The Energy Week at the Silesian University of Technology is behind us
At the Silesian University of Technology, from 25th November to 1st December, the Energy Week took place. The event was organized as part of the European City of Science Katowice 2024.
The Energy Week was devoted to many aspects of the generation and storage of various forms of energy.
Energy drives life and everything around us. Thanks to it, we can function as people, as societies, as nations. If there were no energy in any way, whether the human body or in the country, we would immediately feel it - said Dr Eng. Krzysztof Rusin, one of the coordinators of the event.
During the Energy Week, visits to numerous laboratories of modern energy technologies, discussion panels and lecture sessions have been planned.
Monday’s activities began in the Euro-Centrum in Katowice, where the workshop on “How to fight for clean air” was planned. At the Faculty of Chemistry of the Silesian University of Technology, the Open Day of Laboratories was held.
“Events like Energy Week are a great opportunity to infect people with science. It’s important to learn throughout your life, from a preschooler to a senior, because learning opens your mind and indicates which paths to choose in your life. It is also an interesting alternative to spending free time - emphasized Dr Eng. Dawid Lisicki from the Department of Chemical Organic Technology and Petrochemistry.
Laboratories at the Faculty of Chemistry were visited by preschoolers and pupils of secondary and primary schools.
- During the workshops, children learned what thermal energy is, how it is released during the dissolution of various substances - says Dr Eng. Adam Marek from the Department of Chemical Organic Technology and Petrochemistry. – Such practical classes for students are very interesting because in schools they do not have the opportunity to carry out such chemical experiments. I hope that today’s workshops will arouse their curiosity and interest in chemistry – added Dr Eng. Adam Marek.
On Monday afternoon at the Biotechnology Centre workshops took place: Mitochondria - energy cell factories.
During the lecture we presented issues related to cellular metabolism – that is, cells as bioreactors, as energy centres that produce the necessary energy. Then in biological laboratories, participants in cell cultures could see how to actually find these mitochondria. We showed how to do simple tests that will show us whether the cell is in good condition and whether it can produce energy or, unfortunately, is damaged in some way - said Dr Hab. Med. Magdalena Skonieczna, Prof. SUT.
On Tuesday at the Academy of Physical Education in Katowice there was a lecture and workshop "Calories not equal", prepared by Dr Grzegorz Zydek. The lecture concerned the energy balance of the body and the specific properties of energy components of our diet. After the lecture, there was a unique opportunity to use the specialized equipment of the Laboratory of Strength and Muscle Power of the Institute of Sport Sciences of the Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, which supports the training of professional athletes on a daily basis. During the workshops, it was possible to perform an analysis of one’s own body composition together with the interpretation of results and tips on how to improve it, perform measurements of strength and power of the lower limbs and functional diagnostics.
About 200 students took part in the third day of the Energy Week. This time the participants visited the laboratories and walls of the Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering and the Centre of New Technologies of the Silesian University of Technology.
- As part of the Energy Week, participants took part in the Open Day of Laboratories of the Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering of the Silesian University of Technology. We were visited by about 200 pupils from four secondary schools. During the whole day, they had the opportunity to get acquainted with the latest technologies and interesting physical phenomena. They had the opportunity to see, among others, how the jet engine works, or how shock waves are created. There were a lot of these events – explains Dr Eng. Krzysztof Rusin, curator of the Energy Week.
Pupils also had the opportunity to listen to lectures, including “Life cycle thinking in higher education” presented by Dr Eng. Szymon Sobka or “Hydrogen Energy,” which was presented by Dr Eng. Michał Jurczyk, curator of the Energy Week.
- I presented the participants with issues related to hydrogen energy, including how hydrogen is produced in the process of electrolysis and how it can be used in the energy and transport sectors. In the case of hydrogen, we have the biggest problem with its storage and transmission, which is why I also told what technologies are used for this - said Dr Eng. Michal Jurczyk.
The opportunity to walk along the corridors of our University buildings, observe the work of scientists, as well as learn about various devices, made a big impression on the youth. Scientists of the Silesian University of Technology tried to provide interesting information to students, but also to stimulate to discover new issues related to the topic of the Energy Week.
- We have prepared a workshop for young people "Zero-waste energy", during which we presented waste from professional energy, mainly from burning coal, with the possibility of using in concrete as a substitute for binder or aggregate, depending on the waste. We also raised the issue that waste can be an energy carrier – we can recover electricity and heat from it, depending on the needs – explains Dr Eng. Monika Czop, Prof. SUT.
On the fourth day of the Energy Week, a competition was held for future engineers and engineers. Twenty teams of secondary school pupils took part in the competition. The participants had to demonstrate knowledge of the exact subjects.
- The issues covered both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. They were assessed by a special jury composed of experts from the Silesian University of Technology and representatives of the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis – said Dr Eng. Krzysztof Rusin, curator of the Energy Week in the European City of Science Katowice 2024.
Before the youth started the competition, they listened to the lecture of Dr Hab.Eng. Łukasz Bartela, Prof. SUT. He spoke about the energy transition in Poland and the region and raised many issues related to climate policy. The scientist talked about the role of mature energy technologies and the potential of emerging technologies. He stressed the need for technological diversification both in the area of energy generation and storage. The basic features of the technology, including limitations in their large-scale implementation, were discussed. The lecture was a kind of introduction to the tasks that future engineers were supposed to take care of during the competition.
- We wanted to check. ourselves. Perhaps in the future we will take physics at the matriculation, and such a competition is a good chance to verify knowledge – admitted Piotr Szostek, one of the participants from the Silesian Technical Educational Centre in Katowice.
As part of the celebration of Energy Week, on 28 November, an international scientific conference took place. It was the 2nd International Academic Conference "Energy justice & energy transition", which took place within the walls of the University of Economics in Katowice.
On Friday, the Energy Transition Symposium was held at the Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering of the Silesian University of Technology.
The participants discussed the goals of the energy transition and the planned ways of achieving them, the storage of energy underground and the impact of post-mining infrastructure on the development of regions undergoing economic transformation. The symposium was a series of lectures, prepared by scientists of the Silesian University of Technology.
- These were three presentations prepared by scientists representing their generation, from professor to doctoral student. The first speaker was prof Andrzej Rusin, who talked about the current energy situation in Poland. The second presentation was prepared by our younger colleague prof Marcin Lutyński and it concerned energy storage in post-mine shafts. The third speaker was PhD student Konrad Kołodziej, who raised the issue of using post-mine infrastructure for energy transformation - said the lecturer Prof. Sławomir Dykas.
The first paper entitled „Energy transformation – from utopia to implementation" was delivered by prof Andrzej Rusin from the Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering.
"Many proposals, opinions or studies on the energy transition, in my opinion, contain utopian content. They look beautiful on paper, but they are impossible to implement in practice. However, if we were to implement them, it could lead to a drama for the Polish economy and simply a lack of energy. Therefore, it is necessary to slightly correct these plans and move to realism, that is, to propose the structure of this system so that it is efficient at any moment. This, of course, requires some unpopular moves. Under our conditions, Renewable Energy sources are not enough to provide enough energy. We need to use stable sources, such as nuclear power plants, which we do not have. Therefore, in our case, there is no other solution than to leave some of the coal-burning blocks, at least until other sources of energy are created and started to operate,” said Prof. Andrzej Rusin.
The next lecture entitled "How to store energy under the Earth? was delivered by Prof. Marcin Lutyński from the Department of Geoengineering and Resource Exploitation at the Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation of the Silesian University of Technology.
"The seminar focused mainly on underground energy storage methods such as hydrogen, natural gas, compressed air storage, and prospects and limitations in this area," said Prof. Lutyński.
The scientist also discussed geological structures that are suitable for this purpose and the possibility of using post-mining infrastructure.
The Symposium of Energy Transformation ended with a lecture by PhD student Konrad Kołodziej from the Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering, and Industrial Automation on the subject of post-mining infrastructure in municipalities.
- My lecture concerned the social consequences of the energy transition and the move away from coal mining. The transformation is necessary, necessary, and certain, but it depends on us what direction we choose and how it will take place – said Konrad Kołodziej.
The recording of the Energy Transformation Symposium can be viewed on the YouTube channel of the European City of Science Katowice 2024: https://youtube.com/live/KlGrg2kUgxU?feature=share.
“Power in Stones, or the secrets of energy resources from coal to uranium” – this event organized as part of the sixth day of the Energy Week and the celebrations of the European City of Science Katowice 2024 attracted those interested to the Silesian University of Technology.
The event was also connected with the Minerals Exchange at the Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering, and Industrial Automation. Many participants wanted to learn the secrets of energy resources and could observe them under a microscope.
- Practically everyone has already met with coal, so this time we wanted to show other energy raw materials, such as brown coal or less used peat, which in the old days served as fuel or building material. Everyone could see it under the microscope. I also prepared for them crude oil and minerals that contain radioactive elements - said the lecturer Dr Eng. Jacek Nowak.
The lecture was attended by Adam Terlikowski, who, together with two children Hania and Frank, are fans of the European City of Science Katowice 2024 and have already participated in many events related to this celebration, including Witches Week and Robots Week.
My children are very happy when we return from these activities. Thanks to the weeks of learning, the passion for learning about the world and science has developed very much in them. Anyway, we try to appear in many other great events offered by the Silesian University of Technology – recalls Adam Terlikowski.
