VINCI students in physics discipline about Summer School

no category VINCI students in physics discipline about Summer School

03.08.2022 - 10:52 update 03.08.2022 - 13:15

Editors: jp

During the completed summer interdisciplinary school VINCI – Dive into science, we hosted students from various countries around the world. Among them were: Lena from Serbia, Carlos from Spain, Mohamed from Egypt, Hamza from Nigeria and Shedrack from Nigeria, who carried out their projects during workshops in the discipline of physics.

All five physicists were an extremely well-coordinated team. Although the division into disciplines was only conventional, practically all school participants spent time together in Base Camp, where they were accommodated, and during organized or individual trips. An inseparable element of every day was a bus trip. Carlos, the youngest of the entire group of students, was responsible for purchasing group tickets and did a good job. As a result, he always had a lot of “change” for coffee from the machine. It is just one of the many elements that made up each day spent in Poland, in Silesia by our students – participants of the interdisciplinary VINCI summer school. Indeed, three weeks at the University of Silesia will be an unforgettable experience for them. For us, the organizers, each of them is living proof that science can beautifully connect people from different countries worldwide. We had the privilege to play at least a small part in it, which gives us great satisfaction.

Lena Dalifoski is studying at the University of Belgrade and will write her Master’s thesis next year. During the workshop, she dealt with the physicochemical characterization of nanocomposites composed of carbon nanotubes and ferrite nanoparticles under the supervision of dr. hab. Anna Bajorek, prof. UŚ. It was an entirely new topic for her because she did not have the opportunity to learn about the properties of carbon nanotubes at her alma mater. However, as she emphasizes, it was a precious experience. During the workshop, Lena analyzed images from TEM / STEM microscopy, X-ray diffraction patterns, photoemission spectra and absorption spectra that latter ones were previously measured on the Solaris synchrotron on the Phelix beamline. She had the opportunity to learn about the practical aspects of synchrotron radiation and the construction of the Phelix line during a visit to the Krakow laboratory. Lena is an extraordinarily talented and ambitious person who dreams of a scientific career.

Mohamed Abdulazeem is studying at Sohag University, and, as he emphasizes, he has just started his graduate studies adventure. He likes modern technologies and loves computer programming. He is fascinated by the experimental physics of elementary particles and would like to educate himself in this area further. During the workshop, under the supervision of dr hab. Seweryn Kowalski, prof. UŚ, dr Katarzyna Schmidt, prof. UŚ, and dr Szymon Puławski, prof. UŚ, was involved in the study of heavy ion interactions at relativistic energies as part of the NA61 / SHINE experiment at CERN. He learned the principles of operation of the detector used in the experiment and the data analysis methods using the Root toolkit. Mohamed wants to connect his future with science and does not rule out the application to our doctoral school.

Carlos Oviedo Rodriguez is a second-year Bachelor’s student at the Carlos III University of Madrid. He only took the introductory courses, but as a brilliant young man, he coped perfectly with various advanced issues raised during the lectures. During the workshop, Carlos studied nuclear interactions under the supervision of dr hab. Elżbieta Stephan, prof. UŚ and Dr. Andrzej Wilczek. He had the opportunity to prepare and test the detector elements, analyze the obtained data, and perform simulations in the Geant 4 program. In the future, he wants to continue his Master’s studies, probably in plasma physics, but for now, he will spend the third year studying in Seoul, Korea.

Hamza Yakoubu is a BIOPHAME student in pharmaceutical biophysics conducted by four universities, including the Institute of Physics of the University of Silesia. He attended the VINCI school as a student of the Catalan University of Technology in Barcelona. During school, he had the opportunity to learn about the effects of SEM microscopy, and he thoroughly investigated pollen causing various allergies as part of the project imaging and chemical analysis of biological samples under the supervision of prof. dr hab. Ewa Talik, Dr. Monika Oboz, Dr. Magdalena Szubki and Dr. Adam Guzik. Flower pollen came from various areas around the Chorzów campus, and he compares the obtained results with those obtained for post-industrial areas. Hamza showed remarkable independence and flawlessly mastered the use of the electron microscope. He has excellent scientific plans for the future, but he associates the closest with the University of Silesia, where he will study pharmaceutical biophysics from October with other colleagues from BIOPHAME.

Shedrack Dafe is currently a final year student of Master’s studies at the Gdańsk University of Technology, where he is studying nanotechnology. He also has a solid mathematical background and can combine these two disciplines perfectly. He deals with computer simulations daily. During the summer school workshops under the supervision of dr hab. Karolina Adrjanowicz, prof. UŚ got acquainted with the methods of producing and characterizing thin organic layers. He used, among other things, the spin-coating technique and performer analysis of the layers obtained in this way using AFM microscopy. Shedrack would like to use his knowledge in working with quantum computers in the future and perhaps stay in Poland for doctoral studies.