The Vice-Rectorate of the Ourense Campus announced this Monday the names of the winners of the II Awards for Research, Transfer and Scientific Dissemination of the Water Campus. In this edition, five awards and two runners-up were granted to six studies and one initiative by teaching and research staff and students of the University of Vigo. The awards, which will be presented at a gala to be held in 2020, are endowed with a total of 3600 euros by Viaqua within the framework of the existing collaboration agreement between this company and the University of Vigo. Of these six studies, three belong to researchers from the Environmental Physics Laboratory (Ephyslab) of the CIM-UVigo.
Theses and final projects
The award for the best doctoral thesis went to New perspectives in the application of Advanced Oxidation Processes, by Aida María Díez, a researcher from the Bioengineering and Sustainable Processes group (Biosuv), currently in Portugal. In it, the author explains, the effectiveness of Advanced Oxidation Processes for the treatment of wastewater from industry is demonstrated and these processes are presented as a real alternative to traditional biological remediation treatments in which microorganisms are used that feed on the polluting substances, degrading them. A second place was also awarded in this category to the thesis Biological treatment of phenyl compounds, by Alicia Pérez. In her thesis, this biologist from the Agro-Food Biotechnology Group of the University of Vigo addressed the elimination of phenyl compounds following the strategy of using microorganisms and focusing on the reuse of beer bagasse and the elimination of this type of compounds in effluents derived from the textile industry.
The award for the most outstanding final thesis went to the master’s thesis Study of the computational reproducibility of CMIP5, by researcher at the Environmental Physics Laboratory (Ephyslab, CIM-UVigo) Michael García. In it, he analyzed the computational reproducibility of CMIP 5, phase five of the international project for intercomparison of climate models of the United Nations World Climate Program, which covers from 2008 to 2015. “For the United Nations report on climate change, a series of climate simulations are made with models, and those models are the ones I studied”, says the researcher. The result of this work was FortranAnalyser, a pioneering tool in the analysis of the quality of software made with the Fortran language. “I am very happy that the work done is recognized”, says Michael García after learning of the award. A second prize was also awarded in this category to the work Automation of a hydroponic system, by Daniel Rodríguez.
Contributions, transfer and disclosure
The award for best scientific contribution went to Increasing temperature of cooling granular gases, by Arno Formella. This is a study published in Nature Communications in which physicists Nikolai V. Brilliantov and Thorsten Pöschel, together with computer engineer and professor at the University of Vigo Arno Formella, explain how in certain types of granular gases “a surprising effect can occur: even if the kinetic energy of the system continuously decreases, the temperature of the gas increases”. In addition to identifying this effect, the article explains how it “arises from a subtle interaction between the decrease in kinetic energy and the gradual reduction in the number of degrees of freedom associated with the dynamics of the particles”.
In the category for the best transfer result, the award went to Study of climate change on the exploitation of the electrical system and precipitation in the Miño-Sil basin, by Juan Antonio Añel (Ephyslab, CIM-UVigo) and Xavier Labandeira (Applied Economics, UVigo), directors of the Naturgy Chair at the University of Vigo. In their proposal, they included the research work developed within the framework of this chair mainly in 2017, presenting, among other issues, a study on the impact of climate change and the liberalization of the electricity market on the management of the Miño-Sil basin in which they conclude that the management of this basin “is very good despite being a basin that has more than 100 dams” and that “it improved after the liberalization of the sector”. Regarding the award, Juan Antonio Añel highlights the importance of promoting the transfer of knowledge, placing particular emphasis on the fruits that the transfer that arises from interdisciplinary collaboration yields.
Finally, the award for the action or activities of scientific dissemination went to the Dissemination Day in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Exxperimenta en Feminino, an initiative coordinated by the professors of the Ourense campus Julia Carballo, from the Faculty of Sciences; Alma Gómez, from the School of Computer Engineering, and Nieves Lorenzo, from the School of Aeronautical and Space Engineering. With an informative fair format, the initiative, which is held annually on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11, aims to promote scientific and technological vocations among girls and boys, emphasizing the visibility of women scientists and technologists. In its last edition, 90 researchers and university students from the three centers involved and 230 schoolchildren participated. On behalf of all the people who make this activity “starting from the ground up” possible, its coordinators expressed their gratitude this Monday for the award.
Source: DUVI
