Success of scientists from the Silesian University of Technology in the 12th edition of the LIDER competition
Aleksandra Kozłowska, PhD, from the Department of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials and Michał Frątczak, PhD from the Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science of the Silesian University of Technology won the LIDER competition. The programme is organized by the National Center for Research and Development.
Aleksandra Kozłowska, PhD, received funding of nearly PLN 1.2 million for the project 'Innovative technology of heat and thermo-plastic treatment for ultra fine-grained high-strength forgings from multiphase steels'. The project will be implemented in the years 2022-2024, while Michał Frątczak, PhD, has been awarded less than PLN 1.5 million for "Development of an autonomous control system for heat generation and distribution processes ensuring improvement of energy efficiency and production output".
- As part of my project, innovative heat and thermo-plastic treatment technologies will be developed, which will make it possible to produce economical forgings characterised by high strength, impact resistance and resistance to cracking under static, dynamic and fatigue loading conditions. The developed solutions will find application in the production of forgings for the automotive and engineering industries, which constitute the largest group of customers for drop forgings - says Aleksandra Kozłowska, PhD.
In turn, the main result of the project of Michał Frątczak, PhD, will be an autonomous control system designed for direct use in industrial process control systems. - This solution will improve the energy efficiency of technological processes and will be an example of transfer of research results to the economy - says Michał Frątczak.
- The possibility of implementing the project is of great importance to me from the point of view of scientific development, practical use of knowledge and research skills. The greatest satisfaction for a young scientist is the possibility of conducting complex scientific research from the development of an idea to the development of new technologies with implementation potential in industry. Implementation of the project also allows gaining valuable experience in managing a research team, which is particularly important in the context of career development. Thanks to the funds granted, it will be possible to purchase modern research equipment, research materials and to finance participation in specialized trainings - says Aleksandra Kozłowska, PhD.
- Thanks to funding from the National Center for Research and Development, I will be able to put more emphasis on research. A large part of the funding I received, will be allocated to the purchase of equipment on which research will be carried out as part of the project, funding for participation in scientific conferences, fairs in order to advertise our product. Funds are also planned for articles in trade and scientific journals - says Michał Frątczak, PhD.
The LIDER programme is aimed at young scientists. Its goal is to increase the competences of young scientists in independent planning of research works and managing their own research team during the implementation of research projects, the results of which may have practical application and implementation potential. Under the 12th edition of the competition, approx. 290 applications were submitted, 56 projects were financed, including 2 by scientists from the Silesian University of Technology.
Aleksandra Kozłowska, PhD, performs her daily research in the Department of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials in a team led by professor Adam Grajcar. Aleksandra Kozłowska's scientific interests focus mainly on issues related to modern high-strength steels for the automotive industry AHSS (Advanced High Strength Steels). Her work concerns the relationship between the chemical composition, microstructure and mechanical properties in multiphase steels of the TRIP (Transformation Induced Plasticity) type. Steels of this type are used for energy-consuming elements of passenger cars.
Michał Frątczak, PhD, defended his doctoral dissertation "Modelling and control of plate heat exchangers" in 2018 with distinction at the Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science of the Silesian University of Technology. He is currently employed as an assistant professor. His scientific interests include issues related to synthesis, analysis and practical implementation of advanced adaptive process control systems. He also deals with PLC programming, distributed systems issues and the use of virtual start-up technique for optimisation of process control systems.
