IPFS- INTI IU Team on a collaborative research/working trip to Ankara, Istanbul, Chania, Cairo and Damascus: 2 July-24 July 2010

 

1. Second International Conference on Nuclear and Renewable Energy Resources, Ankara 4-7 July 2010 (NURER 2010)

 

Prof Dr Saw presented an invited paper “The Plasma Focus-Trending into the Future” on 5th July and chaired a session “Future of Nuclear Energy”. Prof Dr Saw was also joint author of a keynote paper “Nuclear Fusion Energy- Mankind’s Giant Step Forward” delivered by Prof Dr Lee Sing on 6th July.

Group Photograph of NURER 2010

 

In collaboration with Assoc Prof Dr Erol Kurt of Gazi University, the IPFS-INTI IU team conducted The Fusion Energy Workshop of NURER 2010. Part 1 of the Workshop had already been run as a 12 hour internet-based programme 15 April to 11 May 2010. Part  2 of the Workshop, a 6 hour hands-on numerical experiment laboratory was held on 5 & 6th July at Gazi University Faculty of Engineering and attended by 18 participants.

Workshop Group Photograph (Note the Workshop poster with INTI Logo).

The Workshop Coordinator is Prof E Kurt (with the blue tie)

 

Prof Saw giving instructions at Workshop       Prof Lee explaining the numerical                                                                                                   experiments

 

The Energy Policy Forum: Prof Dr Saw and Prof Dr Lee were invited to be members of this forum representing South East Asia. Prof Dr Lee was invited by the Chairman of the Forum Dr Fatih M Sahin to address the Forum. At the conclusion of the Forum Prof Dr Lee was appointed as a Member of the Advisory Board of the International Energy Research Policy Forum (ERPF) and Prof Dr Saw was appointed as a Member of the Management Board of the Forum (ERPF).

 

2.  Meeting at Bilgi University 8 July with Dean of Engineering Professor Dr Lale Druiz

 

This meeting was attended by Prof Dr Lale Druiz, Dean of Engineering and  Energy Systems Coordinator Prof Dr Dogan Gunes and focussed  on collaborative development of a Masters Course in Energy Engineering.

With Prof Dr Lale Druiz and Prof Dr Dogan Gunes

 

3. Technical Education Institute, Chania, Crete (9-14 July)

 

Meetings with scientists include Professor Michael Tatarakis and Prof Nektaris Papadianis on the TEI plans in connection with generation of extreme short pulse sub-10 femtosecond lasers (10-15 s) and interaction with matter including noble gases for the production of EUV. In the context of the European HiPER (High Power Energy Research) project, the TEI is playing a leading role in the study of the physics of inertial fusion.

 

A visit was made to their laser facilities at Chania and Rethymnon, the latter houses one of the most advanced lasers of its type in the world with laser pulse characteristics of 7 fs and energy of 500 uJ. Discussions were carried out with Dr Makis Bakeriasis and Dr Eugene Clark on the generation of 1ns 100mJ laser pulse for laser interferometry of the INTI PF. The visit included a tour of the new state-of-the-art laboratory being constructed.

 

HIPER Dinner with the Lecturers and           The Femtosecond Laser Lab at TEI Chania

Participants at Rethymno

 

With Dr Hassan Murtaza at the construction     Special vibration-free flooring of the new

site of  the state-of-the-art CPPL at Rethymno   Centre for Plasma Physics & Lasers           

 

We also met young researchers and lecturers attending the 2010 Erasmus Intensive Training Programme  on HiPER-related Physics & Technology Summer School at Chania.

 

A visit to the plasma research laboratory was made to look at the X-pinch machine and the TEI plasma focus.

 

 

Dr Hassan and Eric Lerner at CPPL Chania        Construction of a Faraday Cup

Plasma Physics Laboratory

 

Eric Lerner, President of Lawrenceville Plasma Physics Inc. USA was also visiting. We had discussions with him on a new ICCD imaging techniques and some results of the new FOFU1 which is now operational in New Jersey.

 

A discussion with Professor Dr Tomader El-Khalafawy of the Atomic Energy Commission of Egypt in Cairo was held on the continuing series of the International Workshop on Plasma Computation pioneered at INTI IU in 2008.

  

Discussions at Mena House with Prof Dr Tomader El-Khalafawy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Damascus Working/Research Trip: 18-24 July 2010

 

Arab School of Science and Technology (ASST) Workshop on Engineering Education in Damascus; Present Status, Trends and Challenges- Damascus,  Syria (18th to 21 July)

 

At the ASST workshop Prof Dr Saw presented the following 4 invited papers:

Admission policies in the Far-East (by Prof. Saw Sor Heoh & Prof. Lee Sing)

Overview of knowledge required in Far East degree programmes (by Prof & Prof. Lee)

Quality assurance in engineering education in the Far East (by Prof. Saw Sor Heoh)

Institutional and departmental resources required to support QA – an Asian case study (by Prof. Saw Sor Heoh)

Prof Lee Sing presented the following invited paper:

Future role of engineering education in promoting sustainability- (by Prof. Lee Sing & Prof Saw Sor Heoh). This paper argued the case for fusion energy in engineering education

 

Prof Dr Saw and Dr John Tinker               Prof Dr Saw giving a Lecture at the Workshop                                                                               

Prof Lee giving a lecture at the Workshop    Dinner for the Workshop Organising Committee                                                                                 at the Oriental Palace, Old City, Damascus                                                                            

 

Research visit to the Atomic Energy Commission (22 July 2010):

 

A Meeting was held with the Deputy Director General of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission  Prof Mohammad Khear Sabra, followed by a lecture given by Prof Dr S Lee and Prof Dr Saw to the SAEC Plasma Focus Group on “Trends for Plasma Focus Research and the New Classification of the Plasma Focus-anomalous resistance phase”

A visit to the SAEC Plasma Focus Laboratory was made at which discussions were carried out on standardizing current measurements for the SAEC, KSU and INTI PF to facilitate comparative studies. The new Lee model 6-phase code was presented to our SAEC collaborators Dr Sharif El Hawatt and Assoc Prof Dr Mohamaed Akel.

A research session was carried out firing the SY-2 plasma focus in argon and fitting computed current traces to the measured current trace. For comparison the computed

current trace for the Mohanty Plasma Focus was fitted to published current trace. In these fittings useful research results were collected.

 

 With Deputy Director General of SAEC      With Research Collaborators Prof Dr Sharif         

                                                                        Al Hawat and Assoc Prof Dr Mohamed Akel            

                                                                        at the SAEC Plasma Focus Laboratory

Prof Saw Discussing the SY-2 Set-up                Prof Saw advised the standardization

     With Dr Mohamed Akel                                         of the current coil