Seminar schedule for 2008-2009
1
Seminar schedule for 2008-2009
Mathematical Description and Modelling of
Phenomena and Dependences in Materials Science
By Professor Jan Kohout
University of Defence, Brno, Czech Republic
Date: Wednesday, 20th May 2009
Time: 14:30
Place: Room 216 in Mathematics and Physics building
Abstract: Only a part of phenomena and dependences in materials science can be
described by the theoretically derived equations based on physical theories. In many
cases only suitable phenomenological or semi-phenomenological relations can be
used. Thoughtful choice of these relations respecting the known behaviour of the
materials in extreme conditions and exploiting various physical similarities can lead to
a substantial better description than the use of a randomly chosen relation. This
approach makes use of fatigue and kinetic curves of phase and degradation changes.
The best description is obtained when the interconnected phenomena are described by
interdependent relations. This reflects itself in a common description of creep, stress
relaxation and yield stress processes.
Biography: Professor Jan Kohout is the head of the Department of Mathematics and
Physics, Faculty of Military Technology, University of Defence, Brno, Czech
Republic. After completing his studies on solid state physics at Masaryk University in
Brno he worked in two research institutes and three faculties in the boundary branch
between physics of materials and materials science. During this period he studied
mechanical behaviour of structural materials at fatigue and high temperature loading
in order to determine the relations between mechanical properties and materials
microstructure. His current research focuses on the mathematical description and
modelling of phenomena and dependences in materials science in order to understand
mutual interrelations.
Department of Physics
University of Malta
Seminar schedule for 2008-2009
2
The Department of Physics of the University of Malta is proud to host a public
lecture by Professor Raymond Ellul on Friday the 29th of May 2009.
A 12 Year Study of Atmospheric Pollution in the Central
Mediterranean
A Maltese - German Project, 1993 - 2009
By Professor Raymond Ellul
University of Malta
Date: Friday, 29th May 2009
Time: 19:00 - 20:00
Place: Main Hall of the Ministry for Gozo, St Francis Square, Victoria, Gozo.
Abstract: The measurement programme dating back to 1997 will be introduced. This
will be followed by an overview of the formation of the Earth's atmosphere and its
Energy balance, the Greenhouse effect together with the Climate predictions for 2010.
The role of Earth's Ozone concentration as a result of pollution will be further
investigated and the Mediterranean region's pollution problems will be discussed. The
measurements made by our group will be presented and summarised and our plans for
the future as a Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) station will be illustrated.
Attendance is free of charge and open to the public.
Department of Physics
University of Malta
Seminar schedule for 2008-2009
3
Public talks by Senator Harrison Schmitt
The Department of Physics of the University of Malta in collaboration with the
International Year of Astronomy 2009 Malta Committee and the United States
Embassy is proud to host two talks by Senator Harrison Schmitt on the 22nd and 23rd
of April 2009.
Program
Title: A SCIENTIST ON THE MOON - APOLLO 17
Date: Wednesday, 22nd April 2009
Time: 18:30 - 19:30
Place: Erin Serracino Inglott Hall, University of Malta, Tal-Qroqq
Title: SPACE EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION
Date: Thursday, 23rd April 2009
Time: 18:30 - 19:30
Place: Room 401 Mathematics and Physics building, University of Malta, Tal-Qroqq
Attendance to both talks is free of charge and open to the public. The Wednesday talk
is intended for the general public while the Thursday talk will be more suited to
persons with an interest in space exploration and the audience would ideally include
academics and science students over the age of 16 years, although members of the
public with a science background and an interest in the topic are also welcome. Those
wishing to attend are encouraged to register by sending an email to
physics.sci@um.edu.mt, with the date or dates of their selected talk/talks in the
subject caption.
The audience for both talks is kindly requested to be seated at least 15 minutes before
the scheduled start. Following the presentation Senator Schmitt will take questions
from the audience.
Concise Biography: Senator Schmitt is a geologist who was involved in NASA’s
Apollo space program. He was the lunar module pilot of the Apollo 17 mission and is
the only scientist ever to travel to the moon. Following this mission, Senator Schmitt
was appointed a Professor of Engineering Physics, became a U.S. Senator, Chairman
of the NASA Advisory Council, founder and Chairman of Interlune Intermars
Initiative Inc. and an author.
Department of Physics
University of Malta
Seminar schedule for 2008-2009
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Annual Seminar
Presentation of B.Sc.(Hons.) Final Year Projects, Short
Review Papers and Masters Projects
Date: Wednesday, 1st April 2009
Time: 8:15 - 13:20
Place: Room 216 in Mathematics and Physics building
Program
08:15 - 8:30
Opening
Session 1 - Short Review Papers
Chairman: Professor Charles V Sammut
08:30 - 08:50 The cosmic microwave background bi-spectrum, Joseph
Caruana
08:50 - 09:10 Liquid crystals and their applications, John Sultana
09:10 - 09:30 Mantle plumes, Beppe Vella
09:30 - 09:50 Computational anthropomorphic models of the human
anatomy: mathematical techniques and voxel-based models,
Dane Zammit
09:50 - 10:10 Break
Session 2 - B.Sc.(Hons.) Projects
Chairman: Dr Louis Zammit Mangion
10:10 - 10:30 The impact of radial migration on the vertical profiles of disk
galaxies, Joseph Caruana
10:30 - 10:50 The amplitude variation with offset (AVO) technique as a
direct hydrocarbon indicator - a review of the technique,
Jonathan Pace
10:50 - 11:10 Characterization of a fibre-optic gyroscope, Chantelle Said
11:10 - 11:30 Computational methods in Bayesian statistics, Alan Tua
11:30 - 11:50 A performance evaluation of a single-station earthquake
location algorithm (LESSLA), implemented at Wied Dalam
seismic station, Dane Zammit
11:50 - 12:20 Break
Department of Physics
University of Malta
Seminar schedule for 2008-2009
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Session 3 - M.Sc. Projects
Chairman: Professor Alfred Micallef
12:20 - 12:40 Eddy current sensing using planar coils, Lourdes Abdilla
12:40 - 13:00 A seismic site response survey of the Maltese Islands,
Alexander Vella
13:00 - 13:20 The limitations of the AVO technique of seismic exploration
in the presence of structural dip, Yanika Rizzo
Department of Physics
University of Malta
Seminar schedule for 2008-2009
6
Joint seminar hosted by Astronomical Sciences Group and the Department of
Physics of the University of Malta organised as part of the activities for the
International Year of Astronomy 2009
The Origin of Life: an enigma wrapped in mystery
By Professor Nigel J Mason
Open University
Date: Tuesday, 17th March 2008
Time: 18:00
Place: Room 401 in Mathematics and Physics building
Abstract: Three basic questions have fascinated and intrigued humanity for centuries,
questions that are pivotal to the understanding and appreciation of our place in the
Universe:
1. How did life begin and evolve on Earth ?
2. What are the conditions under which life can exist?
3. Do conditions exist elsewhere in the Universe which may sustain life?
Indeed the discovery of life (even in its simplest form) on a planet other than Earth
would be a defining moment in human history, while understanding the origins of life
itself would be a crowning achievement of human scientific endeavour. Today, for the
first time, it is possible to develop a realistic, rigorous scientific programme to address
these questions and begin to provide answers to these fundamental questions. In this
talk, Professor Mason will review the scientific progress and discuss some of the
social-political consequences of such research.
Biography: Professor Nigel Mason was born in 1962, son of Sir John Mason FRS,
Former Director of the Meteorological Office and former President of the Institute of
Physics. So it can be said that he was born into Physics! Graduating from University
College London in 1983 with a First Class Honours degree in Physics, he completed
his PhD on electron scattering in laser fields, also from University College London, in
1987. After holding a SERC Postdoctoral Fellowship he was a Royal Society
University Research Fellow at UCL from 1990 to 1998, then a Lecturer and
subsequently a Reader (2000) before moving to the Open University as Professor of
Physics in September 2002, where he founded the Atomic, Molecular, Optical and
Plasma (AMOP) physics group - now comprising 9 academic staff, 5 postdoctoral
fellows and 12 PhD students as well as hosting more than a dozen collaborators
annually.
His research covers a wide range of topics, spanning physics and chemistry and
includes astrochemistry, atmospheric science, surface science and spectroscopy. His
research on the formation of molecules by irradiation of low temperature (20 K) ices
has led to new insights into the chemical processes by which the prebiotic molecules
of life may have formed (and are being formed) in the interstellar medium. Most
recently his research has extended to the study of radiation damage processes within
biomolecular systems, including DNA and the survivability of bacteria under
Department of Physics
University of Malta
Seminar schedule for 2008-2009
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panspermia conditions and planetary environments. Such research has developed as
part of the Open University's rapidly developing astrobiology research programme.
Professor Mason is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, The Royal Society of
Chemistry and the Royal Astronomical Society, and serves on several national and
international committees. He chairs several European (international) collaborations
and in 2008 was made an Honorary Professor of the University of Innsbruck, Austria.
In 2007 he was made and Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of his
‘services for science’.
Department of Physics
University of Malta
Seminar schedule for 2008-2009
8
Climate change projection over Korea based on the regional
climate model simulation
By Dr Eun-Soon Im
Earth System Physics, Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy
Date: Wednesday, 7th January 2009
Time: 15:00
Place: Room 216 in the Mathematics and Physics building
Abstract: The climate of Korea has experienced a gradual warming throughout the
twentieth century in agreement with the warming observed at the global scale. As the
global mean surface temperature is projected to further increase in the twenty-first
century, it is reasonable to expect that Korea will be strongly vulnerable to climate
change. In fact, discernable evidences of increased rainfall intensity, shifts of climatic
seasons and lengthening of the growing season have already been observed over
Korea. It is thus important that credible scenarios of climate change over Korea are
developed in order to evaluate related impacts and adaptation/mitigation measures.
In this study, an analysis of future climate change over Korea from the downscaled
climate change scenario is presented. For simulating the fine-scale climate
information over Korea characterized by complex topography and coastline, the oneway double-nested regional climate model system (RegCM3) is developed. The
mother domain covers East Asia at 60 km grid spacing while the nested domain
focuses on the South Korean peninsula at 20km grid spacing. Using this modeling
system, we perform the dynamic downscaling of the ECHAM5/MPI-OM A1B
scenario covering a 130-year long period (1971-2100). To obtain the confidence in a
future climate projection, we first evaluate the reference simulation (1971-2000)
against observation. We then address the future change aspects in response to
anthropogenic emission forcing. The mean climate state as well as the frequency and
intensity of daily extreme events are investigated at various temporal and spatial
scales. In addition, the multi-decadal length of our simulation allows us to examine
interdecadal variability and trends of the climate change signal, thereby providing a
more reliable projection. It is expected that this study is significant as it provides the
baseline information for detecting and guiding the regional climate change over Korea
due to global warming.
Biography: Dr Im Eun-Soon completing the course work for her Ph.D program at
Busan National University in 2006. During the period she was working for her Ph.D.,
in 2003, she was employed as a permanent researcher at National Institute of
Meteorological Research. Soon after finishing the Ph.D. she was granted a postdoctoral appointment at the Earth System Physics Group, International Centre for
Theoretical Physics (ICTP), a position that she currently holds. In due course of her
studies she has developed the dynamic downscaling system using regional climate
model for the prediction of climate change over Korea. She also worked with Dr.
Filippo Giorgi, who pioneered the field of regional climate modeling and contributed
to the development of the first regional climate model. Currently she is responsible for
the development of sub grid topography and land use scheme for high-quality climate
information over the Alps region. The main goal of her current research is to
investigate the potential change in regional climate due to the global warming and to
Department of Physics
University of Malta
Seminar schedule for 2008-2009
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produce fine-scale regional climate information for comprehensive impact
assessment, especially in the regions characterized by complex topography such as
Korea and Alps. During her academic career Dr Im Eun-Soon has also authored more
than ten papers in peer reviewed scientific journals on regional climate change topics.
Department of Physics
University of Malta
Seminar schedule for 2008-2009
10
Effective ways of inducing a learning experience
By Ms Miriam Soler
University of Malta
Date: Wednesday, 3rd December 2008
Time: 15:00
Place: Engineering Lecture Theatre
Abstract: The educator needs to identify those attitudes that are conducive to
effective learning experiences. An attitude of democracy, focusing on the equality in
dignity of learner and educator, encourages the free interplay of ideas and
personalities that promote growth. On the other hand, the benefits of the differences,
such as the longer life experience and more faculties acquired by virtue of more years
dedicated to studying and training should not be underestimated. The respectful
student stands to gain from the opportunity of starting off from above the shoulders of
the educator. Furthermore, the work of the educator would be excelled if it motivates
the student to study the great works of literature, philosophy, history and science in
which men and women through the ages have revealed their greatest aspirations and
achievements. The expertise of the educator lies in examining carefully all the
classroom constraints in order to create the appropriate pedagogical techniques that
would maximize the learning process. An attitude of empathy towards the hard work
involved in learning would encourage the student to take the challenges offered by the
educator who would be able to strike the right balance if the effort is made to know
the student inside-out on all levels. It will here be suggested that the fundamental
attitude that is conducive to a paramount learning experience is love, when the
educator extends her/himself to connect with the student.
Department of Physics
University of Malta
Seminar schedule for 2008-2009
11
New measures of wind angular dispersion in three
dimensions
By Mr Pierre S. Farrugia
University of Malta
Date: Wednesday, 29th October 2008
Time: 14:30
Place: Room 216 in Mathematics and Physics building
Abstract: Wind is a 3D vector quantity. However, it is frequently found that the
vertical component is much smaller in magnitude than the horizontal ones and acts
over shorter distances so that its effect is considered negligible. As a result of this,
wind is often treated as a two dimensional circular variable. In fact, most of the
statistical treatment used to derive the wind angular dispersion, a parameter that is
very important in determining the rate of diffusion of pollutants, is based on this
assumption. Nevertheless, the reduction of a dimension might not always be justified.
A case in point occurs when considering air flow in a street canyon whereby all three
directions of air flow can be significant. In such a situation, a 3D measure of angular
dispersion would be much more appropriate. For this reason, this work concentrates
on establishing consistent 3D measures of angular dispersion. Thus a detailed
geometric analysis of an existing and widely used measure of 3D angular dispersion
was carried out. This showed that this measure accounts for dispersion mainly along
one direction. In order to improve on this, a new set of measures for angular
dispersion that account for all three directions is derived using some recently
proposed measures of angular dispersion. It is also shown that these new measures
can be further extended to any dimension.
Department of Physics
University of Malta