Workshop Physics with Industry once again a great success
Last week there was a hive of activity at the Lorentz Center in Leiden, where FOM, Technology Foundation STW and the Lorentz Center organised the workshop Physics with Industry. More than 50 young physicists worked together with researchers from five different companies on five physics problems the participating companies had submitted. The aim of this workshop was to allow young physicists to actively help in solving problems from industry and to let them make acquaintance with industry. The event also gave the companies an opportunity to make contact with talented young physicists. This year saw the third edition of this successful workshop.
The week started with the introduction of the research problems that the companies Janssen Precision Engineering, MicroDish, NXP, PamGene and Shell face. After that the participants immersed themselves in the problems in subgroups. The mixed groups (from PhD to senior scientist) enthusiastically tackled questions such as "How can we electronically measure and regulate the output of LEDs?" or "How can you quickly transport tissue samples in an intact state from the patient to the pathology lab?". The groups were led by a senior academic researcher and a researcher from the company concerned. After four days of intensive work the unique analyses and solutions were presented on the Friday.
The companies were really surprised by the findings the researchers presented after just a few days of brainstorming, discussion, calculations and sometimes measurements. The researchers were highly enthusiastic about this unique opportunity to make acquaintance with industry, to tackle real problems companies face, and to experience how their scientific knowledge could contribute to a solution. The week gave the academics a unique opportunity to see how R&D in industry works. The five companies can now elaborate these new insights further, possibly in collaboration with the new academic contacts they made during the week Physics with Industry.
Further information
The workshop Physics with Industry was organised by the FOM Foundation, Technology Foundation STW and the Lorentz Center. Further information about the workshop and its history as well as reports from previous years can be found at www.fom.nl/pwi. A report about the workshop will shortly be published there as well.
Physics problems
The problems came from the R&D departments of companies and had to satisfy two important criteria: it must be possible to tackle the problem within a period of one week and physics must be able to contribute to solving the problem. The five companies submitted the following cases:
Janssen Precision Engineering (JPE)
Various techniques are available to measure nanometre movements. However, these do not work under cryogenic conditions in a vacuum. JPE has seized the opportunity the workshop provides to come up with a physical concept for a sensor that works under these extreme conditions.
NXP
The colour and luminosity of LEDs can differ per manufacturing batch. NXP is asking the participants to come up with some ideas about the electronic measurement and tuning of the LED output.
MicroDish
Determining the activity of bacteria is a time-consuming process (for example: a tuberculosis test can take several weeks) that is difficult to automate. Together with the physicists MicroDish wants to come up with a biophysical method to rapidly and unequivocally determine whether bacteria are dead or alive.
Pamgene
Tissue samples are used a lot in medical research. The problem that Pamgene wants to tackle with the participants is how the sample can be transferred quickly and intactly (i.e. deep frozen) from the patient to the pathology laboratory.
Shell
In a Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) reaction natural gas is converted into a liquid fuel. Shell challenges participants to devise a model for the physics of water, gas, and reaction products in the nanopores of catalyst particles.