LAT/AUTh Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics ’s Post

Question by LinkedIn: How do you become a visiting faculty member?   To impart momentum to my post-PhD career, I focused on national & international research collaborations to address technological problems touching large segments of population and the society at large. Besides national level research avenues, I seized upon opportunities for overseas academic visits for well-planned interactions with key research collaborators.   Presenting my paper in an international conference, I could meet a renowned Dam Expert who initiated me to new innovative technology to enhance spillways discharging capacity as well as flood storage of standing dams. Later, during his India trip, I invited him to my institute for more exchanges and ended up receiving a seed grant with his support to perform further R&D on the innovative technology by associating my students. I can never forget his INVALUABLE technical guidance and mentorship for the innovative R&D which launched my career on an upswing trajectory professionally. Sharing findings of this exciting Dam Retrofitting R&D in academia and professional circles, I sensed its potentialities for rewarding application in India and elsewhere. Mitigation of mounting Dam Safety concerns lies in enhancing spillways discharging capacity and flood storage by retrofitting thousands of standing dams in distress condition, which has now become a global priority to counter rigours of advancing climate challenges. During my overseas academic visits, I had constructive interactions with like-minded professors and researchers while sharing my modest research work in seminars, especially on the highly braided Brahmaputra and Ganga Rivers in India. After some patient wait, these interactions accrued dividends landing me with partnership in acclaimed European Commission sponsored International Research Consortium opening up avenues for me in multi-disciplinary research. The above was my first major breakthrough into international multi-disciplinary research collaboration alongside highly accomplished academics from several leading European Universities. Besides being a rewarding learning experience for me, this break instilled in me great deal of self-confidence to independently perform R&D with innovative ideas for real life challenging field problems. Complementing my journal publications on dams and rivers, I identified notable themes on present-day global and societal priorities to publish books by Springer. Since thousands of standing dams and river systems are in the throes of inexorable climate challenges, my sustained R&D work on innovative Dam Spillways and low-cost eco-friendly River Management techniques fetched me overseas Visiting and Honorary Faculty assignments. Besides furthering my career, the major beneficiary of my overseas visiting assignments had been my enterprising students who received worthwhile research grinding in problem solving of dams and rivers using low-cost innovative technologies. 

So. Why do you choose PhD? This is the question i've been asked a lot of times, and today I would like to give everyone some new insights from that. As a water treatment researcher, I am proud of the investigation of novel separation techniques and membrane fabrication methods, which all comes from my ambition to contribute to science and willingness to water conservation. But, wait a minute, do I actually solve the problem? Apparently the answer is 'not yet', or more accurately 'it takes time'. 🧪Consider these scenario: - Imagine if you made a membrane that can achieve five to ten times flux in lab but it may take ten to twenty years to commercialize. That's why sometimes I feel very lost during PhD journey. - What if groundbreaking discoveries hinge on rare, costly materials that are far away from market feasibility? So, here is the question I am thinking How can water-related organization find some experts in that field to solve the problem? Or How can academic research be effectively implemented into real engineering scenario in a quicker way? From my view as a student with exposure to both academic and industrial field. I still would like to emphasis the team work from different parties (Uni, Corporate, Gov. etc) as a whole to not only 'push' science away from ordinary, but also 'pull' the high end science back to serve the people, solve the problem. 🤝 I would love to hear more voices from everyone, and I truly believe that as these 'bonds' getting tighter, we can create a brighter future. #PhDPurpose #BridgingScienceAndIndustry #CollaborativeInnovation

"In the realm of possibilities, a missed opportunity is a costly omission." Students’ International Relations Cell is dedicated to offering students the essential opportunities to explore different regions. With this objective in mind, we are thrilled to announce the inclusion of five new projects on the Foreign Training Portal. Below are the details of these projects: Engineering protein-based functional bioelectronic materials - CIC biomaGUNE, San Sebastian, Spain(Onsite) Mining Massive Trajectory Data - Deakin University, Australia(Remote) Design of a MIMO antenna with improved performance - University of KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa(Remote) Data-driven control of dynamical systems - University of Vermont, United States(Remote, funded) Synthetic Multimodal Data Generation - San Diego State University, United States(Remote) Application deadline for the projects mentioned above: 30th January 2024 Register and apply through the following link: https://lnkd.in/fA5rUgf

ÅForsk foundation announces #research grants for researchers who want to re-establish themselves in Sweden ÅForsk Foundation, majority shareholder of AFRY, has decided to announce repatriation grants for researchers who want to re-establish themselves in Sweden as independent researchers after an international stay at #postdoctoral level. The application is open to researchers who have defended their dissertations in the past five years and who have conducted research abroad for at least one year as an academic or industrial #postdoc, or as an employed industrial researcher. ÅForsk funds research of high scientific quality that can be applied to the core areas #Energy, #Environment, #Safety & #sustainability, #Infrastructure, #Materials technology, Development of #processes and Products from #renewable raw materials. During 2024, ÅForsk plans to approve grants of SEK 2 million, for maximum two years. The application period runs from 4 March to 30 September 2024. 👉Read more and apply: https://lnkd.in/d6HKmyM8 📷Photo: Unsplash #Repatriationgrants #researchgrants Chalmers tekniska högskola Kungliga Tekniska högskolan Linköpings universitet Karlstads universitet Umeå universitet Stockholms universitet Luleå tekniska universitet Uppsala universitet Lunds universitet Högskolan i Borås Blekinge Tekniska Högskola Mittuniversitetet

Meet climes' postdoctoral researcher Sanja! www.climes.se/research Sanja Duvnjak Žarković is one of our postdoctoral researchers, positioned at Uppsala University’s Department of Earth Sciences. She completed her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, specializing in power systems, particularly Security of Supply. Sanja’s expertise includes mathematical optimization, data analysis, machine learning, and reliability analysis in power systems.   Her current research focuses on the impacts of extreme weather on power systems and their societal implications. She aims to enhance the resilience and security of these critical infrastructures by integrating security of supply concepts into broader power system resilience frameworks.   Research focus: Impacts of extreme weather on power systems and societal dependencies, aiming to improve resilience and security. Kungliga Tekniska högskolan Institutionen för geovetenskaper climes is a collaboration between Uppsala universitet Lunds universitet, Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS) RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and is funded by Vetenskapsrådet / Swedish Research Council #climesKickOff #Innovateforchange #climateextremes

This is a great paper by an amazing team including from SSRL. Explore nature's wisdom for future materials! 🧪 Learn about the challenges and exciting pathways in creating sustainable, bioinformed materials inspired by biology.🌎 #BioMaterials #Innovation #Sustainability 🌱 Challenges and opportunities for innovation in bioinformed sustainable materials | Communications Materials (nature.com)

🔬 Embracing the Unbreakable: Tales from the Lab As scientists, we often marvel at the resilience of our equipment. Yet, there's a certain irony when even the most indestructible machinery meets its match in the hands of eager new PhD students. 🤯 Recently, our lab encountered such a scenario. Our trusty, battle-hardened equipment, renowned for its reliability, found itself facing an unforeseen challenge: the enthusiasm and curiosity of our fresh PhD recruits. Despite its reputation for being virtually indestructible, they managed to uncover its Achilles' heel. 🛠️ It's a testament to the boundless curiosity and determination of budding scientists. They push boundaries, explore uncharted territories, and yes, sometimes unintentionally push equipment beyond its limits. 💡 But in these moments, we find opportunities for growth and learning. We're reminded that scientific discovery isn't just about the equipment we use, but the minds and hands that wield it. It's about resilience in the face of unexpected challenges and the willingness to adapt and innovate. So here's to our unbreakable machinery, and to the new generation of scientists who fearlessly test its limits. May we continue to learn, adapt, and push the boundaries of what's possible in the pursuit of knowledge. 🚀 #Science #Research #LabLife #Innovation #Resilience

📢A prime example of cross-country collaboration between academia and industry... well done team📢 📢 We are thrilled to share that our latest research paper, titled "Machine learning assisted improved desalination pilot system design and experimentation for the circular economy" has been published in Journal of Water Process Engineering.. 💧 🌊 📢 🎆 Congratulations to whole team Waqar Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Ahmad, Ghulam M., Bashar Shboul, KIm Choon NG, Ben Bin Xu, Mike Dixon 📣 I would like to thank to International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA), Gradiant and Synauta for fellowship support which helped to establish ML framework....Shannon McCarthy Machine learning (ML) is revolutionizing desalination by optimizing processes, which can be complex and difficult to manage manually. ML enables more efficient operations, such as predicting variations in water temperature and salinity, and optimizing energy use and chemical consumption. For instance, an ML implementation in a seawater RO plant in Western Australia achieved up to 18% instantaneous energy savings (Synauta). These advancements highlight the significant potential of ML to improve the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and environmental impact of desalination technologies. For more detailed information, you can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eGxysdpA Northumbria University, UCL, KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), WDRC Water Desalination and Reuse Center, Royal Academy of Engineering #water #energy #Research #Publication #Academic #Science #YourField #Innovation

Parisa Ebrahimi recently defended her Ph.D. dissertation on 25th May 2023 entitled “Catalyst Synthesis and Activity Evaluation for CO2 Conversion using Reverse Water Gas Shift Reaction”. She has been working on this project for the past four years under the supervision of Dr. Anand Kumar and Prof. Majeda Khraisheh. The committee members who examined her defense session were Prof. Shaheen Al-Muhtaseb and Prof. Nimir Elbashir. The following is a brief explanation of her work and the background of the research: Recent climate changes have been primarily attributed to increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere by 60%, exacerbated by worldwide industrialization during the last century. In 2020, the global carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere hit a critical level of 409.89 ppm, while the average monthly reported concentration in September 2021 was 413 ppm, the highest level ever recorded. Unusual weather patterns, higher temperatures, the accelerated fading of sea ice, and acidification of the oceans are just a few of the detrimental environmental effects that are on a dangerous trajectory to getting even more pronounced. Carbon dioxide, on the other hand also provides opportunities for chemical production if considered as a cheap and abundant carbon source; and its chemical conversion to value-added chemicals and fuels not only minimizes CO2 accumulation but also provides significant economic advantages. Forward and reverse water-gas shift (WGS/RWGS) reactions play a significant role in hydrogen production and carbon dioxide reduction, respectively. The efficiency of these reactions can be further enhanced by the use of a suitable catalyst. Transition metals are an effective alternative to noble metals, since they possess excellent catalytic properties for many of the reforming reactions, especially when incorporated into appropriate supports. The primary objective of our research was to study appropriate transition metal-based catalysts, such as Cu and Ni, supported on reducible supports, such as CeO2, and non-reducible supports, e.g., La2O3, ZrO2 for their performance in converting CO2 into CO. Overall, our results showed that under the same experimental conditions, CeO2 as support has better catalytic activity than La2O3, with 70% compared to 57% activity at 600 °C. However, the addition of Cu to La2O3-supported Ni catalysts improves CO selectivity and activity through the formation of stable alloys and improves the performance in the RWGS reaction by adjusting the reducibility of the active metals. Besides, the calcination temperature and amount of copper present in Cu/ZrO2 catalysts have a significant effect on the CO2 conversion performance of Cu/ZrO2, with the highest conversion of 37% observed at 600 °C for the catalyst with 2wt.% copper and calcined at 800 °C; however, increasing the metal loading to 5wt.% and calcination temperature to 1000 oC resulted in losing the catalytic activity.