The Week at TU Braunschweig │25.09.2020 Our Newsletter for all Employees
Topics: Potato harvest + gusts of wind + virtual city explorations + tyres in the forest + first-year students + crisis management team + pizza
Editor: Viktoria Heyer
► Potato harvest for research
The potato tuber reacts to shocks and other mechanical stress with black spots. The Institute of Solid Mechanics (IFM) and the Institute for Mobile Machinery and Commercial Vehicles (IMN) are jointly developing a computer-based model to predict damage inside the potato tuber. This will help to find out which process steps in the harvest chain are critical for the crop.
► Standard white from ultraviolet to infrared
How can light reflections be measured? Irina Santourian from the B-IGSM Graduate School reports in an interview about her research on the gonioreflectometer and reveals how she would like to improve the German standard for white and grey shades. She and about 50 other doctoral students are involved in the science of precise measurement at the “Braunschweig International Graduate School of Metrology” (B-IGSM) and are supervised at the TU Braunschweig and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).
► Aviation: Small flap, big effect
Gusts are gusts of wind that pose a great challenge for aircraft or drones: They can lead to extreme loads on the aircraft structure during flight, unstable flight behaviour and vibrations. Dr. Richard Semaan from the Institute of Fluid Mechanics at the TU Braunschweig and his research group have found new solutions to reduce the effects of gusts. The research topic complements the ongoing investigations within the SE2A Cluster of Excellence.
► Calls for tender: Poland, Russia and free spirits
The German Research Foundation (DFG) has updated the calls for proposals with foreign partner organisations. This includes research opportunities with Russian and Polish cooperation partners. The deadline for applications is 14-15 December 2020.
The Volkswagen Foundation’s Free-spirit Fellowships are aimed at postdocs from all disciplines who strive for scientific independence early on after their doctorate and whose research moves between established disciplines. The next application deadline is 1 April 2021 and the Research Service and European Office will be pleased to provide support.
► Virtual city exploration
In times when travelling is not necessarily an option, the Institute of History and Theory of Architecture and the City at the TU Braunschweig and the Institute for Design and Urban Planning at LUH are now bringing cities and urban planning concepts closer to students via virtual city explorations. In the tandem project on digital teaching, funded by the MWK, they want to supplement visual information from Google Maps with explanations of urban planning, infrastructure and history.
► Tyres in the forest
Twelve architecture students have built their first own house at the Institute for Architecture-Related Art (IAK) in Querumer Forst. And they did so completely from materials that were already available on site: Old doors, windows, car tyres and clay. The model was the “Earthships” by American architect Michael Reynolds, who uses largely natural and recycled building materials for his energy self-sufficient buildings.
► Welcome first-year students
Traditionally, a central welcome event for the first-year student is organised at the start of the semester – this time for the first time virtually on 19.10. from 9.00 to 9.45 a.m. Instead of La Ola Wave in the stadium, this time a one-week light installation will be on display on University Square at the start of the semester from 19 to 25 October at nightfall.
► “Erstsemester-Hub”: Useful information for a good start to your studies
The new website “Erstsemester-Hub” is designed to make it easier for first-year students to get started with their studies. All the important information and tips for the start of the semester are bundled together with specific contact persons and details of what the TU Braunschweig offers. The subject groups, initiatives and service facilities are also presented, and all pages are constantly supplemented and updated.
► 100 meetings in six months
There are certainly not many committees in the 275-year history of the TU Braunschweig that have managed to hold a hundred meetings in just over six months. The TU Braunschweig crisis management team met this week for the 100th time. The magazine provides a review and outlook on this occasion.
► The future needs climate protection – climate protection needs public transport
Saving the climate by bus and train? A public discussion on this topic will take place on Wednesday (30.09.2020) at 18.00 on the Kohlmarkt, with scientists from the TU Braunschweig taking part. The event is organised by the Kooperationsstelle Hochschulen-Gewerkschaften together with ver.di. All further information and registration can be found online.
► On our own behalf: Trainee Prize for the TU Braunschweig
We are proud to announce: the Carolo-Wilhelmina is one of 13 universities that will be awarded this year’s Trainee Prize by the Federal Association of University Communication. This prize is awarded for exemplary “Volunteer” training in higher education communication. The quality characteristics of volunteer work at TU Braunschweig are thus excellent, as the editors of this newsletter can confirm. Congratulations!
► Darling of the Week
Our delicious darling of the week is originally from Italy, we can now finally take him back to the campus. Since Monday we have been serving pizza from the 360° again. The Studentenwerk OstNiedersachsen has thus opened another food counter. All dishes are still take-away only, so don’t forget your own cutlery. We say: Bon appetit!