Estonian Research: a Study Trip to Tallinn and Tartu

Estonian Research: a Study Trip to Tallinn and Tartu

Nature in Endla bog by Jarek Jõepera TA A STUD EST JUNE 28-29,20 LLINN AND ONIAN RESEARCH: Y TRIP 13 TA TO RT U 1 Town Hall Square in Tallinn by Jaak Nilson Dear participant, Welcome to the science journalists’ study trip to Estonia! In this brochure you can find more information about the presenters and topics covered. The study trip to Estonia is organised by the Estonian Research Council and the Estonian Association of Science Journalists. The event is funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Contacts of organizers: Priit Ennet Science Journalist President of the Estonian Association of Science Journalists [email protected] Estonian Association of Phone 00372 514 5608 Science Journalists www.teadusajakirjanik.ee Karin Patune Marketing Officer Estonian Research Council [email protected] Phone 00372 5664 0009 www.etag.ee Aare Baumer R&D Executive Energy Discovery Centre [email protected] tel 00372 715 2650 www.energiakeskus.ee Programme June 28, Tallinn 08.00-9.30 Boat from Helsinki to Tallinn Linda Line, Makasiiniterminaali, Eteläsatama, Eteläranta 7 10.00-10.45 Tallinn Old City 10.45-11.15 Welcome. Jüri Engelbrecht, Estonian Academy of Sciences Coffee Break 11.45-13.45 Tallinn University of Technology (TUT) Powder semiconductors in flexible solar cells Enn Mellikov, Department of Materials Science, TUT The mathematics of environmentally safe sea traffic Tarmo Soomere, Institute of Cybernetics, TUT Robotic fish. Maarja Kruusmaa, Centre for Biorobotics, TUT Trash to trend: Upcycling in mass production Reet Aus, Estonian Academy of Arts 13.45-14.30 Lunch 14.45-16.30 Visit to Skype. Tiit Paananen, General Manager Skype Estonia & Renat Vafin, Senior Researcher The digital society of e-Estonia. Anna Piperal, ICT Demo Center 16.30-19.00 Bus to Tartu 20.00-22.00 Dinner at Eduard Vilde inn & cafe June 29, Tartu 09.00-10.45 University of Tartu (UT), Estonian Genome Center Biobanks and personalized medicine Andres Metspalu, Estonian Genome Center, UT Population genetics research in Estonia Mari Järve, Estonian Biocentre Graphene research in Estonia. Harry Alles, Institute of Physics, UT 11.15-12.15 Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMU) How does plant language change climate? Ülo Niinemets, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, EMU 4 Producing therapeutic peptides in mouse and cow milk Ülle Jaakma, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, EMU and Mario Plaas, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, EMU and Insitute of Technology, UT 12.30-13.30 Lunch at the University Cafe 14.00-15.15 The Old Observatory of the University of Tartu ESTCube-1: Towards Sailing on Solar Wind Mart Noorma, Institute of Physics, UT Self-Deployable Habitat for Extreme Environments Priit Kull, Institute of Technology, UT 15.30-18.00 Bus to Tallinn 19.00-20.30 Boat from Tallinn to Helsinki Arrival: Linda Line, Makasiiniterminaali, Eteläsatama, Eteläranta 7 View of Tallinn View 5 Jüri Engelbrecht Vice President, Estonian Academy of Sciences Phone: +372 6204160 Head, Department of Mechanics and Applied Mathematics, Mobile: +372 5058177 Institute of Cybernetics, Tallinn University of Technology [email protected] Head of the Centre for Nonlinear Studies Jüri Engelbrecht has received honours from Estonia, Finland, France and Poland. He has held visiting appointments in many European universities (Cambridge, Paris 6, Turin, Aachen, etc.) and is a member of a number of academies and scientific societies, also a member of Editorial Boards of many academic journals. He has published over 200 scientific papers and several books. He is involved in designing the science policy for Estonia and has wide experience in implementing and advising on the European science policy. In all his activities he insists on the excellence and integrity of research as well as the links between science and society. 6 Tallinn University of Technology www.ttu.ee Tallinn University of Technology (TUT) is the only technological university in Estonia and the flagship of Estonian engineering and technical education. This is the place where synergy between different fields (technological, natural, exact, social and health sciences) is established. TUT is a research university where discoveries are transferred into studies and the real life through knowledge. The mission of TUT is to develop the economy and industry of Estonia and the Baltic Sea region through top graduates, scientific achievements, knowledge services, innovative applications and cooperation projects. 7 Enn Mellikov Director, Department of Material Science, Phone: +372 6202798 Tallinn University of Technology Mobile: +372 5112789 Professor of Semiconductor Materials Technology, [email protected] Tallinn University of Technology Member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences “They say there is no sun in Estonia,” says professor Enn Mellikov. “But I always get the sun out when the investors arrive.” Co-founder of the company Crystalsol, professor Mellikov has been working on semiconductor materials development for more than 30 years. With his help, Crystalsol is developing an entirely new type of flexible photovoltaic film with a significant cost and versatility advantage compared to all currently known photovoltaic technologies. “There is no alternative to solar energy,” he believes. Powder semiconductors in flexible solar cells The TUT Department of Material Science is one of the pioneers in developing monograin powders and solar cells in a monograin layer design, in cooperation with the spin-off company Crystalsol. The department conducts fundamental studies related to different photovoltaic materials: CuInSe2, CuInS2, CuGaSe2, Cu2ZnSnSe4, Cu2ZnSnS4, CdTe, ZnO, CdS etc. We develop thin film solar cells by vacuum evaporation, electrochemical deposition, chemical spray pyrolysis deposition and sol- gel deposition. 8 Tarmo Soomere Head of Wave Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Cybernetics, Phone: +372 6204176 Tallinn University of Technology Mobile: +372 5028921 Member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences [email protected] In January 2005, a rare hurricane swept over the North and Baltic Seas, raising sea levels along the western Estonian coast to heights not seen in decades, with houses in the resort town of Pärnu getting drenched in the greatest flood since 1924. While the Estonian Met Office, embarrassingly, failed to predict the disaster, a mathematician at the Institute of Cybernetics at TUT, Tarmo Soomere, warned of the danger of a big flood in the Postimees newspaper just one day before it happened. The authorities did not act upon his warning, but during and after the natural disaster, professor Soomere became a bit of a celebrity. He has since then become a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences and has helped to raise the profile of science in the public at every opportunity. And the Met Office has learned its lesson, too. The mathematics of environmentally safe sea traffic The ever-increasing anthropogenic impact on vulnerable sea areas such as the Baltic Sea calls for novel methods for mitigating beforehand the impact of such risks on vulnerable areas. The Wave Engineering Lab team has developed a prototype of the method for preventive reduction of offshore environmental risks caused by the maritime industry that are transported by surface currents to the coasts. The method relies on a systematic analysis of the damaging potential of different sea areas in terms of the potential transport to vulnerable regions if faced by an oil spill or other pollution. This way, by placing maritime activities in the safest offshore areas, the consequences of potential accidents can be minimised before they occur. 9 Maarja Kruusmaa Head, Centre for Biorobotics, Tallinn University of Technology Mobile: +372 5183075 Professor of Biorobotics, Tallinn University of Technology [email protected] R&D director, Fits.me The Centre for Biorobotics looks more like a hip design studio than a run- of-the-mill research lab. Creativity and self-expression are certainly not frowned upon here. A realistic looking robotic cow that functions as a currency exchange machine was built as the centre’s light-hearted greeting of Estonia’s entry to the euro zone in 2011. A robotic fish (see below) is among the projects with more serious applications. Maarja Kruusmaa, the centre’s leader, also heads R&D in Fits.me, a virtual fitting room equipped with a robotic mannequin that helps customers buy clothes online that, well, fit them. She accomplished her PhD thesis “Repeated Path Planning for Mobile Robots in Dynamic Environments” at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2002, and is a professor at Tallinn University of Technology since 2008. Robotic fish All fish have a unique sense organ – the lateral line – which directly measures hydrodynamic flow but has no direct analogue on any man-made underwater vehicles. TUT Centre for Biorobotics has equipped a fish robot with such flow sensitive sensors and has demonstrated robot behaviour similar to that of a fish. The robot detects the direction of flow, faces upstream, adjusts its swimming speed with the flow speed and hovers in energetically favourable regions in turbulence. In the future, flow sensing will help underwater robots to understand and exploit the local flow dynamics which will in turn lead to longer autonomous missions in more complicated underwater environments. 10 Art Plaza - new building for EAA, project 2011 Sea+Effect Architects, Denmark Estonian Academy of Arts www.artun.ee Estonian Academy of Arts is

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