Uudised

Researchers of the University of Tartu (UT) and Tallinn University of Technology (TUT), together with international partners, received a 5.28 million euro support from the European Union for project GRACE. The aim of the project is to develop a strategic expert system and a decision support system to respond to oil spills in arctic conditions and ice–covered seas.

On 23 February, on the eve of the 98th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves will bestow state decorations to 99 people for their services to the country. Four UT people are among those to receive the award. "The purpose of decorations is to acknowledge Estonian people and our supporters in foreign countries for their determination in their activities and loyalty to principles that modern Estonia relies upon – openness, democracy, knowledge, innovation," wrote President Ilves in the introduction to his resolution.

I am sitting in a law lecture and see the lecturer scroll a legal act to find a section referred to in a particular clause. Suddenly it hits me that there could be a link which would make the life of the lecturer and every other lawyer easier.

Author: Katre Tatrik / ERR Novaator The infection, which usually displays no symptoms, might cause paralysis and women infected during pregnancy might give birth to babies with underdeveloped brains. This is caused by the Zika virus, its spread can currently only be contained with campaigns that warn of mosquitoes and promote safe sex. Can virologists of the University of Tartu find a reasonable way out of the global emergency?

One of the two 40 000 euro research awards for outstanding lifetime achievements in research and development was given to Professor Emeritus Ülo Lepik of the UT Faculty of Science and Technology. Several UT researchers received the 20 000 euro award for best research work.

UT was successful in the call for proposals for centres of excellence in research: Archimedes Foundation made the proposal to fund three centres of excellence which are led by UT researchers. In addition, UT participates as a partner in all other centres of excellence which were successful in this call for proposals.

Funds in the amount of 2.6 million euros were received from the European Research Area (ERA) Chair measure to establish a centre for synthetic biology at the University of Tartu. Dr Petri-Jaan Lahtvee joined the centre to create microbial cell factories for the sustainable production of biochemicals.

The UT digital archive Dspace published the personal archive of Hannes Tammet, Professor emeritus of the University of Tartu. Six collections hold more than a hundred electronic documents, all in all about 700 files, containing academic publications as well as teaching and research materials.

The most skilful combination of photography and science in 2015 was achieved by UT Institute of Chemistry Research Fellow Tavo Romann, who is Estonia’s science photographer of the year and whose winning photo depicts the decomposition of ionic liquid at extreme voltages on a carbon electrode.

The Estonian Academy of Sciences elected three new research professors for the next three years. From the University of Tartu, Lead Research Fellow of Materials Science Kaupo Kukli of the Institute of Physics was elected. The position of research professor, which is elected every three years, enables acknowledged researchers, who lead research work at research and development institutions or the university and supervise doctoral students, to focus on scientific research.

From 25 to 29 January 2016, the first Winter School for the Erasmus Mundus master’s programme Excellence in Analytical Chemistry (EACH) takes place in Pühajärve, where under the supervision of leading European specialists, students practice team work, which is a crucial part of analytical chemistry. Winter School also fills an important role in creating links between analytical chemistry and other fields of research.

On January 16, the University of Tartu Natural History Museum unveils its new permanent exhibition 'Earth. Life. Story' that weaves together geology, zoology, botany and mycology. On the first two days, January 16 and 17, the doors of the Museum are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The renovation costs amounted to more than two million euros, most of which was provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) via the Environmental Investment Centre (EIC).

In January, the semi-finals for the robotics contest FIRST LEGO League, which this season brings together more than 290 000 children from all over the world, will take place in Tartu, Tallinn and Jõhvi. The topic of the contest is Trash Trek and so, from Estonia 74 teams of more than 500 students will explore trash related problems and design innovative solutions as teams.

The first Estonian national atlas will be compiled by the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia at the initiative of the University of Tartu Department of Geography. On the one hand, the unique atlas, first of its kind, is a representative work of the country and, on the other hand, it is a reference book where Estonia’s 100 years of development is presented on old and new maps.

The University of Tartu and SEB Vega fund divided 20 100 euros between four teams for developing knowledge-intensive ideas. The funding helps to develop, for example, an automatic system for measuring blood pressure in real-time and a security system which makes keys and smart cards a thing of the past.

Opening ceremony of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) student branch takes place on Friday, 4 December from 14-16 at the Institute of Technology (Nooruse 1), room 121.

On Tuesday, 1 December, the University of Tartu celebrates the 96th anniversary of the national university with the traditional ceremony, torch-light procession and ball. Two honorary doctorates and 112 doctorates will be conferred at the ceremony and the University of Tartu Contribution to Estonian National Identity award will be presented. The ceremony is broadcasted live on www.uttv.ee.

The Mobility Lab of the University of Tartu Department of Geography participates in the European Union major project SmartEnCity to develop the Tartu city centre area with a Soviet-era planning into a smart city. The project is a “lighthouse project” in the European Union research and innovation framework Horizon 2020 which has inspired other similar initiatives.

During his visit to Tartu, the president, creator and founder of the European Union Science Olympiad (EUSO) Michael Cotter assured that Estonia is ready and capable to organise one of the biggest science contest for pupils of the European Union member states. The vision of the olympiad’s founder Michael Cotter for teaching natural sciences is that it should be integrated. Integrated studies of biology, chemistry and physics helps understand how the different fields are connected and give a broader understanding of what happens in nature and society.

We are glad to announce that the 2016 admission is officially open to the Excellence in Analytical Chemistry (EACH) Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree programme!