Inauguration of PROTEAS Solar Research Facility

Transcription

1 NEWSLETTER ISSN Issue 9 Inauguration of PROTEAS Solar Research Facility

2 Contents In Focus 3 Updates 4-6 Research 7-9 Feature Highlights Community Opinion 16 Updates Cypriot Antiquities in Foreign Museums and the Andreas Pittas Registry Project 4 In Focus Inauguration of PROTEAS Solar Energy Research Facility 3 Research New Study Shows Air Pollution Could Claim 6.6 million Lives per year by

3 In Focus President N. Anastasiades and EU Commissioner C. Moedas unveil the Inaugural Plaque at the PROTEAS facility Inauguration of Solar Energy Research Facility PROTEAS The Cyprus Institute s (CyI) Platform for Research, Observation and Technological Applications in Solar energy PROTEAS in Pentakomo was inaugurated by the President of the Republic, Mr. Nicos Anastasiades in the presence of the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Mr. Carlos Moedas. The ceremony was addressed by Prof. Dan-Olof Riska, Chair of the Board of Trustees of CyI, Dr. Andreas Pittas, Chair of CyI Board s Executive Committee and Mr. George Georghiou, Permanent Secretary, Directorate General for European Programmes, Coordination & Development Office, Republic of Cyprus. Prof. Costas Papanicolas, President of The Cyprus Institute, presented the technical specifications of the PROTEAS facility and its related research projects on the cogeneration of electricity and desalinated water using solar energy. The Inauguration Ceremony was attended by the former President of the Republic, Mr. George Vassiliou, the former EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Mrs Androulla Vassiliou, the Minister of Education, Prof. Costas Kadis, ambassadors and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions, members of the parliament, representatives of political parties, government and civic officials and distinguished personalities from the scientific and business world. 3

4 Updates Cypriot Antiquities in Foreign Museums and the Andreas Pittas Registry Project The Cyprus Institute is carrying out a project for the digital documentation and promotion of Cypriot antiquities in foreign museums in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities and the support of Dr. Andreas Pittas. Led by Professor Vassos Karageorghis, the project concerns the creation of a digital database that will register all Collections of Cypriot antiquities in foreign museums and make them available to scholars and interested members of the general public. The Andreas Pittas Registry project is the first step of a broader collaborative effort that will pursue and foster collaborations with as many museums of the world as possible, and is expected to help students of Cypriot archaeology to gain a first acquaintance with the ancient art of Cyprus. The project was presented during a public lecture with the title Cypriot Antiquities in Foreign Museums and the Andreas Pittas Registry Project. Front view of 3D model of the serpentine feline head figurine found at the prehistoric site of Shillourokampos, Cyprus Professor Vassos Karageorghis, the main speaker of the event and the project leader, discussed the digitization of Cypriot antiquities in foreign museums, explained that this is the first step of a larger effort aiming to highlight the cultural heritage of Cyprus. The event was also addressed by the Director of the Department of Antiquities, Dr. Marina Solomidou-Ieronymidou. The lecture concluded with the first public presentation of the Andreas Pittas Registry digital database and its technological capabilities.the project is part of Dioptra, the Edmée Leventis Digital Library for Cypriot Culture at CyI. Dr. Andreas Pittas addressing the attendees at the event 4

5 Updates A quest for digitally restoring the Salamis Terracotta Statues Salamis, an ancient city on the Famagusta coast of Cyprus, was one of the richest and most influential urban centers in the Eastern Mediterranean. As such, its archaeological remains are enriching many museums around the world following extensive excavations by various foreign missions during the colonial period of the island. Many of these missions set-up industrial scale enterprises to transport large numbers of artefacts overseas which depleted the island from much of its tangible heritage. Today, one may find them in museums such as the British museum, the Fitzwilliam museum, the Ashmolean museum and many others across Europe. Dr. Vassos Karageorghis, former Director of Antiquities and now Adjunct Professor at The Cyprus Institute, was for several decades the main archaeologist excavating at Salamis. In 2013 he raised a challenging question: Would it be possible to digitally reunify some of the terracotta fragments of Salamis s statues, which are currently dispersed between Cyprus and the UK? An attempt to answer this question will be made in the framework of GRAVITATE, an EU project in which CyI is a partner. The second plenary meeting of the project GRAVITATE was hosted by CyI at its premises. The project aims to create a set of software tools that will allow archaeologists and curators to reconstruct shattered or broken cultural objects, to identify and reunify parts of cultural objects that have been separated across collections, and to recognise associations between cultural artefacts that will allow new knowledge and understanding of past societies to be inferred. A terracotta figurine (right) and its scanned 3D model (left). Participants of the GRAVITATE project meeting during their visit at the Archaeological Museum in Nicosia 5

6 Updates A comprehensive, cost-effective system for Net Zero Energy settlements The Cyprus Institute is a partner in ZERO-PLUS, an EU H2020 project in which a comprehensive, cost-effective system for Net Zero Energy (NZE) settlements will be developed and implemented. As part of the project, four settlements of diverse characteristics will be built in different geographic locations. The settlements will be constructed in Peyia (Cyprus), Grenoble (France), York (UK) and Bologna (Italy). The case studies were selected to include varying local climates, cultures and user behaviours in order to facilitate the transfer of experience and knowledge. The results of their implementation will be monitored, analyzed and disseminated and a comprehensive market analysis and business plan will support the commercial exploitation of the project s results. The project will be carried out by a consortium that includes universities, project owners, technology providers and organizations who will closely collaborate in all the project s phases. CyI in cooperation with the Vasiliou Construction Group will work on applying the principles of zero-energy buildings to a new residential settlement planned in Peyia, Paphos. Attendees of the ZERO-PLUS meeting at the CyI premises in Nicosia Architectural rendering of the proposed zero-energy residences 6

7 Research 1 Million Horizon 2020 TWINNING grant awarded for Networking in Solar Thermal Energy Research CyI has been awarded a 3-year, 1 Million Horizon 2020 TWINNING grant for the NESTER project to promote networking activities in the field of Solar Thermal Energy research. The project aims to upgrade the scientific and innovation performance of CyI in the field of Solar- Thermal Energy (STE). This upgrade will be achieved by embedding the Institute s activities in a network of excellence, which will provide access to the latest know-how and facilities, train CyI s scientific and technical personnel and link it with the European Industry. The NESTER network comprises of four leading institutions in the field of solar energy research (CIEMAT, ENEA, PROMES/CNRS and RWTH Aachen). They possess a formidable know-how in this field and operate some of the most important facilities, worldwide. The resulting enhanced capabilities and status of CyI would in turn reflect positively on developing the knowledge economy of Cyprus. It will also enhance the positioning of Cyprus as an important player in applied scientific research at the interface of the European and Middle East-North Africa regions. A number of activities are proposed in a detailed program which includes training and knowhow transfer, seminars and networking events with European and Eastern Mediterranean-Middle East partners, summer school activities, public outreach, and awareness and networking events. It is designed to ensure sustainability, evolution and continuation of the activities including the cooperation among the partners well beyond the expiration of the three-year funding period. The activity at the CyI s PROTEAS facility will be embedded in an EU network of excellence 7

8 Research Air pollution could claim 6.6 million lives per year by 2050, double the current rate Every year 3.3 million people die prematurely from the effects of air pollution worldwide - a figure that could double by 2050 if emissions continue to rise at the current rate. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by a team of researchers at CyI and the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany (MPIC). Surprisingly, the largest sources of air pollution are not industry and transport but small domestic fires and agriculture. Exposure to air pollution is particularly acute in Asia, especially in China and India, where three-quarters of the world s pollutionrelated deaths occur. In the September 17, 2015 issue of the journal Nature, a team headed by Johannes Lelieveld, Director of MPIC and CyI Professor, reported that 1.4 million people per year in China and 650,000 people in India die every year as a consequence of air pollution. In the EU, exposure to fine particles and ozone claims 180,000 lives a year, including 35,000 in Germany. In many countries, air pollution accounts for roughly ten-times more deaths than road accidents. Prof. Lelieveld, and his group for Atmospheric and Climate Modelling at CyI and other collaborators in the USA, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia investigated for the first time how mortality rates are affected by various emission sources, such as industry, transport, agriculture, fossil fuelfired power plants, as well as domestic energy use. The latter category includes diesel generators, small stoves and smoky open wood fires, which many people in Asia use for heating and cooking. They also calculated the mortality rates in individual countries and the proportion of deaths due to various causes, which can support policy making. Lelieveld s team focused on the most critical air pollutants, namely fine particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres and ozone. They used a global atmospheric chemistry model to calculate the concentrations of pollutants and to provide data for locations that are not monitored by air quality measurements. They then combined the results with epidemiological data. These data are not representative of many megacities in Asia, where air pollution is much higher than in European and American cities and the team used a refined method to determine the impact of extreme smog in those locations. The color scale represents the increase in deaths due to an expected stronger air pollution: white - no increase; red deaths more per year. Credit: Nature, Lelieveld et al. 8

9 Research CyI Research Campaign Measures Black Carbon Concentration in Athens Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles A team of CyI aerosol specialists led by Prof Jean Sciare participated in an experiment administered by the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), and aimed at monitoring the vertical distribution profile of Black Carbon (BC) in Athens, Greece. BC is an aerosol component that has been identified as enhancing climate change and causing adverse health effects. Small domestic fires primarily in fireplaces, have been blamed for a surprising rise in the concentration of BC during nighttime in urban areas. The problem is especially acute in countries affected by the recent financial crisis, where fossil fuel is being replaced by biomass as the heating fuel of choice due to its low cost. The CyI group monitored the BC vertical distribution using a suite of portable, prototype and commercially available aethalometers (instruments that measure BC). The instruments were mounted to a small fleet of multicopters, a type of unmanned aerial vehicles, allowing for measurements from the ground level up to 1 km. Passenger aircrafts, typically used for this type of vertical BC measurements, are restricted from flying in cities at such low altitudes, and other methods used for deriving aerosol vertical distributions (e.g. LIDAR) fail to provide accurate results below 200 m. This technology is a novel way to bridge the gap among currently available techniques. During the campaign a number of prototype aethalometers were used, most of which will become commercially available in the near future, and results were compared against ground-based methods to evaluate their robustness under realistic conditions. The results will be presented within the framework of the Horizon 2020 ACTRIS 2 project, a prestigious European consortium tasked with the integration of European ground-based stations monitoring aerosols, clouds, and short-lived gas-phase species. A multicopter used in the campaign to measure atmospheric black Carbon concentration near the Acropolis in Athens The CyI team participating in the research campaign 9

10 Feature PROTEAS: CyI s Platform for Research, Observation and Technological Applications in Solar Energy The PROTEAS Facility is located in Pentakomo, just outside the city of Limassol and is one of the most complete research and development facilities in Cyprus devoted to solar thermal energy systems. The facility uniquely combines ideal environmental conditions with a seaside environment for research, development and testing of technologies related to Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), Solar Thermal Energy (STE) and thermal Desalination of Sea Water (DSW). Harvesting of the solar radiation is accomplished by the use of heliostats, special mirror assemblies that track the sun and redirect its radiation onto a fixed receiver. Each heliostat employed at CyI has a five square meter curved mirror and the facility currently consists of a field of 50 heliostats with a total reflective area of 250 square meters, concentrating the sun s light more than 800 times on a point, and delivering a peak power of 150 kilo-watts of thermal energy. The field of heliostats yields the intensity of 2500 suns, with is capable of reaching temperatures in excess of 1000 C. Sunlight is converted into heat and stored for later use, so solar energy can be used anytime, in the evening or on cloudy days. At CyI it will be used for the co-generation of electricity and desalinated seawater. The field layout efficiently utilizes the hilly terrain with a high-density placement of heliostats. The heliostats are designed by CSIRO, Australia and built in collaboration with CyI. A 18m tall tower with multiple experimental stations is available for the central receiver placement and continuous monitoring of environmental conditions is carried out via a fully automated weather station. EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation C. Moedas (right) with CyI s S. Styliaris in the PROTEAS control room 10

11 Feature This versatile facility complements the research carried out at CyI s Athalassa campus, providing a test-bed for testing under realistic conditions experiments developed through The Cyprus Institute s various research activities. Additionally, in the spirit of collaboration the facility is open to the international scientific community on a merit based priority scheme. In the future, research activities will be broadened to include other aspects of solar thermal energy, such as linear Fresnel or parabolic trough collector systems, as well as understanding the long-term behavior of components in the harsh-environmental conditions and field testing of applications for the urban built environment. The Adopt a Heliostat Initiative In an effort to promote Green Energy and environmental awareness CyI has launched the Adopt a Heliostat initiative which invites individuals, companies and organizations to become shareholders in solar energy research, by adopting the heliostats placed at the PROTEAS Facility. All proceeds will go towards supporting research in pioneering solar technologies. The sponsorship is a meaningful way to contribute towards social responsibility and will help advance the promotion of renewable energy sources and environmental research. So far fifteen organisations and individuals have answered our call and became sponsors. These include Medochemie, RCB Bank, Alpha Bank, Bank of Cyprus, CDB Bank,Hellenic Bank, IBM Cyprus, Royal Crown Insurance, Muskita Aluminium Industries,Vestafin Construction& Development Ltd, Chr. Mavromatis pumps, NUAOVA STEIM Italy, Μedcon Constructions Ltd, George and Androulla Vassiliou, Edmee Leventis in memory of Dinos Leventis, Crown Plaza Limassol. CyI expresses its gratitude to all sponsors. Their participation in this initiative highlights their commitment to support pioneering programs and activities that address environmental issues. 11

12 Highlights Visit by the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy A delegation from the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) recently visited CyI s premises in Nicosia. The EU Parliamentarians were briefed on the innovative scientific activities carried out at the Institute, especially in the field of Renewable Energy Resources and Solar Energy Technologies. The visit to CyI coincided with the Committee s official visit to Cyprus. The members of the ITRE Committee took particular interest in the Institute s Research in Solar Energy as well as on the work in the field of High Performance Computing. The delegates were impressed by the activities carried out at CyI and by the level of research and expertise cultivated. They also praised the Institute s attempts to bridge Europe and the neighboring Eastern Mediterranean countries. The delegation of the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy during their visit to CyI The delegation also visited the PROTEAS facility, CyI s pioneering research infrastructure for Solar Thermal Energy and Desalination research. The delegation, chaired by Ms. Martina Werner, included Mr. Werner Langen, Mr. Miroslav Poche, Ms. Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, Ms. Cornelia Ernst, Ms. Barbara Kappel, Mr. Béla Kovács and Cypriot Member of ITRE, Mr. Neocles Sylikiotis. CyI team wins Stelios Bicommunal Business Award The CyI team of Agapios Agapiou (left), Hakan Djuma (center), and Marios Georgiou (right) at the awards ceremony At an official ceremony at the Bi - Communal Café of the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation in old Nicosia, the CyI team of Marios C. Georgiou (PhD student), Agapios Agapiou (Technical instrument Developer), and Hakan Djuma, (PhD student), were presented with a Stelios bicommunal award. The awards were launched seven years ago by the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation and funded by Easy Jet founder Sir Stelios Haji-ioannou with the aim of promoting business projects shared between Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot entrepreneurs. A total of 31 awards were presented to the winners by Sir Stelios in person for building Cypriot bi-communal cooperation in the areas of business, arts, sport, life, music and sciences with each winner receiving 10,000. The innovative business proposal of the CyI team is a solar bicycle taxi with a driver and two passengers using an integrated hybrid system of photovoltaics and manpower for pedalling. The BiCy taxi will be able to cross the green line from Ledra Street (as it will be registered as a bike and not a car). Wireless internet and GPS will be installed to provide the possibility to track the bike and also to provide information regarding monuments and sight-seeing within the walls of Nicosia. The BiCy is expected to be the first bicommunal vehicle participating in the next Solar Challenge that will be organized by CyI in summer

13 Highlights Hubert Curien Memorial Lecture 2015 The Future of Economic Growth The future of economic growth and the common issues of economic development were analyzed by Daniel Cohen, Professor of Economics at the École Normale Supérieure and Université de Paris-I and at the École d économie de Paris, during the «Hubert Curien Memorial Lecture 2015». Prof. Cohen explained the relationship of technology to the different development models and its effect on the labor market and the relevant economic challenges. Prof. Cohen is a member of the Council of Economic Analysis of the French Prime Minister as well as a senior advisor to the bank Lazard. The event was attended by state and civic officials, ambassadors, and distinguished personalities from the scientific and business world. Prof. Daniel Cohen Scientific Day, in honor of Prof. Edouard Brézin A Scientific Day was organized by The Cyprus Institute to honor Prof. Edouard Brézin on the completion of two terms ( ) as Chair of the Board of the Cyprus Research and Educational Foundation (CREF). Edouard Brézin is a renowned theoretical physicist, an Emeritus Professor at the Pierre and Marie Curie University and member of the Theoretical Physics Laboratory at École Normale Supérieure (ENS). He was elected as a member of the French National Academy of Sciences in 1991 and served as its President from 2004 to He is the recipient of many distinctions and awards, both from the US and many European Academies, including the Dirac Medal in 2011 for his scientific contributions to theoretical physics. In December 2012, the President of the Republic of Cyprus presented Prof. Brézin with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Cyprus Prof. Edouard Brézin for his contributions to science, technology and education in Cyprus and the wider region. In January 2013 he was named Commander of the French Legion of Honor, one of the highest distinctions of the French Republic. Edouard Brézin is now serving as the Chair of CREF-CyI s Scientific Advisory Council. The program comprised of five sessions on the topics E. Brézin s contribution to The Cyprus Institute, Fundamental Physics, Climate Change in the Middle East and North Africa, Scientists in the Quest of Peace and Europe at Crossroads: Perspectives of Southern Europeans and Academics. 13

14 Community New Vice President for Research and new Director for the Energy, Environment and Water Research Center Prof. Euripides Stephanou assumed his duties as the new Vice President for Research in October He received his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Zurich and has been a Professor of Environmental Organic Chemistry at the University of Crete where he served as Rector ( ), Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering ( ) and Chairman of the Department of Chemistry ( ). His research focuses on the study of Atmospheric Aerosols, the Biogeochemical Cycles of Organic Pollutant, and the study of Human Exposure to Toxic Contaminants. He is the author and co-author of more than 110 peer-reviewed papers and has served as editor in a number of leading international scientific journals. Prof. Jean Sciare is the new Director of the Energy Environment and Water Research Center (EEWRC) as of September He received his PhD in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics from Paris VII University in 2000 and following a post-doctoral position at the Max Planck Institute of Chemistry in Mainz (Germany) he joined CNRS eventually becaming CNRS Research Director in 2013, leading the Atmospheric chemistry group at LSCE from mid-2012 to mid Prof. Jean Sciare is (co-)author of about 100 international refereed publications and more than 150 presentations at international conferences devoted to atmospheric chemistry and physics. His main expertise covers the experimental characterization of atmospheric aerosols and addressing issues related to their impacts on air quality, health and climate. Six new Members for the CyI Board of Trustees Prof. Michael Cates is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics and a world leading theoretical physicist at the University of Cambridge where he heads the Soft Matter research group. He holds a PhD in physics from Trinity College, University of Cambridge. Dr Günay çerkez is an Electrical Engineer and Businessman. He served as President of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce and is currently an active member of the Chamber. He obtained his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Brunel University in the UK. Dr Janez Potočnik is a Slovenian politician currently serving as co-chair of the UN International Resource Panel. He was previously European Commissioner for the Environment, and European Commissioner for Science and Research. He has also served as Slovenia s Minister for European Affairs. He received his PhD in Economics from the University of Ljubljana. Ms Egly Pantelakis is the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus. She previously served as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment. She studied Economics at the London School of Economics and holds a Master s degree from City College, London. Prof. Wajih Owais is a senator in the Jordanian Senate who previously served as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. He was Professor of Genetics, researcher, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of King Abdullah University Hospital, and President of Jordan University of Science and Technology. He obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from Washington State University. Prof. Harold Varmus is a Nobel laureate and the Lewis Thomas University Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, and a Senior Associate at the New York Genome Center. He has previously served as Director of both the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, and as President of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He received his MD degree from Columbia 14

15 Community CyI awarded the Certification of Employer of Gender Equality At an official ceremony CyI was awarded the certification of Employer of Gender Equality from the Ministry of Labor, Welfare and Social Insurance. Dr. Michalis Yiangou, Associate Vice President of Operations, received the certification from the Minister of Labor, Welfare and Social Insurance of the Republic of Cyprus, Ms. Zeta Emilianidou. Following an open invitation by the Ministry of Labor, Welfare and Social Insurance CyI applied for the specific certification. The Institute went thorough an assessment of its HR practices and working conditions. The final stage of the assessment included an on site visit by officers of the Ministry of Labor. The aim of the assessment was to evaluate whether the Institute provides a workplace that foster fairness and gender equality through its environment and practices. (From left to right) CyI s Michalis Yiangou. Ms. Zeta Emilianidou, Minister of Labor, Welfare and Social Insurance. Mr. Andreas Assiotis, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance CyI receives award for its pioneering research in the Renewable Energy Resources During the 5th Environmental Awards, organized by Green Dot Cyprus in cooperation with IMH and IN Business, The Cyprus Institute was granted the award in the category Renewable Energy Resources for its pioneering research in the Field of the Renewable Energy Resources and especially Solar Energy. The Awards strive to reward and promote forward-thinking businesses and organizations that create environmentally friendly products or services, and recognize revolutionary plans and proposals that foster practices that promote the protection of the environment. The candidates were selected by an Evaluation Committee, which consists of people who are actively involved in the protection of the environment and the promotion of green practices. The award constitutes yet another recognition for the successful research work being carried out at CyI in this very important research area. CyI s Nic Jarrand at the award ceremony with Green Dot Chairman Kyriacos Parpounas 15

16 Opinion Cyprus and The Cyprus Institute, Leaders in Securing Competitive EU Research Funding In late January 2016 the official evaluation of the 7th Framework Program (FP7), the EU s research funding program for 2007 to 2013, was released by the European Commission. The main findings, based on a report by an independent group of high level experts, reveal that FP7 was effective in boosting scientific excellence and strengthening Europe s industrial innovation and competitiveness, contributing to growth and jobs in Europe. The evaluation report utilizes a number of indicators to assess the performance of the 28 EU Member States (EU28). In absolute numbers, Germany and the United Kingdom were the leaders in acquiring FP7 competitive funding in the range of 7 billion each, followed by France with approximately 5 billion. Cyprus was in the 22nd position, with a total funding of 93 million. However, when the total FP7 funding is normalised per researcher per year, Cyprus had the best performance compared to all 28 EU member states. In fact, Cyprus with an average per researcher per year was by far the best performer whereas the second best, the Netherlands, averaged 8,194. The Cyprus Institute became fully operational after FP7 was launched. Despite this, it had outstanding success in securing FP7 funding and has uniquely contributed to Cyprus achievements mentioned above. The average annual FP7 funding per researcher at The Cyprus Institute amounts to , which is three times the Cyprus average, and more than twelve times the EU28 average ( 3.642). In this regard, Cyprus and The Cyprus Institute have been leaders in securing competitive EU FP7 funds among all EU member states. These impressive numbers demonstrate the great recent success of The Cyprus Institute in securing competitive funds and they are a concrete indication of its potential for further success in the current EU funding program, Horizon Indeed, during the first two years of the Horizon 2020 programme, The Cyprus Institute has secured funding in excess of 6 million, with an even better average per researcher amounting to group_report.pdf 20 Konstantinou Kavafi Street, 2121, Aglantzia, Nicosia, Cyprus Tel , Fax [email protected] 16