQ 

Title: Nonlinear waves in Space plasmas: overview of recent advancements on the interface between nonlinear science and plasma physics. 

Abstract: 

This presentation aims to provide an overview of the current state of the art in research related with the formation and dynamics of electrostatic nonlinear structures in Space plasmas. Some of the topics to be covered include electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs) in non-Maxwellian Space plasmas and supersolitons. We will discuss the underlying mechanisms involved in the formation and propagation of these structures, and how these are manifested at different spatiotemporal scales in various plasma situations. Some recent results regarding the structural characteristics of “non-conventional” ESW waveforms occurring on planetary magnetospheres (e.g. flat-top solitons, supersolitons) will be presented and discussed. An independent hot topic in contemporary nonlinear plasma physics, extreme wave events (freak waves, aka rogue waves) will be covered in a forthcoming presentation.

Date: 3rd of February, 2023

About the speaker: 

Dr Ioannis (or Yannis) Kourakis is based at the Department of Mathematics at Khalifa University of Science and Technology (Abu Dhabi) where, asides his academic duties, he is currently Theme Leader for Magnetospheric Modeling at the KU Space and Planetary Sciences Center (since 2021). He has held academic and research positions in the UK, in Germany, in Belgium, in Brazil and in the UAE. He has also served in various editorial and consulting roles in a number of international journals (including Scientific Reports by Springer Nature) and research funding bodies. His research focuses on nonlinear dynamics and soliton theory, with emphasis on nonlinear waves and shocks in Plasma Physics and in Space Science. Earlier work has spanned various areas, including optical instabilities, dissipative solitons, negative- refractive-index materials, Bose-Einstein condensates and hydrodynamics. He has published more than 250 articles in refereed journals and in conference proceedings. Based in the UAE since 2018, he has been awarded one ADEK/ASPIRE grant and two internally funded (KU) research awards as PI, on different projects, totaling 3.43M AED (approx. $1M).

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Zy6ze_IAAAAJ&hl=el&oi=ao

Recorded session: 

Title: Ignition a dream that came true, a brief history of the ICF program at LLNL. 

Abstract: 

Date: 10th of February, 2023

About the speaker: 

Sébastien Le Pape is currently Deputy Director and Scientist of the Laboratory for the Use of Intense Lasers (LULI*), and a researcher at École Polytechnique. As an experimentalist, his thesis work focused on the study of the optical properties of X-ray lasers. He then spent 14 years at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, working mainly on the Inertial Confinement Fusion programme at the National Ignition Facility.

*LULI: a joint research unit CNRS, École Polytechnique - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, CEA, Sorbonne Université

Abstract:

Fusion energy has been the driven force in the High Energy Density (HED) community for more than fifty years but especially since the start of the National Ignition Campaign in 2009 on the National Ignition facility (LLNL, USA). The National Ignition Campaign, though a marvel in term of laser technology and data quality in this challenging regime, has failed to achieve ignition. This failure has shed lights on gaps of our understanding of fundamental plasma properties such as thermal transport or emissivity. Following these initial difficulties, evolution of the design (higher adiabat, new ablator, new hohlraum conditions) has led to significant improvement in implosion performance over the years and Ignition. I will go over these evolutions and why they led to the recent successes obtained on the NIF.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CIOGTX8AAAAJ&hl=en 

Recorded session: https://youtu.be/cCVUItFJnhM

Title: Stimuli-responsive nanogels: a versatile drug delivery platform. 

Abstract: 

Nanogels are hydrogels within the nanometer range consisting of crosslinked porous polymer networks with the ability to retain high volumes of water or biological fluids whilst maintaining their structure. They have a wide range of flexibility in their design, allowing their characteristics such as size, charge, degree of porosity and degradability to be easily tuned by the choice of monomeric building blocks. Since nanogels can retain a high volume of water, they are extremely biocompatible. This excellent and unique property makes them an ideal nanoplatform for the delivery of biological drugs such as enzymes and proteins. By incorporating labile bonds within precursor monomers, nanogels can be designed to be responsive to a wide variety of environmental stimuli such as enzymes, temperature, pH and ionic strength. These functionalities can be easily achieved with the right monomer design. This strategy of triggered disintegration makes crosslinked polymeric nanogels a promising system for the controlled delivery of biologics. Herein we present our work on bottom-up, covalent nanogels synthesised via an in situ green nanopolymerisation technique.

Date: 24th of February, 2023

About the speaker: 

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/nazila.kamaly 

Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PZ2Un6IAAAAJ&hl=en 

Recorded session: 

Title: Accelerating emerging PV technologies.

Abstract:

The development of complex functional solar materials poses a multi-objective optimization problem in a large multi-dimensional parameter space. Solving it requires reproducible, user-independent laboratory work and intelligent preselection of experiments. However, experimental materials science is a field where manual routines are still predominant, although other domains like pharmacy or chemistry have introduced robotics and automation long before. Human interaction in the process of data acquisition is seen critical due to incomplete assessment of meta-data or hidden processing correlations which complex reproducibility. Materials Acceleration Platforms (MAPs) are regarded as an enabling technology for Data-Driven Material Science, leading to an increased number of concepts and a dynamic evolution of MAP lines. In this talk, I will present our approach to laboratory automation in materials science with a strong focus on fully functional solar devices. AMANDA (Autonomous Materials and Device Application Platform - www.amandaplatform.com) was developed as a generic platform for distributed materials research comprising a self-developed software backbone and several MAPs. However, one realizes that accelerating a whole technology requires more than accelerated materials research. It also takes devices and process development to truly accelerate a PV technology. These are concepts are summarized under Technology Acceleration Platforms (TAP). This talk will stepwise introduce the current concepts and technologies to accelerate solar technologies: from the material to the device and to the process. The outlook will discuss how these platforms can be made communicative to each other to transform them into autonomously acting TAP with the power to accelerate the learning curve for a whole solar cell technology

Date: 3rd of March  (2023) @10.00 CET - confirmed.  

About the speakers: 

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NCsNHesAAAAJ&hl=el&oi=ao 

Recorded session: 

https://youtu.be/iPZVHk7klFw

Title: Remote inspection of civil infrastructures based on Unmanned Aerial Systems and Artificial Intelligence

Abstract: 

Condition assessment of civil infrastructure is a key instrument for infrastructure managers to evaluate structural integrity and operability, as well as defining possible maintenance or rehabilitation strategies. In recent years, remote inspection techniques based on computer vision and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), also known as drones, have been recognized as key components for improving inspection and monitoring strategies to achieve an automated condition assessment of civil infrastructures. These technologies proved to be competitive in identifying damage in inaccessible and extensive areas, allowing a considerable reduction of costs and execution times. This presentation is focused on the latest developments on the remote inspection of civil infrastructures using advanced image processing techniques based on Artificial Intelligence. Within this topic, Deep Learning algorithms, such as the Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), and its latest enhancements, like the Mask R-CNN algorithm, will be detailed. The application of these AI algorithms to the automatic damage identification on large scale infrastructures will be presented. The first case-study is focused on the detection of exposed steel rebars in a storage silo, while the second case-study is related to the detection of corrosion on roofing systems of industrial buildings.

Date: 17th of March (2023) @10.00 CET.

About the speakers: 

Dr. Ricardo Santos - google scholar

Dr. Diogo Ribeiro - google scholar

Recorded session: 

https://youtu.be/J-tHmppJdmA 

Title:  HPC RIVR project to establish a National supercomputer center in Maribor, Slovenia

Abstract: 

This talk aims to share our experience in establishing a large national research infrastructure for supercomputing. This was made possible through the HPC RIVR investment project, jointly funded by the Republic of Slovenia, the European Union (from the European Regional Development Fund), and The European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU). To meet the needs of the Slovenian and European scientific community, we built three hybrid HPC systems, with the flagship production supercomputer HPC VEGA rated at 6.9 PETAFLOPS (Rmax = 10.1 PETAFLOPS). This was the first EuroHPC JU supercomputer to be put into operation in Europe. The built HPC systems are accessible under the Open Access to Public Research Infrastructure rules and regulations. During the talk, we will focus on explaining our journey from the idea of building a National supercomputer center to ensuring the necessary political and national support, executing the investment project, and finally achieving full-scale operation of the HPC systems.

Date: 7th of April, 2023 @10.00 CET

About the speaker: 

Prof. dr. Zoran Ren, is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maribor in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. In 1987, he received his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maribor, Slovenia. Continuously he received his MSc from the same Institution in 1990.  He continued his studies in UK, where he was awarded his Ph.D. from the University of Swansea in Computational Engineering. 

His research interests include the following:  

Advanced Computational Modelling & Simulation, High-performance computing, Impact, and High-Velocity Phenomena, Material Strain-Rate Dependency, Advanced Geometrical Characterisation & Analysis. Design of Machine Elements, Design of cellular and multi-functional materials. Multi-physical problems.

Google Scholar: 

His work has received over 3600 citations, and his h-index is 34. 

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0OvH2dUAAAAJ&hl=el&oi=ao 

Recorded session: 

Title:  Quantum optics in cold atomic gases.

Abstract: 

The groundbreaking demonstration of slow and even stopped light in cold atomic ensembles led to a plethora of quantum technology applications, spanning from ultrasensitive sensors and precise interferometers to single-photon switches and quantum memories.

After a brief introduction to the field of quantum optics with cold atomic gases and its applications, I will present two recent experimental studies conducted by our group. More specifically, I will demonstrate how a non-Hermitian quantum interface between single atoms and light can surprisingly switch bosonic correlations to fermion-like ones, and how such a process can contribute to quantum storage and, potentially, quantum computation. I will also present a new way to simultaneously arbitrarily manipulate the temporal and spatial wavefunctions of entangled non-spreading photons generated from an atomic gas.

Date: 28th of April @10.00 CET - Confirmed. 

About the speaker: 

His google scholar profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=gJQ5tv4AAAAJ&hl=el 

Recorded Session: https://youtu.be/AP_nzxpuoZ0

Title: 2D materials in tandem perovskite/Si technology

Abstract: 

Hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are one of the most promising technologies for new-generation photovoltaics due to outstanding semiconductor properties and low-cost solution processing methods for fabrication. Indeed, PSCs dominated the PV scientific research in the last decade, by developing efficient and stable devices, produced by employing scalable and low-cost printing techniques, easily embedded in roll2roll or sheet2sheet production lines. However, PSC technology still requires to demonstrate the transfer from lab to fab, pushing the scientific community to find brilliant solutions for drawing a feasible and reliable route toward its commercialization. Moreover, the impressive potentiality of perovskite technology has already been demonstrated to compete on equal footing with traditional inorganic PV or to work in synergy with established silicon technology in tandem cell configuration. As a matter of fact, the astonishing power conversion efficiency recently achieved by small area perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells (PCE>32%) demonstrated the technology potentialities to be appealing for the PV market. However, such technology should keep the promise to be easily manufactured by employing the existing silicon cell production line and by minimizing the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). Thus, the synergetic development of large-area perovskite devices fitting the standard silicon wafer dimensions and the optimization of perovskite/silicon tandem architectures can definitively open up new horizons for winning the commercialization challenges. In this work, we develop a mechanically stacked 2T perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell, with subcells independently fabricated, optimized, and subsequently coupled by contacting the back electrode of the mesoscopic perovskite top cell with the texturized and metalized front contact of the silicon bottom cell. The possibility to separately optimize the two sub-cells allows to carefully choose the most promising device structure for both top and bottom cells. Indeed, semitransparent perovskite top cell performance is boosted through the use of selected two-dimensional materials to tune the device interfaces. A textured amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunction cell fabricated with a fully industrial in-line production process is here used as state of art bottom cell. The perovskite/c-Si tandem device demonstrates remarkable PCE of 28.7%. Moreover, we demonstrate the use of a bifacial silicon bottom cell, as a viable way for overcoming the current matching constrain imposed by the 2T configuration. Here, the current generation difference between perovskite and c-Si cells is compensated by exploiting the albedo radiation thanks to the bifaciality of the commercial c-Si cell used in this article. Considering standard rear irradiation, final power generation density above 32 mW/cm2 can be achieved, paving the way for a tandem technology customable according to the final installation site.

Date: 12th of May @10.00 CET - Confirmed. 

About the speaker: 

Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DJgJgBcAAAAJ&hl=en 

Recorded Session: https://youtu.be/I9EOTDKDazw

Title: TBA 

Abstract: 

TBA

Date: New date will be announced. 

About the speaker: 

Ellen Moons is a Professor of Material Physics at Karlstad University in Sweden. Her research focuses on new materials for solar cells, specifically polymer sol cells made by coating from solution. The goal is to understand the relationship between the structure of the thin polymer layers and solar cell performance. After studying Physics at the University of Ghent in Belgium, Ellen defended her thesis in 1995 at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. After postdoctoral studies in Delft, Lausanne, and Cambridge and research at the company Cambridge Display Technology, Ellen began his employment at Karlstad University in 2000, first as an assistant professor, then university lecturer and since 2011 professor. She is a member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences since 2017. 

Her research focuses on new materials for solar cells, specifically polymer sol cells that are made by coating from solution. The goal is to understand the relationship between the structure of the thin polymer layers and solar cell performance.

Google Scholar: 

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EcNHzlsAAAAJ&hl=el&oi=ao

Recorded session: 

Title: Biomaterials for a Biomedical & Sustainable Future. 

Abstract: 

Biomaterials have long been at the forefront of biomedical academic, and industrial developments with commercial applications such as contact lenses and metal alloys for hip and disk replacements. Biopolymers such as alginate, cellulose, and other bio-derived materials from plants or other microorganisms are a novel class of biomaterials that have been widely utilized in clinical settings, especially as they relate to tissue engineering and cosmetics but have also found new applications in unexpected fields such as fashion and packaging to revolutionize the field. In this talk, we will explore the potential of biomaterials in clinical settings and how novel approaches have been developed in 3D bioprinting and 3D cell cultures while also taking a deep dive into the new field of biomaterials and biopolymers being utilized for new customer products and novel application spaces such as the fashion and packaging industry.

Date: 26th of May, 2023 @10.00 CET.

About the speaker: 

Recorded session: 

Title: Citizen Science in Lithuania: does our science and innovation ecosystem anticipate the input of citizens?

Abstract: 

The move towards more openness in science is engraved in strategic EU documents shaping the landscape of Research& Innovation. Together, we can notice the growth of research studies on Open Science (OS) practices and applicability. Most of the studies, however, focus on the objective goals of Open Science (i.e. science quality improvement measures) through establishing openness infrastructure (Klenk et al., 2019; Mons, 2018). The more subjective goals and related ‘softer’ links between the quadruple helix actors, such as Citizen Science, received less research attention. The research corpus lacks studies on how to use open science to engage and manage multiple stakeholders at different stages of the research process and how to ensure that the knowledge is not only co-created but relevant and applicable in other contexts. In addition, the growing research field neglects the issue of Open Science applicability in countries where the collaboration between science and society has limited traditions and civic participation in public activities is not mature. Hence, the talk aims to present Lithuania as a case study for understanding Citizen Science and Open Science implementation, which allows an understanding of the country's and region's unique barriers.

Date: 9th of June 2023 @10.00 CET

About the speaker: 

Dr. Monika Mačiulienė is an associate professor and senior researcher at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. Her research examines value co-creation in R&I, the emergence of collective intelligence in social networks, citizen science, and citizen engagement in solving social problems. M.Mačiulienė actively participates in international conferences, seminars, and scientific exchange programs and publishes more than 30 research articles individually and in collaboration with international research teams. Currently, she is involved in several international scientific projects (e.g. Horizon Europe project CLIMAS, H2020 projects INCENTIVE and EU-Citizen. Science) focused on synergies between science and society as a senior researcher. M.Mačiulienė is also the Head of the Citizen Science Association in Lithuania and in this capacity, actively participates in the promotion of Open Science ideas in the region.

Google Scholar: ‪Monika Skaržauskaitė Mačiulienė‬ - ‪Μελετητής Google‬ 

Recorded session: https://youtu.be/OFrWxUqTHaw

Title: Biodiversity as key driver for innovation – Recent advances in BioDivTecs

Abstract: 

Global biodiversity is in decline. Currently, only 1.8 million species have been described. Another 4 to 100 million are still awaiting discovery. A complete overview of the animals, plants and fungi on the planet, their distribution, population development and conservation status can only be generated on the basis of technology. Biodversity technologies, BioDivTecs, combine conservation biology with new technologies, especially datascience (big data), artificial intelligence, robotics, sensorics and communication technologies. Molecular biology methods (barcoding, eDNA) also play a vital role here. Our research projects show the great potential of these disruptive technologies. They are needed in many planning contexts, in various economic processes (for example, energy and raw materials management, agriculture, forestry or the implementation of EU taxonomy or the safeguarding of ecosystem services). Also many public tasks (nature conservation, environmental audits, education) can make use of these technologies. The talk will illustrate the use of the technologies, the state of research as well as the potential for economic valorization with different examples. The subsequent training opportunities at the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences will also be presented. Cooperation with other Athena partners will be sought and put up for discussion.

Date: 23rd of June @14.00 CET - Confirmed. 

About the speakers:

Michael Jungmeier is a professor for nature conservation and sustainability at Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (CUAS). He is ecologist and human geographer and holds the UNESCO-Chair on Sustainable Development of Conservation Areas. In his function at CUAS he is involved in three educational offers, the Master´s program Management of Conservation Areas, the certificate course Nature Conservation Engineer (Naturschutzfachkraft) and the eTaxonomist, a certificate course on AI-supported species identification.

As founder of E.C.O. Institute of Ecology (1997), an internationally active consulting and research institution for nature conservation in the 21st century, he had been involved in more than 600 projects in about 40 countries worldwide.  The focus of his work is on the management of natural assets, in particular conservation areas with a focus on UNESCO designated sites (UNESCO biosphere reserves, UNESCO heritage sites, UNESCO geoparks).

Further information: www.cuas.at/unesco-chair

Vanessa Berger is responsible for spatial and statistical analysis as well as the consulting and implementation of holistic monitoring concepts for nature conservation. Her research focus is on the integration of new technologies in biodiversity monitoring and ecological modelling (e.g. habitat modelling & ecosystem services). At the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences she teaches the course “Conservation Technologies Methods, Tools, and Equipment”.

Vanessa finished her master’s study in Ecology and Biodiversity at the University of Innsbruck. Her main focus during the study was on ecosystem research and landscape ecology. Before starting at E.C.O. Institut für Ökologie in 2017 she was an intern at Hohe Tauern National Park and the District Department of Environment in Kitzbühel.

The recorded session: 

https://youtu.be/KOJGYyTgAJM

Title: Gamification as a motivating factor for sustainable (e)Health promotion

Abstract: 

Digital knowledge transfer in the field of health promotion is often perceived as theoretical and not very involving or motivational. Those who do not actively search for certain topics and accept the offer of local health service providers often have no or little contact with the health promotion services or health improvement aspects as such. On the other hand, fitness apps and the recording of vital parameters, food and supplements are inspiring more and more people. People get used to use their smartphones and smartwatches to track aspects of their health status. Some drawback is that often the monitoring applications only reflect the current state that few people can really assess and interpret the right way, which shows a certain gap of prior health knowledge. Gamification in eHealth or in particular in health promotion goes further and tries to incorporate the playful component into the different digitalization processes in healthcare. This can be used in the context of the end user at home, but also as fear prevention before examinations in the hospital. Furthermore, there is the possibility to work out theoretical knowledge on the subject of health in a playful way and thus to arouse interest in it.

In the talk, the chances and risks of the gamification aspect as a motivational factor will be discussed and student projects of different kinds will be shown.

Date: 30th of June @10.00 CET - confirmed.  

About the speakers:

Daniela has been working at the CUAS in medical technology since 2015, mainly in the research area of eHealth / health informatics and Active and Assisted Living. She mainly works as a researcher and lecturer for medical informatics and digitalization in the health and social sector at the faculties of Engineering & IT and Health & Social Sciences. She has completed a bachelor's and master's degree in medical informatics and a Ph.D. in computer sciences with a strong focus on user interaction and user experience. Since 2016, she has been a member of the Institute for Applied Research on Ageing (IARA) in the Department of Health and Assistive Technologies. Her research thematically focuses on the design, realization, and evaluation of innovative and assistive HCIs in the field of preventive health for people of all ages, as well as applications in the field of digitalization offensive in health and social care. Her research/teaching experience sparked her interest in alternative and fun knowledge platforms or game-based digital experiences for diverse users in the context of health. The goal is to exploit the “Joy of Use”-factor and profitably connect people and their knowledge about their own health to support a healthy lifestyle. 

 Further information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielaelisabethstroeckl/  

Recorded session: https://youtu.be/_9oth63zRRo 

Title: Science meets Art: time for dualism to be abandoned

Abstract: TBA

Date: 3rd of July, 2023 @12.00 CET.

About the speaker:

After completing her Ph.D. in 1995, Joanna Profic-Paczkowska (former Łojewska) obtained a position at the Faculty of Chemistry at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, where she developed research interests in the fields of: Surface Science, Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering as well as Heritage Science. In 2005, she obtained a habilitation degree and was appointed assistant professor at the Jagiellonian University’s Faculty of Chemistry. Since 2006 she has been leader of the Kinetics of Heterogeneous Reactions Research Group. She has also become the head of the Laboratory for Catalyst Research, a post to which she was appointed in 2011. The lab is equipped with a combination of different spectroscopic techniques including microscopy (FTIR, Raman, FO-UV-Vis, XRF) dedicated to analyzing the surface of solids with facilities enabling in situ measurements of the samples during chemical reactions. In 2018, she received the title of Full Professor, followed by the corresponding position at Jagiellonian University. Extensive and constantly updated details of the activities of the Heterogeneous Reactions Kinetics group I lead can be found on the website www.kinecat.pl.

My interests and scientific activities are generally focused on two fields. The first, within which most of my scientific achievements have been made (approximately 70% of publications), relates to heterogeneous catalytic processes concerning surface chemistry and transport phenomena in chemical reactors. The second area combines the chemistry of natural polymers and chemical analysis to preserve and conserve cultural heritage.

In all, I led 15 research grants and participated in more than 40 grants, including EU grants. I have promoted 12 Ph.D. students in both areas of interest. I am the coauthor of more than 150 scientific papers in international journals and 12 book chapters.

Recorded session: 

Title: Structured Materials for Micro Lasers at 2 microns

Abstract: 

Developing novel coherent laser sources in the 2-μm spectral range for medical, environmental, and material processing applications is needed. To fabricate compact sources, the best solution is to combine the solid-state laser technology with diode pumping based on materials and concepts that can ensure high efficiency, leading to medium power levels, as such applications demand. The microchip concept typically provides low intracavity losses, a robust and insensitive to misalignment set-up, and, hence, high laser efficiency. Passively Q-switched microchip lasers can generate very short (sub-ns) pulses due to greatly reduced cavity roundtrip time and easy bleaching of the saturable absorber at the small size of the laser mode. Waveguide lasers emitting in the spectral range of ~2 µm are interesting for bio- and environmental sensing applications. This is because such radiation matches spectrally with the absorption of some relevant molecules, e.g., H2O or CO2. This presentation shows the recent activity on the investigation of microstructured laser materials with the application as micro-lasers operating in the 2-µm spectral range, achieved with several strategies. Microchip-type and femtosecond-laser inscribed waveguide lasers are presented.

Date: 7th of July, 2023 @10.00 CET.

About the speaker: 

Prof. Xavier Mateos is Full Professor at the Rovira i Virgili University, URV, Tarragona, Spain. He became recently the group leader of the Physics and Cristallography of Materials group of research, FiCMA at URV. Prof. Mateos has more than 20 years of experience in materials’ science and laser physics. Solid-state lasers (thin-disk, microchip and waveguide lasers) and materials (luminescent, laser crystals and transparent ceramics, and multifunctional 2D materials) are his major fields of interest together with mode-locked ultrashort lasers developed during his postdoctoral stay (2004-2006) at the Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy, MBI, Berlin, Germany. Another postdoctoral stay (2015-2017) at MBI was as a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) fellow of the EU-Commission for the development of a novel 2-μm thin-disk laser.

The current line of research investigates three types of compact lasers with excellent results. The microchip, thin-disk and waveguided lasers. Such lasers are studied in several crystalline and ceramics hosts. As a result, he has co-authored 309 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals representing an important contribution to knowledge on the subject. He has participated in 31 research projects and has given 10 invited talks in the last 10 years in international conferences. His leadership is demonstrated by the successful supervision of a total of 8 doctoral theses.

The international aspect of his research is also evidenced by the participation in the organization of scientific meetings and conferences. He chaired (Programme-Committee co-chair) the 9th International Symposium on Optical Materials, IS-OM9 last week in Tarragona, June 2023, and he recently was Programme-Committee co-chair of the Advanced Laser Technologies International Conference, ALT’18, also in Tarragona, Spain (2018).

https://www.urv.cat/en/research/support/programmes/marti-franques/cofund/phd-supervisors/mateos-xavier/ 

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zOEkXd4AAAAJ&hl=fr

Recorded session: https://youtu.be/YtK1_cykdtk 

Title: Mankind's first visit to a star : the Parker Solar Probe mission

Abstract: 

In August 2018, NASA launched what is the first mission ever to dive into the atmosphere of our nearest star, the Sun. The key objective of this mission is to answer one of the major unsolved questions in modern science : why are stellar atmospheres so much hotter than the surface itself of the star ? In the case of Sun, the temperature of the atmosphere exceeds 2 million C...  I will briefly present the long road towards designing such a mission, its technological challenges and what we have learned so far.

Date: July 14th, 2023 @10.00 CET.

About the speaker: 

Recorded session: