IFT POSTEN – 11.06.2010

 

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A Word from Department Administration

On Monday morning the department council and research group leaders gathered for an informal meeting to discuss department’s future challenges, and how these can best be tackled. Despite relevant documentation on challenges and possibilities lying ahead of natural sciences, and repeated promises on forthcoming follow-ups, all experience shows small chances of government’s approval. Thus external financing of our department turns out to be of great importance, whether one likes it or not. This is not a criticism of the effects of Norwegian research financing politics; this is a battle to be fought and won at a higher level and other arenas than the ”ground” where the actual production takes place. We have to be able to look truth in the eye and meet it with an even stronger focus on what we have in our house, perhaps more so than we would actually like to do. This is in fact also one of the conclusions of the report on basic research in physics given by the Norwegian Research Council; improved internal interaction and cooperation.

The meeting was also a kick-off for department’s work on the new strategic plan, complete with the follow-up of the Research Council’s evaluation. Much time was used on drafting the possible adjustments of department’s organization in such a way that all research groups can help each other with their competence, regardless of whether their goal be basic research in physics or its commercial applicability. A draft of the matrix organization model was also presented and well received by the ones present at the meeting. With some adjustments, it may contribute to an improved cooperation between basic and applied research, a more even distribution of master students among various research groups and a better visibility of department’s activities. We would like to encourage all to reflect over these challenges and come up with constructive suggestions!

Have a nice weekend!
Geir Anton

News and general information

Holiday planning

We would like to remind you all of the duty to inform the department of your holiday plans. The planned holiday dates should be given to Karen-Margrete via this link her. The deadline for delivering your holiday plans is 15.06.10. After this date, we intend to compile a holiday list, so that the department has an insight into holiday absences.

 

Dean’s invitation for input on faculty’s strategic planning

In the course of 2010, a new strategic plan for the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences is to be drafted, which is to be valid for the period 2011-2015. All employees and students at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences are thus invited to come up with suggestions for the first draft of this plan. We would like you to deliver your suggestions by July 6, so that we can proceed with our work on the plan throughout the summer. We will also consider all later suggestions, in case this deadline is too hard to meet.

Along with this invitation directed at all employees and students, we will also send out personal invitations to all faculty council and assembly members to encourage their suggestions. A similar invitation/encouragement will also be sent to all research group leaders, study advisors, heads of administration and department heads. Information on and a draft of the strategic plan can be found here.

For your own orientation, UoB has its own webside for the central strategic work for the entire UoB.

 

Invitation to the ethics seminar at Solstrand

UoB’s ethics committee organizes a seminar on research ethics Med integriteten i behold at Solstrand, 8. - 9. September 2010.

 

Project establishment grants for 2010 from Norwegian Research Council / University of Bergen – continual announcement

You can now apply for positioning grants from Norwegian Research Council /University of Bergen for researchers intending to apply for the grants announced under the 7th frame programme, with deadline in the course of 2010. For more information see brev the letter from the Research Department and the application form (søknadsskjema).

This announcement has a continual deadline, the collection dates being: June 15, September 1 and November 15, 2010.

 

Applications to master studies in the autumn semester of 2010

The number of master study applicants is now known, and we can now conclude that IFT’s master programmes are clearly the most popular at the faculty. Physics, process and petroleum technology have received all together 120 applications, while information sciences have seen a doubling in the number of applicants since 2008 and is now number two on the list with 64 applications. Biology is on the third place with 60 applications. In total, 406 master applicants have been registered at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, and IFT’s master programme applications make up 30% of the total.

We have also marked that our technology-oriented studies are the most popular, with safety technology, reservoir physics and measurement science receiving respectively 35, 16 and 15 applications.

Although such high application numbers invite joy, this may lead to several challenges. More on the evaluation of these results in the next issue of IFT-posten.

 

Invitation to workshop in Computational Systems Biology at UMB

The Research School for Systems Biology at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) is pleased to invite you to a one-day workshop

Computational Systems Biology: Models, Methods, Meaning to be held Tuesday 15 June 2010 at UMB at Ås.

Topic: Modeling and simulation are essential tools in systems biology and many other branches of science.

This workshop is an invitation to step back from the day-to-day struggle with our simulations and to reflect about the nature of modeling and its relation to simulation: How do modeling and simulation contribute to the development of knowledge? Is a simulation per se a valid scientific experiment?

Five scientists with quite different backgrounds have agreed to lecture on different aspects of modeling and simulation, ranging from the theory of science to the reproducibility of simulation experiments:

·      Dr Rani Anjum, Center for the Study of Mind in Nature, University of Oslo
Modeling causes as vectors

·      Dr Marc-Oliver Gewaltig, Honda Research Institute Europe
What can neuroscience learn from modeling and simulation?

·      Prof Peter Hunter, Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland
The VPH/Physiome Project: progress and challenges

·      Dr Patrick Vandewalle, Philips Research
Reproducible research: making your experiments repeatable by yourself and others

·      Dr Eilen Nordlie, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Reproducable descriptions of neurobiological models

For more information, including info on how to register, see here.

 

Announcement of grants via UoB’s academic agreement with Statoil

We  are pleased to invite applications for activities related to petroleum research through the "Akademia" agreement between UiB and Statoil. You can apply for:

1.     Travel to conferences etc. related to petroleum research for up to NOK 25 000 (Funds are not for educational purposes. Conference participation including presentation will be given priority).

2.     Visiting guest researchers (travel and stay).

The activity must take place in 2010. Scientific staff and PhD students can apply. To be evaluated the application MUST include a specification of purpose, information regarding supervisor/research group, total budget , whether you also have applied other funding, and also whether you have received money through the Akademia mobility scheme before. The accepted applications are fixed to the requested travel plans and can not be transferred. Applications and travel claim forms must be marked "SH2010" and sent by email to katrine.kristiansen@uni.no (Katrine is located at CIPR, Allegt. 41., tel. 83645)

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS 15 JUNE. The committee will use approximately two weeks to evaluate the applications. All applicants will be informed as soon as the evaluations are ready.

 

 

Staff – available positions at IFT

·      Postdoctor in process technology – deadline: 18.06.10
https://secure.jobbnorge.no/job.aspx?jobid=67277

·      Researcher in process technology – deadline 18.06.10
https://secure.jobbnorge.no/job.aspx?jobid=67278

·      Postdoctor in astro-particle physics, deadline 01.07.10
https://secure.jobbnorge.no/job.aspx?jobid=65929

·      Research assistant (2 positions) in particle physics, deadline: 01.07.10
https://secure.jobbnorge.no/job.aspx?jobid=65926

·      Research assistant in atomic/molecular/optical physics – deadline 01.08.10
https://secure.jobbnorge.no/job.aspx?jobid=66910

·      Postdoctor in atomic/molecular/optical physics – deadline 01.08.10
https://secure.jobbnorge.no/job.aspx?jobid=66930

 

Master- and PhD-news

Master thesis presentation at the department on Monday, 14. June 2010, at 13:15, room 292, IFT:

Candidate

Subject area – thesis title

Supervisor(s)

Eirik Daniel Fatnes

 

Process technology – Multiple phase systems:

Numerical Simulations of the Flow and Plugging Behaviour of Hydrate Particles

Pawel Kosinski

Master thesis presentation at the department on Tuesday, 15. June 2010, at 10:15, room 316, IFT:

Candidate

Subject area – thesis title

Supervisor(s)

Are Flataker Viken

 

Physics – Particle physics:

CP Violation in the Two Higgs Doublet Model

Per Osland

Master thesis presentation at the department on Wednesday, 16. June 2010, at 10:15, room 292, IFT:

Candidate

Subject area- thesis title

Supervisor(s)

Ragnhild Schrøder Hansen

 

Physics – Space physics:

Observations of Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes from balloon and aircraft - constraints and opportunities

Nikolai Østgaard

Master thesis presentation at the department on Wednesday, 16. June 2010, at 15:15, room 546, IFT:

Candidate

Subject area – thesis title

Supervisor(s)

Reidar Grønsdal

 

Petroleum technology – Reservoir physics:

Økt oljeutvinning i kalk basert på vannkjemi og potensialbestemmende ioner for endring av fukt

Arne Graue

Master thesis presentation at the department on Thursday, 17. June 2010, at 10:15, room 546, IFT:

Candidate

Subject area – thesis title

Supervisor(s)

Arita Nyheim

 

Petroleum technology – Reservoir physics:

Vannbasert EOR i oppsprukne bergarter – økt oljeutvinning ved kjemikalietilsetning i injeksjonsvannet

Arne Graue

Master thesis presentation at the department on Thursday, 17. June 2010, at 10:15, roim 366, IFT:

Candidate

Subject area – thesis title

Supervisor(s)

Vegard Eikill

 

Process technology – Multiple phase systems: “Characterization of the anode and cathode materials for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC’s)

Alex C. Hoffmann

Master thesis presenation at the department on Thursday, 17. June 2010, at 10:15, room 292, IFT:

Candidate

Subject area – thesis title

Supervisor(s)

Inger Næstvold Engh

 

Process technology – Safety technology: “Calculation of heat loss from subsea pipeline

Bjørn J. Arntzen

Master thesis presentation at the department on Thursday, 17. June 2010, at 14:00, room 368, IFT:

Candidate

Subject area – thesis title

Supervisor(s)

Arild Grov

 

Process technology – Safety technology:

“An Experimental Study of the Influence of Major Damage of Flame Gap Surfaces in Flameproof Apparatus on the Ability of the Gaps to Prevent Gas Explosion Transmission

Bjørn J. Arntzen

Master thesis presentation at the department on Friday, 18. June 2010, at 10:15, room 366, IFT:

Candidate

Subject area – thesis title

Supervisor(s)

Tom Erik Kjenner

 

Physics – Measurement science and instrumentation:

”Tilstandsovervåkning av frekvensstyrt undervannsmotordrift ved strømanalyse”

Bjørn Tore Hjertaker

Master thesis presentation at the department on Friday, 18. June 2010, at 12:15, room 366, IFT:

Candidate

Subject area – thesis title

Supervisor(s)

Stian Stjernberg

 

Physics – Measurement science and instrumentation:

”Tilstandsovervåkning av undervanns motordrift med lange forsyningskabler”

Bjørn Tore Hjertaker

Disputations

Thursday, 17.06.10, at 13:15 MSc Åsmund Haugen has his PhD disputation in Auditorium 2, Realfagbygget with the following title:

“Fluid Flow in Fractured Carbonates: Wettability Effects and Enhanced Oil Recovery”

 

 

Friday, 18.06.10 at 09:15 MSc Prankul Middha has his PhD disputation in Auditorium 2, Realfagbygget with the following title:

“Development, use, and validation of the CFD tool FLACS for hydrogen safety studies”

 

Please come a bit ahead of the scheduled time!

 

Publications (ISI)

 

·      Ho TX, Kosinski P, Hoffmann AC, Vik A, Effects of heat sources on the performance of a planar solid oxide fuel cell INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY, Volume 35, Issue 9, 4276-4284