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Month: August 2021

KNU professor develops photocatalysts that improve the efficiency of dye waste water treatment

Posted on by Kyungpook National University ‏‏‎ ‎

Professor Woong Kim, the Department of Environmental Engineering at Kyungpook National University has developed a photocatalyst that can decompose more than 98% of coloured dye wastewater within an hour through international joint research with Saudi Arabia’s King Saud University and others.

The world’s annual dye production is approximately 1 million tons, resulting in a huge amount of coloured wastewater. Various technologies such as adsorption, chemical oxidation, ozonization, coagulation, membrane process, biological decomposition, electrochemical process, and photocatalytic decomposition are being applied to remove these dye contaminants.

Dual photocatalytic technology is widely applicable and recyclable, so it is considered an eco-friendly technology. However, metal oxides such as zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2), which are mainly used as materials, can be used only in ultraviolet areas, thus increasing the decomposition efficiency.

To improve this, Professor Kim’s team developed a photocatalyst as an iron-organic hybrid composite material doped with molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) through solvo-thermal technique technology.

MoS2 can absorb light not only in ultraviolet rays but also in visible light areas, but there is a problem that energy efficiency decreases as electrons and majors generated during the reaction process are quickly recombined.

MoS2 of the photocatalyst developed by the research team decomposes water when it receives light to produce an OH radical with strong oxidizing power. At the same time, electrons generated from MoS2 moved to iron-organic hybrid composite materials, preventing electrons and majors from recombining and creating new reactions to improve the dissolution efficiency of dyes.

The research team confirmed through experiments that if the catalyst dosage developed in wastewater containing 50 mg/L of dye is adjusted to 0.05 mg/L and pH is adjusted to 5.0, the dye decomposes more than 98% within an hour. Conventional photocatalysts had a processing efficiency of approximately 80%, with limitations that took several hours to process.

Regarding the paper, Professor Kim Woong said, “The photocatalyst that we developed this time has drastically improved the decomposition efficiency of visible light areas and reduced the processing time by about 1/3.” “It is very encouraging to develop a catalyst technology that can treat wastewater that threatens the Earth’s environment.” The catalyst is expected to be applied not only to organic dyes but also to organic substances in wastewater.”

The results of the study were published in the journal Journal of Hazardous Materials on July 15.

TPU opens research center for Petrochemistry and Technology

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) has opened a new subdivision based on the School of Earth Sciences and Engineering. The subdivision will unite a wide range of research areas and will allow carrying out more works for the benefit of industrial partners of the university.

According to Natalya Guseva, Director of the TPU School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, the opening of a new center in the structure of the School and the reorganization of the Innovation Research Laboratory for Drilling, Washing and Slurry Solutions are caused by the development of staff’s competences.

“At the moment, the laboratory staff work in new research areas and can solve a quite wider range of tasks. It will allow the TPU School of Earth Sciences and Engineering to enhance cooperation with industrial partners and positioning on the market for services, as well as to take part in more large-scale projects, where different competencies are required,” Natalya Guseva says.

Konstantin Minaev, Head of the Innovation Research Laboratory for Drilling, Washing and Slurry Solutions, will lead the new center. The subdivisions of the center are located in the TPU academic buildings No. 2, 19 and at the TPU Science Park. JSC Tomskneft VNK, an industrial partner of TPU, contributed to the renovation and re-equipment of premises in academic building No. 19.

“First of all, I would like to thank all the team, as it is a serious step on team building for solving serious tasks at the frontier of the petroleum industry. The center opening will allow expanding the range of research and engineering works in petrochemistry due to the new and up-to-date equipment, interdisciplinary contacts and query enhancement from industrial partners. It is a reply to the question on breaking down barriers among university laboratories,” Andrey Yakovlev, Acting Rector of TPU, said at the center opening.

The most important is that the Center opens additional opportunities for students: they can choose a trajectory, come to the place where new projects are born, use the newest equipment.”

The Research Center for Petrochemistry and Technology will unite five areas: oilfield chemistry, drilling fluids, slurry solutions, reservoir physics, the chemistry of petroleum and petroleum products. The skeleton staff is the laboratory staff, however, new experts, as well as young scientists: graduates and postgraduates, including international ones, will be invited.

“We can carry out large-scale projects, we possess accumulated experience that will allow us to holistically solve serious tasks both in a research area and for industrial partners. I am sure we will have interesting work ahead,” Konstantin Minaev, Head of the Center for Petrochemistry and Technology, addressed the staff.

The Center is planned to carry out both research and industrial projects, however, the key point will be focused on cooperation with industrial partners. To equip the Center on the program of renewal of instruments, there was purchased high-class equipment including a rheometer and tensiometer worth over 15 million rubles.

There was no equipment of such level for research in oilfield chemistry at TPU. It will allow our staff members to become participants of more serious projects for the benefit of industrial partners and will allow our students to master the devices during their study time,” Konstantin Minaev explained.

In total, there was spent over 70 million rubles during several years for installation and purchasing miscellaneous equipment for different units of the Center.

“Today, we see the result of the cooperative path that was travelled by our laboratories in approaching and building relations with each other. At the moment, different subdivisions can say that they can implement large-scale projects for the industry,” Artem Boev, TPU Vice-Rector for Technological Development and Entrepreneurship.

UiTM hosts Heritage Webinar Series 2

Posted on by Rohaslinda

The Program of Msc of Heritage and Conservation Management, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying (FSPU), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) has organized the Heritage Webinar Series 2, which was held on 30th June 2021 via Webex platform.

The main objective of this program is to initiate the relationship and collaboration between UiTM and the University of Hyogo as well as to share expertise’ knowledge and experience, namely in Heritage and Conservation Management field in Malaysia and Japan. Therefore, Professor Dr Yushi Utaka from the School of Human Science and Environment, University of Hyogo was invited as a speaker for this webinar to deliver a lecture entitled ’The World Heritage in Japan and Hiroshima Peace Memorial; Transforming Legacy, Memories and Landscape’.

The webinar has been participated by 90 practitioners, lecturers, officers, administrative staff and students from AP777, FSPU, other faculties and campuses of UiTM, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Kolej Universiti Islam Pahang (KUIPSAS), Universiti Sultan Azlan Shah (USAS), UOW Malaysia KDU Penang University College, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, National Heritage Department, Selayang Municipal Council and Jabatan Muzium Sarawak.

Professor Dr Yushi Utaka delivered a very informative lecture, which provided a lot of new knowledge on the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb’s history, background and issues on its protection from the post-war era until today. This lecture has also exposed Malaysian practitioners, academic and administrative staff and students on the management and implementation of the protection of the World Heritage Site in Japan, mainly at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

Chula professor successfully converts carbon dioxide to methanol

Posted on by Chulalongkorn University

An Engineering professor, Chulalongkorn University has successfully converted carbon dioxide to methanol via a thermochemical method that consumes less energy and provides more yield, providing an alternative solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stimulate the circular economy.

“Most of today’s methanol is synthesized from natural gas, which normally releases carbon dioxide during the production process. We, therefore, studied the production of methanol directly from carbon dioxide, which means that this helps to reduce carbon dioxide and also brings the gas back to some use and increases its economic value as well,” Asst. Dr. Pattaraporn says.

Dr Pattaraporn revealed the concept of a sub-research project under the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Conversion to Higher-Valued Products with support from the “Research Cess Fund” (RCF) from the Malaysia-Thai Joint Authority (MTJA) for the research team from the Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Science, the Metal and Materials Research Institute Chulalongkorn University, and other institutions to study different technologies and methods to recover carbon dioxide.

“In general, methanol is synthesized from natural gas by thermochemical method, which produces one ton of methanol and emits about 0.5-1.5 tons of carbon dioxide.” Asst. Prof. Dr. Pattaraporn explained.

“Therefore, we studied how methanol is produced directly from carbon dioxide, which is a promising alternative to the environment and also enhances its economic value.”

Asst. Prof. Dr. Pattaraporn elaborated that methanol can be expanded into a wide range of environmentally friendly green chemical products, such as Dimethyl Ether (DME), used as heating fuel, and Dimethyl Carbonate (DMC), which is used in many industries such as the paint industry, and adhesive industry.  Dimethyl carbonate is used as a binder and is classified as a type of plastic material. It is also mainly used as an electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, which are becoming increasingly in demand.

“Nowadays, the production of dimethyl carbonate mainly uses phosgene, a highly toxic chemical that can cause death or serious health problems even with low concentrations. Therefore, dimethyl carbonate production from methanol and urea, or even from carbon dioxide directly is an interesting production pathway.”

Asst. Prof. Dr. Pattaraporn elaborated more on the fact that the carbon dioxide management approach that amine solutions are generally used to capture carbon dioxide and then separate it by heat until pure carbon dioxide is obtained. After that, the captured carbon dioxide can be further managed in two ways.

For this research, Asst. Dr. Pattaraporn chose the process of thermochemical conversion to convert carbon dioxide in which she used a reactor to generate heat and pressure, then induce a chemical reaction by adding hydrogen to carbon dioxide (CO2 hydrogenation) until it becomes methanol.

However, the thermochemical method demands intensive energy for the reaction and the methanol yield is low. Asst. Prof. Dr. Pattaraporn then finds a way to eliminate this drawback with the use of some alcohol as a catalytic solvent with copper-zinc oxide base catalyst (Cu/ZnO) to increase the methanol yield, and reduce energy consumption in the carbon dioxide conversion process.

Despite the research success, there are still many obstacles, such as the relatively high cost of CO2 capture, energy used in the CO2 conversion process, production costs and sources of hydrogen, market size constraints, and lack of investment incentives. So, if it receives support from the government in terms of policy, cost incentives, taxes, etc, this technology will become more competitive in the future.

“We have a plan to work with the industry sector to push forward the research to provide Thailand with new environmentally friendly products, create economic value for waste, and stimulate a circular economy. This is an important issue to which people today need to pay attention. We must try to save the environmental capital as best as possible to pass it on to the next generation so as to assure them of a better life.” Asst. Prof. Dr. Pattaraporn concluded.

 

St Petersburg University researchers describe for the first time all structures in the braincase of present-day crocodylians

Posted on by Alina Perevizintsova

Paleontologists from St Petersburg University have been the first in the world to describe all the structures in the braincase of present-day crocodylians and to assign a single individual name to each of its components. Additionally, during the work, the researchers managed to find new evolutionary traits in the animal’s braincase and figure out through what developmental mechanisms it acquired its current structure. The research findings are published in Journal of Anatomy.

The braincase of crocodylians has a distinctive structure. Unlike evolutionary relatives (birds and squamates), in crocodylians, all braincase bones are rigidly fixed together and form an akinetic structure. In the process of evolution, this made it possible for animals to develop powerful jaws and stronger bite forces, thanks to which crocodylians could gnaw through the hard shell of crayfish and turtles and hunt fish and land animals, including dinosaurs. As a result, they have managed to fill the niche of predators and survive to the present day.

At present, in comparison with other parts of the crocodylian skull, the structure of their braincase has been understudied.  This is because, until recently, scientists did not have the opportunity to investigate the complicated akinetic structure so that in the end the valuable collection specimen remained intact. At the same time, there is confusion in the already known data in terms and names. This complicates the work of many researchers studying the evolution of crocodylians.

Ivan Kuzmin, a doctoral student at St Petersburg University, decided to readdress this situation together with his colleagues from St Petersburg University, the Borissiak Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Research and Practical Clinical Centre for Diagnostics and Telemedicine of the Moscow Department of Health, and the Smithsonian Institution (USA). To achieve this, they used computed tomography and a special 3D visualisation programme to create and study 3D models of 75 braincases of present-day crocodylians. This made it possible, without damaging the collection samples, to literally disassemble them by the bones and study every detail. Additionally, the researchers analysed academic papers describing the structure of the braincase from the beginning of the 19th century. The earliest work studied was an article dated 1821.

As a result, the scientists compiled a summary table in which they assigned a name to each structure in the crocodylian braincase. ‘Our paper is the first one in which this part of the skull is described in detail and a complete ordered list of all its details is provided. We have introduced some terms, for example, the names of bone processes in the auditory area. In some cases, because the structures were named incorrectly before us, in others, because we have discovered new elements,’ notes Ivan Kuzmin, the main author of the study, Master of Science from St Petersburg University.

While studying 3D models of braincases, the researchers found previously unknown evolutionary features. According to the scientists, recent data can help to better understand the structure of the crocodylian skeleton and resolve the contradictions around the genealogical tree of reptiles. The fact is that for almost 30 years, molecular biologists and palaeontologists have been unable to agree on the sequence in which crocodylian species should be located on the evolutionary tree.

For example, based on gene studies, molecular biologists assume that alligators are the most basal ones, while palaeontologists, studying fossil remains, come to the conclusion that the most primitive ones are gharials. ‘In the future, we plan to conduct a phylogenetic analysis and, based on its results, resolve this conflict,’ says Ivan Kuzmin. ‘The initial assumptions show that molecular biologists might be right.’

During the research, the authors also found out through what developmental mechanisms the crocodylian braincase acquired an akinetic structure. The researchers compared the evolution of the braincase in fossil relatives of crocodylians (crocodylomorphs) with the development of the braincase in the embryos of present-day animals. They have found out that in the crocodylian braincase area, in contrast to lizards and birds, complimentary structures appear at the initial stages of ontogenesis.

“Bones in an embryo are formed in two ways: endochondral and dermal. In the former case, cartilage first appears; then it ossifies. In the latter case, bones are formed as bones initially,” explains Ivan Kuzmin.

“Most of the braincase of all animals is formed by the endochondral process. However, it has turned out that everything happens differently in crocodylians.”

“In addition to structures that are formed through endochondral ossification, they have new elements that are formed embryonically in the form of dermal ossifications. That is, new bone blocks that are missing in other animals are attached to the cartilaginous structures, as in the LEGO construction set. With further development of the embryo, cartilages are transformed into bones, and everything merges into a single structure. The same embryonic processes likely happened during the early stages of crocodylomorph evolution,” Ivan says.

President University organizes COVID-19 vaccination program

Posted on by President University

President University (PresUniv) continues to be committed to supporting the efforts of the Indonesian Government in accelerating the handling of Covid-19. Therefore, PresUniv again held a Vaccination Program for the second dose at the President University Convention Center (PUCC), 1 July 2021.

This program was intended for lecturers, staff, and other stakeholders within PresUniv and the Yayasan Pendidikan Universitas Presiden (YPUP). Previously, the vaccine participants had received the first dose of vaccine at PUCC, 2-3 June 2021.

In this vaccination, PresUniv collaborated with the Pusat Kesehatan Masyarakat (Puskesmas) Mekar Mukti, North Cikarang, Bekasi Regency.

Kristiana Desy, Human Resources Development (HRD) Presuniv, said this program aims to create herd immunity and reduce transmission and symptoms of Covid-19. This program used the Sinovac Vaccine for 18 years old and above.

Around 303 participants attended the first vaccination dose, and 252 participants attended the second vaccination dose. “There were participants who were unable to attend the second dose of vaccination,” she said.

In conducting this program, PresUniv has implemented health protocols, such as checking the temperature of participants before entering the PUCC, requiring to use hand sanitisers, providing chairs one and a half meters apart from other chairs, and spraying disinfectants.

Novicarnus Yudhiar, Head of the PresUniv Covid-19 Task Force, said that they sprayed disinfectant at PUCC twice before the program and after the program.

“We are also collaborating with the Puskesmas to provide health tents and ambulances if anyone experiences symptoms or complaints after the vaccine,” he added.

Kyungpook National University selected again for large-scale research projects

Posted on by Kyungpook National University ‏‏‎ ‎

During the first half of this year, Kyungpook National University (KNU) was selected for nearly 1,700 projects for a total of KRW 214.5 billion in research funds, solidifying its position as a research-oriented university. This amount is more than 90% of the total research funds, KRW 235.7 billion, received from projects last year.

The amount of funding received from national projects by the Ministry of Science and ICT has also surpassed the amount received last year, KRW 76.8 billion, with funding of KRW 80.7 billion this year. This can be attributed to the fact that KNU had recently been selected for many large-scale government projects for cohort research.

Of these projects, ‘University-Focused Research Institute in Science and Engineering by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea is a meaningful academic support project that designates exemplary university-affiliated research institutes of science and engineering to foster the production of research results and nurture accomplished researchers.

This year, KNU Center for ICT & Automotive Convergence (Centre Director Dongseog Han) has been selected for the project and will receive funding of KRW 7.7 billion for up to 9 years. With this selection, KNU now has a total of five major research institutes designated by the Ministry of Education, including the Research Institute for Ulleungdo and Dokdo, Autonomous Cluster Software Research Center, Environmental Science & Technology Institute, and Center for High Energy Physics. Through this newly attained project, KNU Center for ICT & Automotive Convergence plans to develop human-intention-based autonomous driving technologies under the project name, ‘Development of Multi-intelligence-based Human-centric Autonomous Driving Core Technology’.

Major areas of research include reflection of unexpected human behaviour in autonomous mobility, atypical road environment ▷communication and precision positioning for large capacity sensor data transmission ▷human-intention-based driving control and to commercialize AI architecture and embedded AI.

Following KNU’s selection as the ‘University-Focused Research Institute in Science and Engineering,’ KNU was selected for three more ‘Leading Research Center’ projects by the Ministry of Science and ICT. As a result, the total amount of research funding for the next 7 to 9 years is projected to reach KRW 40 billion.

The ‘Leading Research Center’ project by the Ministry of Science and ICT aims to establish exemplary research groups and foster next-generation specialists to ultimately develop world-class competitiveness of core research fields.

To list selected KNU centres in detail, KNU ‘Software Disaster Research Center (Center Director Yunja Choi)’ was selected as an Engineering Research Center (ERC); KNU ‘Tumor Plasticity Research Center’ (Center Director Byungheon Lee) was selected as a Medical Research Center (MRC), and KNU ‘Regional Leading Research Center of Smart Energy System (Central Director Jong Wook Roh)’ was selected as a Regional Leading Research Center (RLRC).

Among 17 projects offered by the ministry this year, KNU was selected for 3 projects, the second most after Seoul National University. Through these projects, KNU is to receive funding of KRW 1.4 to 1.9 billion percenter insole research expenses, or a total of KRW 32.4 billion in the inclusion of all expenses.

To elaborate, the ‘Software Disaster Research Center,’ led by Professor Yunja Choi of the School of Computer Science and Engineering, addresses the issue of software (SW) disaster, or extensive human, wealth, or social damage caused by unintended software operation, by building an integrated framework and developing software disaster management technology to quickly detect and respond to disaster situations caused by software malfunctions and prevent a recurrence.

For this project, KNU is the lead institution with 13 professors and 70 researchers from 7 universities, including Korea University.

The objective of the ‘Tumor Plasticity Research Center’ led by Professor Byungheon Lee of the School of Medicine, is to establish a platform for identifying control mechanisms of cancer based on tumour plasticity and developing control materials. Professor Lee has conducted research related to tumour network control for 7 years since the centre was selected as a leading Medical Research Center (MRC) in 2014.

The ‘Regional Leading Research Center of Smart Energy System’ led by Professor Jong Wook Roh of the School of Nano & Materials Science and Engineering, seeks to develop a highly efficient, eco-friendly energy platform through multi-disciplinary research between nano-technology, information technology, and energy technology, as well as a smart-solution to operate this platform.

As many key national industrial complexes are located within the Daegu-Gyeongbuk area, such as steel, chemical, electrical, and electronic industries, there is a high demand for carbon neutrality. With this project, KNU, along with the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), plans to present a model of energy technology for carbon neutrality and secure foundational technology for innovating energy materials, components, and systems.

Chitkara University ranks in the top 20 in India Today ‘Best Colleges Survey 2021’

Posted on by Dr K K Mishra

Chitkara School of Hospitality has been ranked 4th in ‘Top 10 Private Emerging Hotel Management Colleges in India’ and 23rd in ‘Hotel Management Colleges in India’.

Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology (CUIET) has been ranked 46th in ‘Top BCA Colleges in India’ and 47th in ‘Top Private Engineering Colleges in India’. Chitkara School of Planning and Architecture (CSAP) has been ranked 30th in ‘Top Architecture Colleges in India’. Chitkara School of Mass Communication (CSMC) was 35th in ‘Top Mass Communication Colleges in India’ and Chitkara Business School (CBS) was ranked 56th in ‘Top BBA Colleges in India’.

Colleges were ranked across 14 streams-arts, science, commerce, medical, dental, engineering, architecture, law, mass communication, hotel management, BBA, BCA, fashion and social work. India Today has partnered with the reputed Delhi-based market research agency Marketing and Development Research Associates (MDRA) to rank colleges across 14 streams.

The agency created 112 performance indicators in each stream. Intake Quality & Governance, Academic Excellence, Infrastructure & Living Experience, Personality & Leadership Development, and Career Progression & Placement were the five main factors that were used to group these variables.

They also tried to figure out how universities prepared for the pandemic. MDRA evaluated universities using current-year data in order to provide realistic, relevant, and accurate information. Between December 2020 and June 2021, the groundwork was completed.

TPU students win at Abilympics Championship

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Students of Tomsk Polytechnic University have come out as winners in the regional stage of Abilympics, a championship of professional skills for people with disabilities, have been announced.

This year, 186 representatives of Tomsk and Tomsk Oblast universities, vocational schools and schools took part in the Championship. They competed for a professional championship in 24 competencies from web design and information security to multimedia journalism and industrial robotics.

Nikita Morozov and Kirill Levchenko, students of the TPU School of Computer Science and Robotics, represented TPU at the Championship. They competed in the Database Administration and Design of Characters/Animation competences respectively.

In the Database Administration competence, the contestants had to create a database using Microsoft Access 2016, a database management system, had to fill it with similar information, as well as had to provide an opportunity for data access and had to organize a user interface to work with the database.

The contestants of the Design of Characters/Animation competence worked on creating the images of a 2D character for a public service announcement raising civic consciousness and patriotism. The boys had to animate a picture and prepare a summary of it.

According to the results of the Championship, Nikita Morozov became a winner in his competence, while Kirill Levchenko took the third position in the Design of Characters/Animation competence. They were awarded medals, diplomas and gifts.

Abilympics is an international non-profit movement that aims to develop the Abilympics system of professional skill competitions for people with disabilities in the Russian Federation.

Thammasat University wins global championship at OpsSimCom 2021

Posted on by Thammasat University

MBA students from the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Thammasat University, on behalf of “tbs-cml” team, beat 61 contestants from the world’s top universities and won 1st prize at the Operations Simulation Competition 2021 (OpsSimCom 2021), a global competition organized by MIT Sloan School of Management, the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In this competition, the contestants ran a virtual factory through the Medica Scientific game for 2 days. The duration equated to 388 days, divided into 3 phases: 50 days for data in the start period, 288 days that the contestants are allowed to manage, 50 days for supervision according to their planning but they are not allowed to manage. The results were based on the amount of cash that remained. MBA Thammasat has joined the competition every year since 2009 and won the world championship for the first time in 2016.

Mr. Issara Rungwittayakul, a “tbs-cm1” team member from Thammasat University, explained that the challenging part of this competition was that there were two production lines and market price fluctuation.

“The most important thing that made us win this competition is that we analyzed market conditions, costs and selling prices with high-profit margins. Our team used strategies that focused on short-term loans for investment in the first period then we managed to boost production capacity and cost reduction as much as possible.”

Mr. Puripat Petchdee, a “tbs-cm1” team member from Thammasat University, said, “Knowledge is very crucial in this game. Thanks to Thammasat University, we gained the business knowledge which we have to know what we want our business to be, which direction to go, and what we need to do, for example, Investment Management course will focus on return on investment and risk management as well as computational skills that allowed us to choose the strategy for the most profitability.”