About science in layman’s terms Meeting with the winners of the competition for a popular science article
The "About science in layman’s terms" competition is a great opportunity to test your skills related to the popularization of science. It was attended by students, scientists and doctoral students of the Silesian University of Technology, as well as - for the third time - students of the Academic Secondary Comprehensive Schools of the Silesian University of Technology. On February 2, a meeting with the winners of the competition was held.
The winner of the 6th edition of the project was MSc Eng. Aleksandra Mikulikova, PhD student at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. In her article, she described ways to slim down ... the structure. We are talking about topological optimization, i.e. a computational method that enables the distribution of material in the design space for a specific set of constraints. Such "engineering slimming" can apply to various items, including those that we use every day, such as a stroller, scooter, chair.
The second place went to Szymon Adamski, a student of the Faculty of Applied Mathematics, who shared his knowledge about cellular automata. According to the author, this is an issue on the borderline of mathematics and board games, which is why in the article "Simulation of life on the board? On cellular automata” we will find the rules of the game, as well as historical contexts related to such scientists as Stanisław Ulam, Jon von Neumann and Stephen Wolfram.
Jesica Ponichtera, a student of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, wrote about the similarities between the human brain and the computer in the article "How a computer reads minds". The author took third place in the competition "About science in layman’s terms". In her competition work, she reached for topics in neuroinformatics.
Not only employees, students or doctoral students can share inspiring topics that popularize selected areas of science. For three years, a special edition of the competition has also been organized, i.e. "About science in layman’s terms - ALO miniatures", addressed to students of Academic Secondary Comprehensive Schools of the Silesian University of Technology. Secondary school students participating in the competition passionately describe issues from the fields of interest to them. The edition for secondary school students was won by Agata Krupa, who in her article "Put on chemical glasses and feel the smells" shared her knowledge of the chemistry of smell. The second place went to Wiktoria Stolarczyk, the author of the article "Physical Zombie", who referred to the experiment of the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger. In turn, Aleksandra Szewczuk wrote about animal behaviour. In the article "How to communicate with a quadruped" she drew attention to the communication and relationship between dogs and their owners.
The awards to the winners of the competition were presented by the Vice-Rector for Infrastructure and Promotion, dr hab. Eng. Tomasz Trawiński, prof. SUT, and Vice-Rector for General Affairs prof. dr hab. Eng. Bogusław Łazarz. The meeting was attended by the director of the Centre for the Popularization of Science, dr hab. Aleksandra Ziembińska-Buczyńska, prof. SUT, director of the Academic Secondary Comprehensive School in Gliwice, dr Małgorzata Borysławska and dr Aleksandra Chrupała.
