October 2018

The beginning of autumn was very busy for our researchers and colleagues. We attended many events, conferences, and meetings in Slovenia and elsewhere around the world.

Mag. Marica Mikuljan, Dr Jure Pohleven and assistant researcher Jaka Pečnik were very active in our laboratory, which is now richer with two new devices – a rotavapor and lyophilizer which are used to remove solvents from chemical samples and dry the samples with freezing in vacuum.

Dr Jure Pohleven, Jaka Pečnik and Dr Ana Miklavčič. Image: Marica Mikuljan

Researcher Dr Kelly Peeters successfully applied for a call at the European Forestry Institute EFI and got an opportunity to undertake a short scientific visit to Norway in the NIBIO Institute, where she spent two weeks. She prepared samples in the laboratory and performed tests to determine the resistance of wood to fungi. The findings will help her in further research work.

Dr Kelly Peeters. Image: the InnoRenew CoE

The InnoRenew CoE is a partner in the project “Protection of bronze monuments in the changing environment”. In September the activities of the project officially started. For this purpose, our colleagues from the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia organized a kick off meeting, which was attended also by our researchers. Dr Ana Slavec, Dr Jakub Sandak, Dr Václav Sebera, and Dr Miklós Krész will participate in Work Package 4 – Development of ICT tools – and Work Package 5 – Social Mechanisms.

Image: Črtomir Tavzes

Moreover, our start up projects are also in full swing. Dr Václav Sebera and Jaka Pečnik visited the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, where they discussed the progress of the project Innovative Connection for CLT Buildings. After reviewing the past activities, they decided that the InnoRenew CoE will conduct a new series of testing of adhesives on spruce in collaboration with the University of Primorska.

Image: Jaka Pečnik

At the beginning of October, some InnoRenew CoE researchers went to Riga, Latvia where they participated at the COST Action SHELD-ON whose vice chair is our deputy director and Research Group Leader of the Human Health in the built environment Dr Michael Burnard. The COST Action SHELD-ON is designed to foster knowledge exchange and the development of a joint research agenda in terms of design and development of multifunctional indoor environments to meet the requirements of Europe’s ageing population while promoting healthy and safe ageing. Assistant researcher Dean Lipovac and Research Group Leader of Wood Modification Dr Anna Sandak attended discussions about the connection and impacts between furniture and people.

Image: Cost

Image: Cost

In October the Institute BIG organized the Wooden Icon 2018 event, which aims to promote the wood industry, education, and proactive integration of various wood chain participants in Slovenia and in the wider region. Our researcher Dr Črtomir Tavzes attended the event and presented to the audience our research institute InnoRenew CoE and three of the new important development projects we achieved:

– Pro-Enrich which is designed to develop sustainable and competitive bio–based industries in Europe.

– WoodCircus which will increase knowledge, raise awareness, and improve conditions for an uptake of resource efficient processing and recycling in wood-based value chains, fostering increased competitiveness of the European woodworking sector.

–  Woolf which will develop wooden structural and window systems that will enable the construction of multi-story modular wooden buildings and to integrate newly-developed sensor technology into them. In combination with newly-developed ICT smart system, it will be possible to monitor the quality of wood and wooden objects in real time and to predict their service life-time.

Image: Črtomir Tavzes

Dr Laetitia Marrot, a researcher in the Renewable materials composites group went to the 8^th International Hemp Building Symposium in Brussels. This is the largest global gathering of hemp building experts where participants present technological innovations. Our researcher presented a poster about the challenges and opportunities of using hemp in Slovenia.

Image: Laetitia Marrot

Also, our director Dr Andreja Kutnar was in Brussels where she met with the director of our advanced partner Fraunhofer WKI Dr Bohumil Kasal. They attended the event Widening Days where they had a great opportunity to meet with our project officer Agnes Nagy Hegyvarine. Later Andreja visited Bordeaux in France in order to attend the official ceremony of joining the WOODRISE Alliance. The WOODRISE Alliance is a global innovation, research, and development network to enhance and promote medium to high rise timber buildings. Furthermore, Dr Kutnar presented to other participants what we at the InnoRenew CoE are focusing on in this research area.

Woodrise Alliance. Image: Andreja Kutnar

Image: Woodrise Alliance

Dr Bohumil Kasal, Dr Andreja Kutnar and Agnes Nagy Hegyvarine. Image: the InnoRenew CoE

As mentioned, the autumn at the InnoRenew CoE started with many activities. We are looking forward to the next weeks and to continuing our successful research work.