In the second edition of the project 80 scientists and managers of innovation go to the best research centers of the world, to learn how to implement results of their researches into the practice. During the two-month internship participants of the project will take part in trainigs in the cooperation between science and industry, research management and commercialization of their results. Participants have also possibility to take a look at the operation of foreign companies, for which the commercialization of research results is very important. They meet the entrepreneurs and representatives of venture capital and enrich their ideas on scientific research.

Professor Maciej Bossak from the Institute of Aviation gave a keynote lecture on “Computer modeling and simulation in cranio-maxillo-facial surgery” on the Congress of Polish Society of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Surgery and Implantology which held on 10-12 May 2012.

Congress at which 75 papers were delivered, including 21 posters, attracted 120 participants. During the Congress were delivered papers by professors from Austria, Spain, Israel and Italy.

Rhinoceros beetles could be very important for the development of the next generation of aircraft design with the help of researchers in Drexel University’s Mechanical Engineering Department. Dr. MinJun Kim is leading a team of engineers in National Science Foundation-funded research that examines the function and aerodynamics of the Allomyrina dichotoma beetle in collaboration with Konkuk University in South Korea.

 Kim’s team studies the movements of a beetle’s wing by controlling its motion remotely via four tiny electrodes implanted in its body. The team then films the flight of the beetle from take-off to landing while electrical currents direct the extension, contraction, direction and flapping frequency of the wings. The use of a wind tunnel allows the researchers to see how air currents move around the wings they flap during flight.

“A quantitative investigation of aerodynamics and wing kinematics in beetle flight will shed new light on the evolution of flapping flight in nature,” Kim said. “Furthermore, experimental study of the aerodynamic performance of beetles in forward/hovering flight will provide insight into designs for efficient and stable flapping-wing micro aerial vehicles.

In the rhinoceros beetle, which is indigenous to South Korea and can be brought to the United States for research purposes under special approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kim’s team has found what could be the perfect candidate for the controlled study of biological flight capabilities.

The beetle’s size, 7-9 centimeters as an adult, is large enough to allow engineers to implant electrodes, in both optic lobes, the central nervous system and abdomen, without harming it. It is also a powerful flying creature for its size, having the ability to take flight directly from the ground — which is rare among smaller insects.

“Use of biologically-inspired approaches in the aerospace engineering community, motivated by an interest in micro aerial vehicles, has been increasing rapidly,” Kim said. “Although microfabrication techniques are advancing, it remains a challenge to fabricate separate individual machinery parts and develop millimeter-scale battery systems for aerodynamic maneuverability. An alternative approach is to directly utilize the insect itself. They are easily ‘manufactured,’ and -by nature- self-contained and easy to fuel.”

Kim, who is an associate professor of mechanical engineering, focuses his research on fluid mechanics at low Reynolds numbers. He also examines natural biological transport phenomenon and single molecule biophysics.

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Special air gun for crash tests of impact energy absorbing materials.

Impact test of energy-intensive material – still from a movie made using fast imaging camera.

On the picture the first attempts the balloon envelope assembly in the aula T1 of MEiL.

Picture from the ceremony you can find here.