news - Archive

Thursday, 31 March 2022 Students of the University of Primorska competing in mathematics

At the International Mathematical Kangaroo Competition, organized by the DMFA of Slovenia, two students from the University of Primorska advanced to the national level, while seven students received the bronze award.

Dren Neziri (UP FAMNIT) and Tamara Logar (UP FVZ) will be entering the Jurij Vega Awards Competition, which is a competition in mathematics on a national level, taking place on April 23, 2022, in Ljubljana.

In the competition, which does not require knowledge of higher mathematics, but mainly the ability of logical thinking, 402 students participated nationwide, 21 of whom were from the University of Primorska. Most successful students received the Bronze award, while silver and gold awards, as well as some prizes, are awarded at the national level of the competition.

Students from the University of Primorska that received the Bronze awards are:

• Todor Antic (UP FAMNIT)
• Etian Križman (UP FAMNIT)
• Tamara Logar (UP FVZ)
• Dren Neziri (UP FAMNIT)
• Tadej Peršolja (UP FHŠ)
• Ajla Sehovic (UP FAMNIT)
• Dolores Ugrin (UP PeF)

We sincerely congratulate the students, and we wish the winners a successful continuation of the competition!

 

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Monday, 28 March 2022 Call for enrolment into postgraduate study programs at UP FAMNIT

Call for enrolment into postgraduate study programs at UP FAMNIT in the academic year 2022/23 is now published!

Application terms for EU citizens:

• first application term: from 6 April to 24 August 2022,
• second application term: from 8 to 15 September 2022,
• third application term: from 22 to 23 September 2022.

Application terms for non-EU citizens and Slovene nationals without Slovene citizenship:

• first application term: from 6 April to 12 August 2022,
• second application term: from 19 to 26 August 2022,
• third application term: from 8 to 15 September 2022,
• fourth application term: from 22 to 23 September 2022.

Candidates for enrolment in the doctoral study programmes must do the following:

• hold an interview with the study programme Coordinator after the submission of the application,
• choose a mentor and obtain his written agreement before enrolling.

Call and information for candidates regarding the application are published in this link.

Candidates can obtain all information from the Student Services Office (e-mail: referat@famnit.upr.si, phone 05 611 75 75).

You are kindly invited to follow our info events page, where further information regarding the presentations of postgradute study programmes at UP FAMNIT will be published.

                    

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Friday, 25 March 2022 New postdoctoral positions in the field of mathematics or theoretical computer science available

A postdoctoral position at the University of Primorska – mentor Assist. Prof. Nino Bašić

The Departments of Information Sciences and Technologies of Andrej Marusic Institute (UP IAM) and Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies (UP FAMNIT) at the University of Primorska, are seeking a top early-career researcher for a postdoctoral position.

Polyhedral self-assembly is a very appealing research field, both in the area of synthetic biochemistry and also mathematics. A great attention was paid to modelling self-assembly from a single-chain peptide. A mathematical model was established that heavily relies on the use of special double traces of graphs. A lot of research territory still remains open, for instance the study of multiple-chain self-assembly. Of course, the mathematical model has to be adopted accordingly to enable multiple chains. It has to take into account both parallel and anti-parallel dimers, as well as homo- and hetero-dimers. The research goal is to develop a model that is as general as possible, while still manageable. An important component of the project are computer simulations (including the use of computer clusters and multicore systems).

The candidate will also have the opportunity to be involved in research of other topics in chemical graph theory which are pursued by the local research group, such as spectral properties of molecular graphs, chemical hexagonal complexes, core and nut graphs, altans of chemical graphs etc.

The successful candidate will be part of the Departments of Information Sciences and Technologies at UP IAM and UP FAMNIT, and will work under the guidance of  Nino Bašić.

Terms and conditions:

• The position is for two years.
• Applicants must possess a PhD in mathematics or theoretical computer science (or closely related area) upon taking up the position (but not necessary at the time of the application).
• The position comes with a teaching load of 1-2 courses per semester on the Mathematics / Computer Science / Bioinformatics / Data Science study programs offered at UP FAMNIT.
• The starting salary is about 1550 EUR / month after tax (2286 EUR gross).

Deadline & Application process:

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until May 1, 2022, or until the position is filled.
Starting date: negotiable but preferably not later than October 1, 2022.

To apply, please send the following documents in electronic form to Nino Bašić (nino.basic@famnit.upr.si) with the subject line "UP Postdoc 2022" in the Subject field:

• Curriculum Vitae,
• Publication List,
• Research Statement,
• Copies of three recent papers or preprints,
• Names and e-mail addresses of at least three persons who can be contacted for reference (and have agreed to be contacted).

Informal inquiries should be addressed to Nino Bašić (nino.basic@famnit.upr.si).

 

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Thursday, 24 March 2022 The call for the dr. Uroš Seljak Award is open

The award is designed to encourage and support scientific publications of students in first- and second-cycle study programs in Slovenia, and to encourage mentoring students.

Candidates for the award can only be nominated by individuals who have the title of higher education professor or researcher. The proposed candidate must meet the following conditions: they must be enrolled in the first- and second-cycle study programs at one of the higher education institutions in Slovenia during the time of their research work that led to the scientific publication; their work needs to be published and not only submitted for publishing.

Application deadline is April 30, 2022, by 11:59 p.m.

The winner receives a certificate of recognition for the best scientific publication for the first- and second-cycle study programs and $ 10,000 in cash.

The mentor of the winning student receives a plaque.

The award winner will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Demonstrated relevance of the publication, indicating further advances in science in a specific field in Slovenia or abroad,
• Notable importance of a scientific publication in terms of its innovation,
• High impact factor (citations).

More information and application forms available at this link (only in Slovene).

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Wednesday, 23 March 2022 New postdoctoral positions in the field of computer science available

Postdoctoral position at the University of Primorska:
Data-driven optimization for sustainable network design, mentor Prof. Michaël Mrissa

Using networks to model real-world problems is a powerful tool, as they provide an efficient abstraction that can be used to analyse the structure of the task at hand. Sustainability plays an important role in the design of these networks when considering various optimisation questions. The focus of the research is to analyse the underlying structure of selected real-world problems and design efficient network representations for them. The researcher should maintain state-of-the-art knowledge of the relevant fields, publish research results in high-impact journals, and present research and development at scientific and professional conferences.

Required qualifications:

• PhD in computer science, operations research, applied mathematics, or related area
• Research record demonstrating expertise in related fields
• Solid background in algorithm design and discrete optimisation
• Strong command of at least one major high-level programming language (e.g. C++, Java, Python)
• High motivation to carry out interdisciplinary research projects
• Excellent communication skills, written and spoken English

Preferred qualifications

• Strong operations research background
• Knowledge of optimization and modelling software
• Knowledge of simulation software
• Experience in implementing graph algorithms
• Experience in grant writing, international project participation
• Experience implementing and working in interdisciplinary research projects

Deadline & Application process:

The deadline for submitting applications is April 30th, 2022.
Starting date: negotiable but preferably not later than October 1, 2022. The position is for one year.

To apply, please send the following documents in electronic form to Michaël Mrissa (michael.mrissa@upr.si) with the subject line "UP Postdoc 2022" in the Subject field:

• Curriculum Vitae,
• Publication List,
• Copies of three recent papers of preprints,
• Names and e-mail addresses of at least three persons who can be contacted for reference (and have agreed to be contacted).

Informal inquiries should be addressed to Michaël Mrissa (michael.mrissa@upr.si).

 

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Tuesday, 22 March 2022 As many as 11 new projects of bilateral scientific research cooperation with the USA at UP FAMNIT and UP IAM

The Departments of Mathematics UP IAM and UP FAMNIT were once again successful in the public tender announced by the Research Agency of the Republic of Slovenia (ARRS) for co-financing scientific research cooperation between the Republic of Slovenia and the United States of America in the period 2022-2024.

The University of Primorska has received a total of 12 new projects, 11 of which are in the field of mathematics. In addition, another bilateral cooperation project was acquired by Michael Mrissa, who works at the InnoRenew CoE Institute and the University of Primorska. At the Faculty of Management, the project was acquired by Tina Vukasović.

The ARRS public tender co-finances mutual visits of Slovenian researchers from the United States, which carry out joint scientific research projects aimed at strengthening cooperation with the USA and increasing mobility of Slovenian researchers as well as top US researchers coming to Slovenia. Additionally, the aim is to increase the number of submitted projects from Slovenian researchers, both for proposals of the EU Framework Programs, as well as other international calls in research and innovation programmes.

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The co-funded projects led by UP FAMNIT and UP IAM employees are:

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Title: Matroids with Transitive Automorphism Group
Institutions: UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies and University of Mississippi
UP project leader: Edward Taucher Dobson
Field: Mathematics

Questions regarding the symmetry of combinatorial objects have a long history and are still very active research topics. Usually, these questions are asked about digraphs and graphs, sometimes about designs such as Steiner triple systems, and occasionally about error-correcting codes. We propose to consider these, and related questions, for matroids, a combinatorial object which is a joint generalization of graphs and linear algebra. 

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Title: Certain structural properties of Cayley graphs
Institutions: UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies and Kennesaw State University
UP project leader: Ademir Hujdurović
Field: Mathematics

We plan to investigate strong independent sets and strong cliques in Cayley graphs. Cliques in Cayley graphs are also interesting from the point of view of studying the intersection density of permutation groups, namely intersecting sets of a permutation group G correspond to cliques of the Cayley graph on G with the connection set S being the union of all point stabilizers.

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Title: Computer Algorithm Development for Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Macromolecules
Institutions: UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies and Kennesaw State University and National Institutes of Health (NIH)
UP project leader: Dušanka Janežič
Field: Mathematics

The goal of the proposed research is to introduce new improvements in molecular dynamics simulation of macromolecules that increase the accuracy and efficiency of present-day simulation approaches. Our goal is to develop new methodological solutions for prediction and study of protein binding sites, based on graph theoretical approaches, combined with molecular dynamics simulations. One of the goals of this project is to combine ProBiS web server with molecular dynamics methods into a new freely available web tool: ProBiS-ATLAS: Protein interaction atlas for prediction of genetic variations involved in drug interactions and disease development enabling the discovery of molecules, relevant to pharmaceutical research.

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Title: Certain problems in hypergraphs, graphs, and games
Institutions: UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies and Rutgers University, MSIS Department, RUTCOR
UP project leader: Matjaž Krnc
Field: Mathematics

In the course of this project, we plan to focus on the following: Problem 1: The Bi-SP conjecture. Problem 2: On the avoidable paths. A path is called avoidable if every linear extension may be extended to an induced cycle. Problem 3: An efficient characterization of threshold 3-uniform hypergraphs. A hypergraph is said to be threshold if there exists a linear weight function on the vertices separating the independent sets from the dependent ones. Problem 4: Deterministic graphical games with no Nash equilibria. We plan to analyze the existence of deterministic graphical games that have no Nash equilibria in pure stationary strategies, with respect to additive effective payoffs. Problem 5: Exact transversals in graphs and hypergraphs. We plan to study the related exact transversal hypergraph operator, study conditions under which it is involutive, and examine connections with strong cliques in graphs and related concepts.

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Title: Preserver problems in quantum mechanics
Institutions: UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies and  the Department of Mathematics, Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University
UP project leader: Bojan Kuzma
Field: Mathematics

Spectrum preservers on unbounded operators. In a mathematical formulation, quantum-mechanical observables (i.e., things that can be observed and measured) are modelled with (unbounded) self-adjoint operators acting on a complex separable Hilbert space. As part of the project, we intend to classify all additive transformations that map (unbounded) self-adjoint operators into themselves and preserve their spectrum. Isometries of complexified norms. Any real vector space can be complexified, ie. made into a complex vector space by extending the scalars; the procedure is unique. In contrast to this, for a given norm on a real space, we can define several different complex norms on the complexified space, all of which extend the initial real norm. Preserver problems in quantum information sciences. Tensor products play a key role in quantum mechanics and quantum information theory: In mathematical terminology, a quantum state is described by a positive-semidefinite matrix of trace-one; the tensor product of two (or more) states describes a joint bipartite (or multipartite) system.

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Title: Computational aspects of some combinatorial games on Ferrer's diagrams
Institutions: UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies and Rhodes College
UP project leader: Riste Škrekovski
Field: Mathematics

Combinatorial game theory is a large and growing field that includes in its scope a wide range of game types, generally focusing on two-player games in which both players have perfect information and there are no moves of chance. Sprague and Grundy introduced a method of quantifying game positions for impartial normal-play games, i.e., those in which both players have the same possible moves in each position. These Sprague-Grundy values are a generalization of winning and losing positions. 

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Title: Chemical graphs on steroids
Institutions: UP Institute Andrej Marušič and University and The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA)
UP project leader: Nino Bašić
Field: Mathematics

Fullerenes and benzenoids are important chemical compounds. In mathematical chemistry, they are modelled by fullerene graphs and benzenoid graphs. Much of the mathematical chemistry literature is concerned with their mathematical properties. The research will proceed in several directions. In the present project we will refine the notion of the Pentagonal Incidence Partition. Both of the topics will also be considered in relation to Clar and Fries numbers, two graph invariants of fullerenes and benzenoids. We also plan to investigate the computational complexity of determining the Clar number (and several associated values) in fullerenes and nanotubes.

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Title: New bounds in extremal graph theory
Institutions: UP Institute Andrej Marušič and University and Mississippi State University
UP project leader: Slobodan Filipovski
Field: Mathematics

In this project we will establish new bounds on the maximum number of edges in K_r - free graphs in terms of the order n and the maximum degree d_1, in terms of the order n and the minimum degree d_n, and in terms of n and both d_1 and d_n.  Moreover, we will show that the bounds obtained in this project are better than the corresponding bounds of Mantel and Turán. More precisely, we show that the upper bounds on the maximum sizes of K_r -free graphs of specified maximum or minimum degrees given by our theorems are smaller than or equal to the upper bounds on the maximum sizes among all K_r -free graphs. 

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Title: Distance-regular graphs with exactly three irreducible T-modules with endpoint 1, all of which are thin
Institutions: UP Institute Andrej Marušič and University and Seattle University
UP project leader: Štefko Miklavič
Field: Mathematics

Our research concerns a combinatorial object known as a graph. A graph is a finite set of vertices, together with a set of undirected arcs or edges, each of which connects a pair of distinct vertices. We say that vertices x, y are adjacent whenever x, y are connected by an edge. The concept of a graph is useful because mathematical, as well as intuitive notions, can be formulated in terms of adjacency. Our research concerns a type of graph said to be distance-regular.

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Title: Studies in duality: graphs on surfaces and conformal hypergraphs
Institutions: UP Institute Andrej Marušič and Rutgers University, MSIS Department, RUTCOR
UP project leader: Martin Milanič
Field: Mathematics

The project will focus on the study of selected open problems in graph and hypergraph theory. Graph theory is a young branch of discrete mathematics that has developed rapidly in recent decades, largely due to many applications in the modern world in such diverse fields as computer science, sociology, biology, logistics, and so on. A graph is a combinatorial object consisting of a finite set of vertices and a set of edges each connecting two vertices. A hypergraph is a generalization of a graph where an edge can be formed by any subset of vertices. The project will address two central research topics related to two types of duality.

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Title: Combinatorial structure and algebraic properties of a Q-polynomial graph for which the adjacency algebra is closed
Institutions: UP Institute Andrej Marušič and University of Wisconsin
UP project leader: Safet Penjić
Field: Mathematics

The alternating central extension of q-Onsager is generated by q-Onsager along with some extra central elements. This raises a question that the project leader plan to work on. Our problem is: Can we find any elements in our algebra \T, that are not in T, but commute with everything in \T? Such elements might be the missing generators for the alternating central extension of Q-Onsager or U^+_q.

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Title: Decentralized communities for building monitoring
Institutions: InnoRenew CoE and Oregon State University
Project Leader: Michael Mrissa
Field: Computer Science

Nowadays, due to low cost sensors, mature data infrastructure and internet, monitoring data of mass timber buildings built in different parts of the world are made available. There is a huge potential in these data, especially if they are used in a federated way. However, there are multiple challenges. This project looks into some of the challenges and aims at developing a methodological framework to realize this potential. The objectives of this project are:

• To define lifecycle activities of mass timber buildings, decisions on which they depend, and the information required to support these decisions and the organizations in charge of them.
• To identify requirements and characteristics of an Information Management Framework (IMF) to ensure that (federated) monitoring data can provide needed information at the right time, to the right people with high-quality information.
• To define monitoring/measurement methodology/strategy (what sensors, what to measure, how to select spots for measurement, the required frequency of measurements, what the distance between sensors should be, how to communicate data, etc,) which would provide data with sufficient granularity in location as well as in time to be further used in IMF.

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Congratulations to all our researchers!

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Tuesday, 22 March 2022 After last year's success, UP FAMNIT students are organizing the 2nd edition of the Biological-Psychological Student Conference

    

We are pleased to present you the second edition of the Biological-Psychological Student Conference, organized by students of Društvo varstvenih biologov - Biodiva and Društvo študentov biopsihologije, with the support of the University of Primorska, Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies (UP FAMNIT) in Koper.  

The aim of the conference is to promote science, encourage students to get involved and participate in the scientific community, motivate them to pursue research, enhance their competencies in written and oral presentations of professional papers and connect young students and future professionals.  

Participants can present their final papers in undergraduate studies, master theses, dissertations, group projects, seminars or topics of their interest in the form of oral presentations or posters. Along with the application, participants are required to submit an abstract of the submitted topic, based on which the expert committee, consisting of professors and assistants from the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies in Koper, will select the researches which will be presented at the conference. For more proper evaluation the topics will be divided into two categories: undergraduate studies and graduate / doctoral studies (taking into account the degree of study during which the topic was covered).  

Upon participation, all abstracts will be published in the book of abstracts at COBISS (Co-operative Online Bibliographic System and Services, Slovenian Library Information System), and all participants will receive a certificate of presentation and a corresponding reference.  

The conference will take place in person on September 15th - 17th 2022, in Koper, Slovenia (University of Primorska, UP Famnit) and will be divided into two modules: biological and psychological modules.

The biological module refers to study programmes in the field of biology, environmental science, nature protection and similar study programmes.

The psychological module refers to study programmes in the field of psychology, biopsychology, psychotherapy and neuroscience.

Students from other study programmes (e.g. pedagogic study programmes) can also participate if they are applying with a research-based on a biological or psychological topic. Presenting at the conference is possible in Slovenian or English. Furthermore, all conference participants will have the chance to attend lectures by guest professors. 

The registration fee for participants is 40 euros and includes the book of abstracts (pdf), reference (COBISS), lectures by guest professors, coffee breaks, promotional material and social programme participation.

The application period is March 15th - April 15th, 2022. Registration is possible via the application form on the official website: https://bio-psi-konferenca.famnit.upr.si/en/registracija

It is also possible to register as a passive participant who would like to attend student presentations and lectures by guest professors, with the possibility of participating in the social program. The registration fee for passive participants is 10 euros. The period for registration of passive participants is March 15th - September 1st, 2022. Registration is possible via the application form on the official website: https://bio-psi-konferenca.famnit.upr.si/en/registracija

Due to the unpredictable situation around the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic, the conference will be organized in accordance with the prescribed epidemiological measures that will be in force at the time of the conference. 

All news related to the registration and participation at the conference will be published on the website in Slovenian and English. Information will also be available on the social networks Facebook and Instagram. 

For any additional questions, the organizers are available via the official conference email biopsi.konferenca@upr.si.  

We are looking forward to another successful conference!

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Monday, 21 March 2022 Izleti v matematično vesolje: Prime divisibility of binomial coefficients by Dr. Russ Woodroofe

We invite you to this year's fifth lecture entitled »Prime divisibility of binomial coefficients« by Dr. Russ Woodroofe (UP Famnit), which will be held on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, at 18.00, in VP3 (UP FAMNIT) and via ZOOM link.

How many ways are there to pick k objects out from a bin of n objects?  The answer is given by the binomial coefficient "n choose k".  We'll show you how to easily determine whether a binomial coefficient is divisible by a prime, even when the numbers involved are quite large.  We'll apply this criterion to a problem that arose in my work with John Shareshian.  The distribution of prime numbers will make an unexpected cameo appearance.

Russ Woodroofe received his PhD in 2005 from Cornell University in the USA. Since 2016 he has been an Associate Professor at UP FAMNIT. Prior to that, he lectured at Mississippi State University, at Washington University in St. Louis (both in the USA), and at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (Qatar). His research field is topological combinatorics, where he often combines geometry, symmetry and algebra.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The full program of this year's cycle of lectures is available here.

You are kindly invited!

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Friday, 18 March 2022 Prizes and recognitions of the University of Primorska awarded to employees and students at the 19th Annual Academy

In 2003, on March 17 exactly,  University of Primorska was entered in the court register. Yesterday, March 17, 2022, we celebrated its 19th birthdday on the Ceremonial Academy in the Hall of St. Francis, where awards and prizes of the University of Primorska were presented.

In the introductory part of the ceremony, Klavdija Kutnar, PhD, Rector of the University of Primorska, greeted the visitors and highlighted the key achievements of the last year. Katja Kosem, Vice President of the UP Student Council, presented the students' wishes in regard to the covid-19 epidemic. The keynote speaker was Mag. Robert Ljoljo, President of the Management Board of Lek d. d., who stressed the importance of cooperation in mixed research teams, as they bring together different views. Among other, he mentioned a joint project with UP FAMNIT, which allowed mutual exchange of knowledge. 

The Rector, together with the Vice-Rector and the Deans, presented the awards of the University of Primorska, among them employees and students of UP FAMNIT.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jasna Prezelj

Nominated by UP FAMNIT and UP IAM, the Golden Plaque of the University of Primorska is awarded to Jasna Prezelj for her contribution to the development of the UP and for her important role in the successful realization of the 8th European Congress of Mathematics, which strengthened the reputation and visibility of UP in both the global university network and the wider Slovenian society.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jasna Prezelj is a higher education teacher in the field of mathematics who received her Doctorate in 2000 from the University of Ljubljana and is the leading expert of her generation in the field of complex analysis. She has been employed at UP since 2014. In addition to scientific research and pedagogical work, she also promotes the popularization of science and the visibility of the UP. She is the founder of the Mathematical Advent Calendar, which UP FAMNIT has created annually from 2015 onwards. As an extremely active member of the organizing committee of the 8^th European Congress of Mathematics (taking care of sponsorship and donor funds, organization of the contests, organization of the section in the field of complex and quaternionic geometry and of satellite conferences for representatives of Slovenian insurance companies and actuarial associations), she contributed to its successful implementation in 2021.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jasna Prezelj

Prof. Dr. Elena Bužan

Nominated by UP FAMNIT and UP IAM, the University Award for Scientific Excellence of the University of Primorska for 2021 is awarded to Elena Bužan for the publication of 10 original scientific articles in the Web of Science in 2021.

Prof. Dr. Elena Bužan received her Doctorate from the University of Ljubljana in 2007, and has been employed at UP FAMNIT since its establishment. Her research area includes a number of intertwined sciences, such as molecular ecology, biochemistry, conservation biology, conservation and the genetics of population and immunology. A special emphasis of her research is on the use of molecular biology techniques in basic and applied research in the fields of evolution, biogeography and conservation of natural heritage.

Her bibliography consists of 53 original scientific articles (10 of which were published in 2021) in the Web of Science database and includes 523 in-text citations. Among other things she is successful at obtaining international projects. She is the project manager of Horizon "STEP CHANGE: Science Transformation in EuroPe through Citizens involvement in HeAlth, coNservation and enerGy rEsearch", and has participated in the successful implementation of three more Horizon projects and in a number of other research projects.

The nominee is also a national coordinator of the European Reference Genome Atlas initiative and a member of the editorial board of the international scientific journal Ornitologia Neotropical.

Prof. Dr. Elena Bužan

Besfort Shala

Nominated by UP FAMNIT, the »Srečko Kosovel« award for students is awarded to Besfort Shala.

Besfort Shala, under the mentorship of Assoc. Prof.  Russ Woodroofe, wrote the final project paper titled “The Probabilistic Zeta Function of a Finite Lattice”. In the work, Besfort examines a definition of Ken Brown's 2000 article. The little-studied definition of this article generalizes the Dirichlet series, obtained from (the coset lattice of) a group, to a similar series obtained from any lattice. The original purpose of the task was for the student to try to calculate what happens to this series on simple cases, such as a partition lattice. The student was quick to notice that the partition lattice does not usually give ordinary Dirichlet series because rational numbers appear in the base. As a result, he continued to demonstrate a more cautious version of this as well as similar results for other types of lattices. A student research project is successful when a student tells a mentor something they do not already know. According to the mentor, this happened early and several times in this project. In fact, the student was quite independent, as several ideas for definitions came mostly alone. The result of the project is a well-written dissertation, which is almost a publication-worthy article.

Amar Bapić

Nominated by Student Council UP and UP FAMNIT, the Recognition of the University of Primorska for students of the University of Primorska is given to Amar Bapić.

Amar Bapić is a doctoral student of 3rd year Mathematical Sciences at UP FAMNIT. From 2018, he has been an active member of the UP FAMNIT Student Council and, from 2020, also its Vice-President. During this time, he actively participated in the organization of numerous events for students. He aims to equip students with as much useful information as possible, and at the same time he remains available to them for individual questions. He also manages the (graphic) creation of content by getting as close as possible to the students. Since 2019, he has been a representative of students on the UP Management Board. In the academic year 2020/21, he was the head of volunteers at the 8^th European Congress of Mathematics, hosted by our university in Portorož in June 2021. In addition to his role as a volunteer coordinator, he helped with the creation of a large pool of promotional materials and in obtaining databases to facilitate analysis of information about congress participants. He was also part of the technical support group for the operation of the Zoom videoconferencing system at the location and online. At any given opportunity he also promotes the UP on the international level (visits to primary and secondary schools, universities, presentations). Among other things, he toured the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Tuzla this past year, presenting the benefits of volunteering at 8ECM and study programmes at UP, and presented a system of cooperation of foreign students with tutor students at Erasmus Days 2021 organized by UP. His role as a tutor at UP FAMNIT began in 2021.

Amar Bapić

The list of award recipients and the justifications can be viewed here.

We congratulate all receipents of The University of Primorska awards!

                                    

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Friday, 18 March 2022 This year again among the participants of the Open International Internet-Olympiad in mathematics 2022

UP FAMNIT students are once again traditionally participating in the Open International Internet-Olympiad in mathematics 2022 (OIIO 2022).

The first round of the competition took place on February 25, these are the 6 Famnit students who were competing:

• Todor Antić (Mathematics, 3rd year)
• Jelena Glišić (Mathematics, 3rd year)
• Milan Milivojčević (Computer Science, 3rd year).
• Matjaž Madon (Mathematics, 2nd year)
• Lazar Marković (Mathematics, 2nd year)
• Diar Gashi (Mathematics, 1st year)

In the second round of the competition, which will take place next Saturday, March 26, as many as five students qualified, among which Matjaž Madon and Milan Milivojčević scored the highest. The best placed in the 2nd round will advance to the third, final round of the competition, where they will compete for prizes in the final ranking.

UP FAMNIT students have been competing at the OIIO for many years and every time they are ranked among the best contestants. Last year, Laura Ogrin ranked highest among Famnit students, advancing to the 3rd round of the competition and receiving a 3rd prize.

We sincerely congratulate all contestants and wish them much success in the next rounds of this year’s competition!

 

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Thursday, 17 March 2022 Scientific excellence at InnoRenew CoE and University of Primorska awarded with prestigious European Research Council grant

Dr. Anna Sandak, InnoRenew CoE research group leader and associate professor at UP FAMNIT is the first woman in Slovenia to attain a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant. Dr. Sandak and her team will use the €1.99 million award to develop engineered living materials that interact, adapt and respond to environmental changes. 

 

Dr. Anna Sandak is the first woman in Slovenia to successfully attain a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant. An InnoRenew CoE research group leader and associate professor at the University of Primorska, Dr. Sandak is dedicated to the science of renewable materials and biomimetic solutions for new materials design. Her research promotes the knowledge-based use of bio-inspired materials in modern sustainable buildings. 

The awarded project, Bioinspired living skin for architecture (ARCHI-SKIN), will use the €1.99  million ERC funding to develop a protective biofilm made from engineered living materials. Recognized as one of the most stable biological systems on earth, most biofilm studies focus on preventing their formation. The beneficial use of biofilms for protection has largely been unexplored. Dr. Sandak and her team aim to change this during the five-year ARCHI-SKIN project.

ARCHI-SKIN researchers will explore the design principles underlying fungal biofilm to advance knowledge about the biological system’s chemistry-structure-properties.  Mechanisms of biofilm formation, structure, function and performance will be studied. The ARCHI-SKIN project will use cutting-edge tools in life cell imaging, data science and machine learning. The idea is to develop a bioactive protective coating system that works in harmony with nature and benefits from the synergetic efforts of living fungal cells, bio-based ingredients and bioinspired concepts for materials design.

Dr. Sandak will develop a biofilm that protects biomaterial, concrete, plastic and metal surfaces. One remarkable functionality will be its natural self-healing property. ARCHI-SKIN’s novel approach to materials protection will advance the development of engineered living materials that can interact, adapt and respond to environmental changes. The project will provide a new dimension that has not existed for materials—life—and change how we perceive, experience, understand, design, use and transform materials. 

Dr. Sandak has a doctorate in wood science and a master’s in biology. She was born in Poland, but her professional career took her to Japan for five years. She then moved to Italy, where she worked at the National Research Council – Trees and Timber Institute (CNR-IVALSA). In 2017, she moved to Slovenia, where she currently leads the Wood Modification research group InnoRenew CoE. She is also an associate professor at the University of Primorska, Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies. 
InnoRenew CoE and the University of Primorska are proud to have an ambitious and dedicated international team aiming at scientific excellence. Obtaining this prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant from competitive EU funding will support scientific and research activities that enable breakthroughs in green solutions for a sustainable society. 

The European Research Council (ERC), established by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organization for frontier research. The ERC funds creative researchers of any nationality and age on projects across Europe. The ERC is part of Horizon Europe, and in this round of funding, 313 projects, for a total of €632 million, were supported.

 

              

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Tuesday, 8 March 2022 Women in Science on International Women's Day

Between 11 February (International Day of Women and Girls in Science) and 8 March (International Women's Day), the University of Primorska presented women researchers who have achieved important milestones in their research work in the last year.

Among them were also reasearchers from UP FAMNIT, who shared their thoughts on the position of women in science.

Dr. Vita Poštuvan, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology at UP FAMNIT, receiver of Zois recognition for important scientific achievements in suicidology and mental health, Deputy Chair of Slovene Centre for Suicide Research, received a core project »Humans in the grip of Covid-19: Psychological consequences of the epidemic and preventive protective measures to stop the spread of infection« (ARRS) last year. In her interview for UP, she said that what always amazed her about gender relations is that men predominate in positions of power in her profession as well, nevertheless, she never felt any particular differences at our university.

 
Dr. Vita Poštuvan

One of the main principles of our faculty is interdisciplinarity, which is highly appreciated by dr. Elena Bužan, Professor and Vice-Dean for Quality Assurance at UP FAMNIT, leader of the »STEP CHANGE« project (Science Transformation and Europe through Citizens Involvement in HeAlth, conservation, and energy research) of Horizon 2020, which began in 2021. Dr. Elena Bužan is also the »BGE - Biodiversity Genomic Europe« (a € 20 million project, that will start on 1 September 2022) manager for Slovenia.         

  
Dr. Elena Bužan              

»Changing the mindset of people is not easy to achieve and especially not quickly. The mission of scientists is to share new discoveries with society. At our university, we strive to communicate about our work in various ways and, above all, to pass on knowledge to students who are our future,« said dr. Andreja Kutnar, the director of the InnoRenew Institute, which completed the construction of the largest wooden building in Slovenia in 2021, and Professor at the Department of Applied Natural Sciences at UP FAMNIT. She has acquired an important basic project with Austrian partners (»Development of wood composites with higher protection against impact sound to improve the quality of life«), funded by ARRS.   

            
               Dr. Andreja Kutnar                           

On the field of plant studies, their conservation in the natural environment and reproductive biology, dr. Živa Fišer, lead of the COST action »An integrated approach to conservation of threatened plants for the 21st Century« and Study Programme (Nature Conservation) Coordiantor at UP FAMNIT, has provided a lot of scientific contributions. In her work, she strives to implement reasearch projects, that would help to preserve species, that are tied to specific habitats and are threatened with local extinction, although she is aware that sometimes researchers do not have the last word on this.                

  
         Dr. Živa Fišer               

Concluding thoughts on the WOMEN IN SCIENCE CAMPAIGN were given by dr. Klavdija Kutnar, researcher, professor at UP FAMNIT and rector of the University of Primorska: »We came to the Times THE list, we received a Marie Curie scholarship, many new projects of the Horizon program, in Slovenia we were two and a half times more successful in obtaining projects than last year and I could go on and on. I am very proud of our successful researchers. In 2021, we were more successful in obtaining national projects compared to previous years, and many of these projects, which we acquired as a leading institution, were acquired by researchers, young researchers, so there is no need to fear for the future of our university.«

Following her response to the invitation to join the international organization of the Association of Women Rectors, the University of Primorska will also be on the list of women-led universities in the world.

Dr. Klavdija Kutnar

Full interviews are available on the University of Primorska media centre website.

Happy International Women's Day!

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Sunday, 6 March 2022 Researchers at UP FAMNIT gained another Horizon Europe project

 

 

 

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Thursday, 3 March 2022 Representatives of the US Embassy in Slovenia visit the University of Primorska

Assoc. Prof. David B. DeVallance, Vice-Rector for Internationalization at the University of Primorska received the guests today at the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, where they presented two programs to students and staff.

The Student Entrepreneurship and Internship (SEI) program is especially interesting for undergraduate and master's students since every year it enables internships for 20 students in companies that are part of the AmCham Slovenia network.

"During the two-week program, which will take place from 11 to 22 July this year, students without any experience in entrepreneurship and economy will have the opportunity to attend guest lectures on entrepreneurship, visit Slovenian institutions in banking and economy sector (Bank of Slovenia, Slovene Chamber of Commerce, etc.) and work on their own project, which they will bring from a basic idea to a sales pitch for potential investors. As part of the SEI program, students will, later on, join companies within the AmCham network, where they will complete a paid two-week internship and gain valuable experience as well as professional opportunities,” explained Charlotte Taft from the US Embassy.

The deadline to apply for the SEI program is 11 March. If you missed the morning presentation, you can join another info session online this afternoon, March 3, at 5 p.m. Registration is required to participate: https://sforce.co/35kfkmD

Following this, Špela Sušec, exchanges coordinator at the US Embassy, ​​presented three Fulbright programs intended for Slovenian doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers visiting the USA and for American citizens visiting in Slovenia. In this year's call, which is expected to be open from March until the end of June, candidates will be able to apply for a visit at their chosen institutions in the United States for the academic year 2023/24, either for 1 or 2 semesters, depending on the program.

Some of the former Fulbright scholars at the University of Primorska also attended the meeting, namely Prof. Dragan Marušič, Prof. Dušanka Janežič, Safet Penjić, Ph.D. and the Rector of the University of Primorska, Prof. Klavdija Kutnar, who welcomed the participants at the beginning of the presentation.

   

Prof. Dušanka Janežič from the Department of Applied Natural Sciences at UP FAMNIT pointed out the importance of participating in the program: “The Fulbright Scholarship provides doctoral students and researchers not only with full financial support for studying abroad, but also with administrative assistance in transitioning to a new environment, such as health insurance, relocation of family members, and other support. «

Prof. Klavdija Kutnar, who was a Fulbright Scholar at Ohio State University between 2010 and 2011, further emphasized the distinguished opportunity to become a Fulbright Scholar, having visited several US institutions and working with top experts from her research field herself and thus gaining invaluable experience.

Safet Penjić, Ph.D., an assistant at UP FAMNIT and a Fulbright Scholar in 2018-2019, said that the overall experience was very positive, and recommended that doctoral students get acquainted with the program already at the beginning of their studies.

More information about Fulbright programs is available here.

After the presentations, the guests from the US Embassy also visited the new InnoRenew building in Izola.

   

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Wednesday, 2 March 2022 New Horizon Europe project at the University of Primorska - The Biodiversity Genomic Europe (BGE)

Biodiversity Genomic Europe (BGE) is a project that connects 33 partners from continental Europe, the UK, Canada and the USA.

It brings together two large consortia, the first one is the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA; https://www.erga-biodiversity.eu), which is an important part of the Earth Biogenome Project (EBP; https://www.earthbiogenome.org). The aim of ERGE is to modernize laboratory and bioinformatics tools for sequencing the reference genomes of European species and thus make an important contribution to the cataloging and characterization of the genomes of the entire eukaryotic biodiversity of the Earth over a period of ten years.

The second consortium is BIOSCAN (https://ibol.org/programs/bioscan/), a part of the International Barcode of Life (IBOL; https://ibol.org) network that aims to determine the DNA bar code sequences of global biodiversity as a new tool for taxonomic identification of species. The DNA barcodes will be placed in the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) - a repository that includes a reference library of DNA barcodes that can be used to assign identities to DNA sequences of unknown origin.

The University of Primorska participates in the BGE project as the coordinator of the Slovenian consortium ERGA, which connects eight Slovenian institutions working in the field of molecular ecology and nature protection: The University of Maribor, the University of Ljubljana, the Faculty of Environmental Protection in Velenje, the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and of Art, the National Institute of Biology, the Forestry Institute of Slovenia and the Natural History Museum of Slovenia. As a hotspot for biodiversity, Slovenia will be able to determine the entire reference genomes of as many as 80 species as part of the project, which will be selected by researchers from members of the Slovenian consortium.

The University of Primorska also participates in a citizen science campaign, implemented within the Step Change project (https://stepchangeproject.eu), funded by the Horizon Europe 2020. The project leader is Prof. Elena Bužan, who is also the BGE project manager for Slovenia and the coordinator of the Citizen Science Committee at ERGA.

The € 20 million project will start on 1 September 2022 under the coordination of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center from the Netherlands. The aim of the project is to identify over 800 reference genomes of European species and over 10,000 DNA bar codes.

Prof. Elena Bužan commented: "We are very proud that in a very short time we managed to connect all Slovenian institutions working in the field of genomics and nature protection in this consortium, and thus including Slovenia as a biodiversity hotspot. I believe that this is the beginning of remarkable cooperation in Slovenian, European and global arena, and among researchers that are working in the field of genomics and biodiversity. The project will also contribute to raising awareness among various stakeholders (ministries, industry, NGOs, citizens) about the importance of genetics and genomic biodiversity for acquiring new knowledge and development in the fields of bio economy, agriculture and medicine. It will also raise awareness on the importance of genetic design as an important factor in adapting species to upcoming environmental changes. New knowledge will greatly enhance the value of research, the connection between researchers and end-users, and, perhaps most importantly, trust between various stakeholders.”

 

Congratulations to our researchers!

 

 

 

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