Exciting times for research on clean energy in Sri Lanka!

This week we are back in Jaffna where researchers and academics from different countries are gathered at the University of Jaffna for an International Conference on Advanced Materials for Clean Energy and Health Applications (AMCEHA). Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) and University of Jaffna (UoJ) jointly organize this conference, and in the coming days, scholars will present articles for publication.

The Ambassador opened the conference today, acknowledging the importance of creating these forums where participants can exchange research and partnerships can be formed. One of the main goals will also be to inspire young students to choose studies in technical fields. In addition, the conference includes a Norwegian-Sri Lankan workshop on clean energy technologies that will be held at the Kilinochchi Campus on Friday. In total, around 500 participants will attend this conference.

Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society – Winter School 2019

Haja Sherief attended the 7th Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) winter school of the theme ‘Musculoskeletal Tissue Regeneration: From Mechanobiology to in Vitro / in Vivo Models and Advanced Imaging’ from January 13th to 16th 2019 held at Hotel Zum Jungen Römer, Radstadt, Austria. This winter school was organized by Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental & Clinical Traumatology, Austria and Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration. This gave an opportunity for researchers to acquire the insights of several preclinical (in vitro and in vivo) models and in vivo imaging.

Brief summary of 7th TERMIS winter school

Contents and Schedule of 7th TERMIS winter school

Murugesan Rasukkannu obtains PhD

On the 9th of January 2019 Murugesan Rasukkannu has successfully defended his PhD in Physics and Technology at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Bergen. The title of his dissertation is “Modelling and Simulation of Materials for Photovoltaic Applications”.

The doctoral examination committee consisted of Prof. Peter Kratzer (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany), Dr Katharine Charsley (Institute of Energy Technology, Norway)) and Professor Scient Morten Førre (University of Bergen, Norway). Murugesan’s supervisors have been Prof. Dhayalan Velauthapillai (HVL), Dr. Ponniah Vajeeston (University of Oslo) and Prof. Lars Egil Helseth (University of Bergen). The dissertation consists of seven journal articles.

Introduction to Clean Energy for Grade 9 Students

ANCEHA research team at HVL conducted a clean energy workshop for the grade 9 students on the 26th and 28th of November at the HVL, Kronstad. Students were given an introduction to clean energy and then they were exposed to the clean energy situation in Sri Lanka and India followed by an introduction to Hydrogen. Later there were live demonstrations on the usage of dye sensitised solar cells and then students were given the opportunity to try out the new technologies in the hands on session.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carbon implanted textile fabrics for health application presentation by Yuvaraj Selvaraj

PhD candidate from CIT Yuvaraj Selvaraj presented his research idea at the bi monthly AMCEHA meeting on the 14th November 2018 at HVL. Title of his talk was ‘Fabrication of Nano Carbons implanted Ag doped Medical Cotton Fabrics by Plasma implantation technique for wound healing and anti-Cancerous applications’. Discussion followed the presentation. The upcoming conference preparation was also discussed in the meeting.

PhD Candidates from CIT visits HVL

Two PhD Candidates from CIT arrived at HVL on the 9th November 2018 for a three month research stay.  Selvakumar Pitchaiya will be working on transition doped TIO2s as ETL for perovskite solar cells. Yuvaraj Selvaraj will be working on Microbial and Cell Culture applications of Plasma processed textile cotton fabrics.

First AMCEHA Preparation meeting with HVL and UoJ

AMCEHA preparation meeting was held on 5th November 2018. Prof Dhayalan Velauthapillai chaired the meeting on behalf HVL. UoJ representatives joined via Skype and Prof. Ravirajan Punniamoorthy chaired on behalf of UoJ. Prof. Dhayalan Velauthapillai informed there would be around 70 international participants for the conference. The logistics were discussed in detail and the keynote speakers were finalised. It was decided that a follow-up meeting will take place in December.

Presentation on advanced nano-enhanced oil recovery

Saravana Kumar Nagarajan, Masters student who is studying Reservoir Physics at the University of Bergen gave a presentation at the ANCEHA bimonthly meeting on the 2nd November 2018. Title of his presentation was ‘advanced nano-enhanced oil recovery’. The presentation was based on a review on co2 enhanced oil recovery. The main idea behind the research is to find whether nanoparticles can be used to enhance the oil recovery.  Discussion followed the presentation. The upcoming conference preparation was also discussed in the meeting.

Trond Mohn visits the Laboratory and gets hands-on experience

CEO of the Framo AS, Trod Mohn visited the laboratory to see the ongoing research of the ANCEHA research group. He was given a tour around the laboratory to shown the innovative research which is being conducted at the HVL. Professor Dhayalan Velauthapillai explained the different research areas while showing the advancements made so far and how it is influencing the innovation and how it is transforming the clean energy sector.