Issue 1 | OCtOber | 2018

OCEAN WASTE AS A RESOURCE

TU Freiberg PhD student Kevin Günther with waste sample and pure granulate raw material

In this is sue:

Top Position for TU Bergakademie Freiberg in Current University Rankings P. 7Underwater Researchers from TU Freiberg Visit Egypt and Israel P. 11TU Freiberg Researchers Among Top Ten at 2018 Steel Innovation Awards P. 16‘Blue Biotechnology’: Anti-Cancer Wonder-Drugs from the Ocean P. 17How Drones Explore the Underworld P. 20

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BEST PREPARED FOR THEIR STUDIESFor many young people, going to uni-

versity marks the beginning of a new

phase in their lives. We want to ac-

company our freshmen on their edu-

cational journey, and have compiled

the information they need to begin their

studies. The lectures for winter semester

2018/19 begin on October 15, 2018.

In the 14-day orientation and introduc-

tory period from October 1 to Octo-

ber 12, we offer introductory lectures

and preparatory courses in the natural

sciences to refresh the knowledge they

acquired during their studies for their

high school diploma. TU Bergakademie

Freiberg‘s student council will supple-

ment the program with numerous events

during the first four weeks. Here is an

overview:

01.10. (Monday) Preparatory course in Physics + bar evening in the Alte Mensa club, from 8 pm

02.10. (Tuesday) Preparatory course in Physics + buffet and party in the EAC, from 8 pm

03.10. (Wednesday) National holiday: Hangover Brunch – Leftovers in the EAC from 10 am, followed by rally through the city

04.10. (Thursday) Preparatory course in Chemistry, followed by barbeque and sports at the Winklerbau

05.10. (Friday) Preparatory course in Chemistry + Table football tournament and bar evening in the EAC club, from 8 pm

06.10. (Saturday) Chemistry and Physics follow-up courses with breakfast in the BBK, from 10 am / Student advisory service

07.10. (Sunday) Chemistry and Physics follow-up courses / student advisory service

08.10. (Monday) Centralized introduction / Services marketplace / Preparatory course in Mathema-tics / Meeting for student representatives / Pool party from 4 pm

09.10 (Tuesday) Preparatory course in Mathematics / Freshers cinema and bar evening in the Alte Mensa, from 8 pm

10.10 (Wednesday) Preparatory course in Mathematics / Get-to-know-you meeting for student repre-sentatives

11.10. (Thursday) Preparatory course in Mathematics + pub crawl, from 5 pm

12.10. (Friday) Preparatory course in Mathematics / Evening: Rock for Help from 6 pm in the Tivoli Concert Hall / Karaoke in the EAC from 9 pm

13.10. (Saturday) Mathematics follow-up course / Student advisory service / Student loan advice in the BBK from 10 am + Evening: Rock for Help (from 6 pm in the Tivoli Concert Hall) / Discover New Places: Brazil (EAC) from 9 pm

14.10. (Sunday) Mathematics follow-up course / Student advisory service / Student loan advice in the BBK from 10 am + Evening: Pub quiz in the EAC, from 8 pm

16.10. (Tuesday) Akademische Feier + Freshers Party in the Alte Mensa, from 8 pm

20.10. (Saturday) Frühschoppen (Morning drinks - Alte Mensa) from 10 am + Study Group Afternoon + Street festival

27.10. (Saturday) IKEA Tour

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* Start of lectures

All information and events for Freshers can also be accessed through our Freshman app:https://lineupr.com/tu-freiberg/starthilfe

UNi-LiFE

„TImE FOR nEw PIOnEERS“TU Freiberg launched its information campaign „Time for New Pioneers“ with the microsite neuepioniere.de, which went online on April 27. The newly designed site is optimized for mobile devices and informs prospective students quickly and easily about study opportunities in Freiberg.

RACETECH TRAInInG wITH nEw RACInG CARWeighing approx. 200 kilo-grams, the new racing car from Freiberg‘s Racetech team was unveiled in a ceremony at the beginning of May. In the coming months, the car will be tested on an asphalt track in Freital – which is also the location for the Race-tech Classic Cup, a public event with several teams. All this serves as preparation for international events in Hungary (Za-laegerszeg), Austria (Spielberg) and Spain (Barcelona).

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nEw KInDERGARTEn EXTEnSIOn

After a one-year construction period, the extension to TU Freiberg‘s Student’s Union children‘s daycare centre on Hornmühlenweg was inaugurated on April 11, and there are now 25 more places. In total, the Student’s Union offers 150 places for children from the age of four months in its two facilities.

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GETTInG TO KnOw YOUR UnIExperience the university, courses of study, student life and the university city of Freiberg – this was the motto of CampusTag (Campus Open Day) on June 9. Around 300 visitors accepted the university‘s in-vitation, including many prospective students and their families. The next CampusTag will take place on January 10, 2019.

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UNi-LiFE

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Every day we meet people at our university – on campus,

in administration, in the cafeteria or in the library, and their

stories are as varied as they are. We met with interesting

individuals, accompanied them in their everyday lives and

had funny – and often unexpected – conversations. Every

month we put a new story online...

Jasna Sager and Dr. Daniel Schlothmann are the first two

faces in our series of interviews. In addition to her everyday

life as a student of geotechnics, Jasna is involved in a variety

of initiatives at the university. Dr. Schlothmann is a lecturer at

the Chair of Economics, and writes books in his spare time,

such as his Chronik der Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft (‘Chronicle

of the Football World Cup’) and Trumponomics. You can read

all of the campus stories here:

q https://tu-freiberg.de/leben/freizeit-und-kultur/

campusgeschichten.

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Jasna Sager Dr. Daniel Schlothmann

nEw SOCIAL mEDIA CHAnnEL

The Twitter account @TUBergakademie has been

reactivated. Press releases, events, important dates

and other news are being posted. This social media channel is pri-

marily intended to serve as a platform for addressing the university

and science scenes as well as political and media representatives.

Social icon

Rounded squareOnly use blue and/or white.

For more details check out ourBrand Guidelines.

CAmPUS STORIES: InDIVIDUAL PORTRAITS OF OUR UnIVERSITY

Do you have a great story to tell? Then we are looking for you!

Who has an unusual hobby, or a special ability? Who exactly

is the indispensable person, the life and soul of an institute or

faculty? Send us your suggestions by e-mail to: alumni@zuv.tu-freiberg.de

PROGRESS In LIGnITE GEOLOGY AnD PETROLOGY

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The national working group on coal and organic Petrology (AKOP) met on September 7 and 8 for its 84th session at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. In this picture, an excursion group vi-sits the Grana clay quarry of Sibelco Deutschland GmbH near Zeitz.

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FREIBERG’S REICHE ZECHE TO BE ‘ORE AREnA’ AT SAXOnY’S 4TH STATE EXHIBITIOn In 2020During a visit to the Reiche Zeche un-

derground research and training mine

at TU Bergakademie Freiberg in May,

Saxony‘s Minister of Science and the

Arts, Dr. Eva-Maria Stange, awarded

a grant of 500,000 euro. The TU is

using the funds to design the „Schau-

platz Erz“ (Ore Arena) as an accompa-

nying exhibition to Saxony‘s 4th State

Exhibition (from April 25 to November

1, 2020). It is planned to transform the

underground museum-style educatio-

nal trail into a knowledge-experience

trail. Interesting research projects will be

showcased on a research tour that will

take visitors past selected experimental

stations. Various additional exhibitions

are planned in museums throughout

Saxony.

q www.sla2020.de

CHE RAnKInG: PODIUm PLACE FOR TU BERG-AKADEmIE FREIBERG

On May 8, the latest ranking of the

Centre for Higher Education (CHE) was

published. TU Bergakademie Freiberg

rated very highly in the fields of che-

mistry, business administration, and

geosciences, as well as in mechanical

engineering, process engineering and

energy engineering.

In chemistry, the Bergakademie achie-

ved very good results in the categories

„Degrees in reasonable time“ and „Sup-

port at the beginning of studies“, placing it

in the leading group of universities.

TU Bergakademie Freiberg also achie-

ved top ratings in the field of geoscien-

ces – and in particular, the domains of

international orientation and the general

conditions for study.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Saxony’s Minister of Science and the Arts, Dr. Eva-Maria Stange, presents the Certificate of Funding

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GERmAn RESEARCH FOUnDATIOn FUnDInG 2018: TOP POSITIOn In mATERIALS AnD RAw mATERIALS RESEARCHThe so-called ‚funding atlas‘ published

at the beginning of July by the German

Research Foundation (DFG) – and co-

vering the period from 2014 to 2016 –

demonstrates once again the research

strength of TU Bergakademie Freiberg.

In the field of materials science and raw

materials technology, TU Freiberg ranks

fourth in Germany among universities

with the highest number of funding ap-

provals, while it ranked first by a wide

margin in the field of raw materials

technology. In the field of engineering

sciences, TU Freiberg ranks 17th in Ger-

many while competing predominantly

against much larger universities. In

terms of the ratio of third-party funding

per professor in the engineering scien-

ces, TU Bergakademie Freiberg ranks

6th overall.

mathematics“ course at HUST (Hanoi

University of Science and Technology).

His career has also included numerous

guest professorships, including a stay in

2002 in Tsukuba (Japan), in 2003 in

Turin, in 2008 in Paris, and two further

stays in Japan as part of a program from

the Japanese Society for the Promoti-

on of Science (2008 and 2013). Prof.

Reissig conducts research on the theory

of partial differential equations, and in

particular on wave models and gene-

ral evolution equations. The focus of his

research is on questions of stability and

the long-term behavior of mathematical

solutions. At present, he is also the leader

of an international research group that

consists of one doctoral student each

from Algeria, China, Germany, Italy,

Turkey and Vietnam.

COmmUnICATInG mATH: PROFESSOR EXPAnDS

InTERnATIOnAL nETwORKS wITH ISAAC PRESIDEnCY

Professor Michael Reissig, President of the ISAAC Society

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As President of the ISAAC (the Internatio-

nal Society for Augmentative and Alter-

native Communication), math professor

Michael Reissig is actively expanding

the international networking capacity

of TU Bergakademie Freiberg.

The Bergakademie‘s Professor of Parti-

al Differential Equations was elected to

the position in August 2017 at the 11th

ISAAC Congress in Växjö, Sweden, and

will serve as President until the next Con-

gress in Aveiro, Portugal in July, 2019. As

president, however, his re-election for a

second two-year term is also possible. In

his presidential capacity at ISAAC, Prof.

Reissig must meet a large number of in-

ternational representative commitments.

The ISAAC society was founded in

1995 in Delaware (USA). Every two

years, the society organizes a congress

with about 350 participants. The ISAAC

is committed to pooling efforts and acti-

vities for the development of mathema-

tical analysis, theory, practical applica-

tions and simulation.

From 2005 to 2008, Prof. Reissig

was actively involved in the „Techno-

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VFF DOnATES LAPTOPSOn July 2, two board members of TU Bergakademie Freiberg‘s Association

of Friends (VFF) presented new laptops to four students who had had to flee

their native countries. The laptops were financed by the „Barbara Scho-

larship“ fund. With the help of the fund,

foreign students who have fled their native

land due to war and terrorism are suppor-

ted in the first year of their matriculation at

TU Bergakademie Freiberg. The selection

of the students to be sponsored is carried

out with the support of Ms. Klara Schön-

felder of the International Centre (IUZ) at

the university.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

TU BERGAKADEmIE FREIBERG PARTICIPATES In GESCHwISTER-SCHOLL HIGH SCHOOL OPEn DAY

HARZ REGIOn: mULTI-FACETED GEOLOGY

On geological exploratory tour with russian guests.

Benjamin Bock (2nd from right) and Madlen Müller (3rd from left), members of the Chair of Ceramics at the Institute of Ceramic, Glass and Construction Materials, show visitors to the open day the production of ceramic filters for metal melt filtration, which are researched in the Collaborative Research Centre 920.

The Geologische Gemeinschaft zu Freiberg

(Freiberg‘s Geological Association – GGF)

explored Germany‘s Harz region during a

6-day excursion this spring. The GGF is a

non-profit association that was founded in

2017 by students of TU Bergakademie Frei-

berg, and which now boasts more than 20

members. The excursion to the Harz Moun-

tains was realized in cooperation with the

SEG Student Chapter, Freiberg and with

the support of the Institute of Mineralogy

at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. Due to the

Bergakademie‘s cooperation with the ‚Gor-

nyi‘ Mining University in Saint Petersburg,

four Russian students were also able to par-

ticipate.

On June 28, the Geschwister-Scholl High

School in Freiberg organised an open

day during which the pupils of the 8th,

9th and 11th grades were able to expand

their knowledge with external partners in a

multidisciplinary manner. Three workshops

were organized by TU Bergakademie Frei-

berg. The Institute for Ceramic, Glass and

Construction Materials showed the pupils

the importance of ceramic materials in their

everyday lives. The role of domestic and

global raw materials and their recovery

were presented by the Institute of Mining

Engineering and Special Civil Engineering.

The Institute of Mineralogy inspired the stu-

dents with a fascination for the minerals and

rocks of our earth.

HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS FROm EUROPEAn mInInG REGIOnSA conference organized by the Institute of Industrial Archaeology and His-

tory of Science and Technology at TU Bergakademie Freiberg on May 24

dealt with photographs of mining and smelting works from the 19th century.

The focus was on commission work for groups or steel and smelting works.

Topics included, for example, Krupp cannons at the World Expositions of the

19th century, the social activities of entrepreneurs, geological peculiarities

underground or new mining extraction and transportation methods. At the con-

ference, experts from the Ruhr

district, Saarland and Harz as

well as from Cornwall/Eng-

land, Liège/Belgium and

Krakow/Poland spoke about

historical photographs of that

time.

Laptops are handed over to the four students in the court-yard of the main university building.

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iNTERNATiONAL

TU Bergakademie Freiberg organized

a conference on „Biotechnology in

Mining“ in Ukraine from April 25 to

27, 2018. The event took place at the

Bergakademie‘s partner university in

the industrial city of Dnipro, and was

supported by the German Academic

Exchange Service (DAAD).

With DAAD support, there has been

intensive academic exchange with the

Technical University (the „National Mi-

ning University“) in Dnipro since 2013.

When the cooperation began, the

Bergakademie‘s Professors Hermann

Heilmeier and Michael Schlömann

held lectures on new biotechnologies

in mining – lecture courses that were

then adopted and developed further

by Ukrainian lecturers. In addition, six

Bachelor‘s and six Master‘s students

from the Ukraine visited Saxony‘s best-

known mining town in 2015 and 2016.

At the recent conference, the broad

field of biological research in mining

was presented and discussed. This

allowed Prof. Heilmeier to present his

phytomining project „Phalaris II“. The

project involves the cultivation of reed

canarygrass, which has the ability to

absorb the element germanium from

the soil and store it. „This is interesting

because Germanium is an important

raw material for semiconductor tech-

nologies,“ explained Prof. Heilmeier.

„Unfortunately, the concentrations in-

volved are not yet sufficient for com-

mercial exploitation. We are still re-

searching this by, for example, using

different varieties or by cultivating the

soil in certain ways.“ Experiments are

also being carried out with strategi-

cally important rare earth elements.

UKRAInE: APPLYInG BIOTECHnOLOGY TO mInInG

LIGHTwEIGHT EnGInEERInG CEnTER wITH POLISH PARTnERS PLAnnEDOn May 17, TU Bergakademie Frei-

berg signed a cooperation agreement

in Gliwice, Poland, for the establish-

ment of a Polish-German Centre for hy-

brid lightweight engineered structures.

The partners in the agreement are

the Silesian University of Technology,

the City of Gliwice, the Katowice Spe-

cial Economic Zone Co., the ‚Bielsko‘

Silesian Federation of Aviation Com-

panies, the Institute of Lightweight En-

gineering and Polymer Technology at

TU Dresden, and TU Bergakademie

Freiberg.

TOP POSITIOn FOR TU BERGAKADEmIE FREIBERG In CUR-REnT UnIVERSITY RAnKInG

TU Bergakademie Freiberg has garne-

red one of the top positions in a cur-

rent university ranking. In the 2018 QS

World University Rankings by Subject,

which was published recently by QS

Quacquarelli Symonds in London, the

Bergakademie took fourth place in the

field of Mineral & Mining Engineering.

Ludwig-Maximilians University in

Munich was also awarded fourth

place – in the field of Classics & Ancient

History. These results were the highest

rank any German universities achieved

in the 48 subjects examined. The QS

World University Rankings by Subject

lists universities internationally by fields

of study, and is designed as a compre-

hensive resource for students, parents,

teachers, scientists and policy makers.

FREIBERG: US COn-SUL GEnERAL VISITS RESOURCE UnIVER-SITYThe American Consul General for

Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thurin-

gia, Mr. Timothy Eydelnant, visited

TU Bergakademie Freiberg on June

22. Mr. Eydelnant was eager to un-

derstand more about current research

projects at the Resource University and

its exchange programs with partner

universities in the US, including with

Pittsburg, Virginia, Colorado and Sou-

th Dakota. During his stay in Freiberg,

he also signed the roll of honor at TU

Bergakademie Freiberg and visited the

new casting-rolling line for magnesium

at the Institute of Metal Forming.

FREIBERG‘S EXPERTISE In DEmAnD In RUSSIA

Raw Materials Forum.

Prof. Drebenstedt (4th from left) with Russian scientists at his lecture at the German-Russian House in Moscow

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At a webinar attended by approx.

180 online participants, Prof. Cars-

ten Drebenstedt from Freiberg (4th

from left) gave a lecture on the topic

of recultivating post-mining lands-

capes. The lecture was part of an in-

ternational spring conference in the

German-Russian House in Moscow.

The organizers were the German

Society for International Coopera-

tion (GIZ) and the German-Russian

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UNivERSiTäT

SCIEnCE In THE SPOTLIGHT From June 6 to 8, hundreds of national and international re-presentatives from science, industry and politics met again at the 13th BHT Technical Colloquium – the Freiberg Univer-sity Forum at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. They gathered to learn about the latest technologies and processes involved in a resource-oriented recycling economy. The next forum is scheduled for June 5-7, 2019.

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Are you still in contact with researchers

in Freiberg?

Yes, I am still in contact with my

colleagues and friends that I met in

Freiberg. Just to name a few, I have

very good contact with Dr.-Ing. Taras

Shepel, who is currently working at

the Institute of Mining Engineering and

Special Civil Engineering at Faculty 3.

In fact, we have initiated a bilateral

collaborative project on establishing

Master‘s Programs in Mining and

Geotechnical Engineering in Laos.

Dipl.-Ing. Bruno Grafe – my colleague

at the same institute – was very helpful

with this project, which is led by Prof.

Dr. Carsten Drebenstedt and Prof. Dr.

Klapperich. I hope that I can return to

TU Freiberg some day for a short re-

search visit.

I absolutely love this little city at the

foot of Germany’s Ore Mountains. It

offers so many things that I could never

have experienced in my own country. I

am very thankful – to my supervisors,

to Freiberg and to the DAAD for its fi-

nancial support of my doctoral studies.

I now think of the Bergakademie as

my second home, and I treasure every

minute that I spent in Freiberg.

FROm PRAGUE TO FREIBERG: CZECH RESEARCHER nOw HUmBOLDT FELLOw AT TU FREIBERG

Czech graphene expert Dr. Ondrej Jankovsky shows his Italian colleague Enrico Storti a carbon solution.

Graphene is regarded by many as THE

miracle material of the future: so miracu-

lous, in fact, that it may one day replace

silicon as the raw material for micro-

chips. Originally from Prague, the Czech

Humboldt fellow Dr. Ondrej Jankovsky

is a proven expert on the carbon com-

pounds graphene and graphene oxide,

and he carried out research from March

to September 2018 at the Institute for Ce-

ramic, Glass and Construction Materials

at TU Bergakademie Freiberg.

The 30-year-old scientist from the Uni-

versity of Chemistry and Technology in

Prague was supporting research into

carbon-containing refractory materials

as key components for the metallurgical

processes researched by Prof. Christos

G. Aneziris at the Chair of Ceramics.

During his research work, Dr. Jankovs-

ky also supported the investigations of

the Collaborative Research Center 920

“Multifunctional Filters for Metal Melt Fil-

tration – A Contribution to Zero-Defect

Materials”, including into new fields of

use for graphene and graphene oxide

and, in particular, for applications at

high temperatures (> 1,500 °C).

iNTERNATiONAL

FROm LAOS TO FREIBERG AnD BACK

Dr.-Ing. Inthanongsone INTHAVONGSA obtained his PhD at TU Freiberg and is now working at the National University of Laos (NUOL).

What was your PhD topic, and what

feedback did you receive from your su-

pervisors?

The topic of my PhD thesis was „Deve-

lopment of Real Options Framework for

Open Pit Mines Project Valuation“. Prof.

Dr. Carsten Drebenstedt was the main

supervisor, and Prof. Dr. J.C. Bongaerts

the co-supervisor of my PhD thesis. My su-

pervisors were very supportive, attentive

and helpful to my PhD work. They were

always there for me when I needed help

and when I needed to ask questions. The

suggestions, comments, and criticism from

my supervisors were very useful to me in

improving the quality of my PhD disserta-

tion. I received very good feedback from

my supervisors and was awarded a „very

good“ grade for my PhD defense.

Dr. Inthavongsa was a PhD student

at TU Bergakademie Freiberg from

October 2013 to October 2017. He

is now contributing his knowledge to

the economy of his native Laos. We

spoke to him recently.

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InTERnATIOnAL DAYThe International Centre (IUZ) at TU Bergakademie Freiberg

organized its annual International Day on June 20. Visitors

were able to obtain information and advice about the IUZ‘s

wide range of offers and activities. Among other things, for-

eign students presented their home countries and gave the

guests an insight into their cultural peculiarities. The day was

marked by a colorful cultural programme with music and

entertainment.

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TU FREIBERG PROFESSOR GIVES LECTURE In POLAR REGIOn

UnDERGROUnD InnO-VATIOn: BALTIC SEA RESEARCH nETwORK mEETS In FREIBERG

A new network of European research mi-

nes and underground laboratories met from

March 7 to 9 in the Reiche Zeche research

mine at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. The aim

of the project is to create a collaborative re-

search portfolio for partners in the industry.

The four-year Baltic Sea Underground

Innovation Network (BSUIN) project is

funded by the European Union (EU) to the

tune of 3.4 million euro through the Interreg

Baltic Sea Region funding cooperation. The

BSUIN project has 14 members from eight

countries bordering the Baltic Sea, including

six underground laboratories and research

facilities.

iNTERNATiONAL

The subterranean research laboratory in Ruskeala, Russia

UNIS building in Longyearbyen, Spitzbergen

Underwater researchers from TU Bergakademie Freiberg travelled to Egypt in May

to participate in the International Red Sea Symposium in Hurghada from May 11 to

12. The conference was organized by the UNESCO UNITWIN Network for Under-

water Archaeology within the framework of the International Year of the Reef, 2018.

In April of this year, the staff of the Scientific Diving Center at TU Freiberg (under

the direction of Dr. Thomas Pohl and Prof. Dr. Broder Merkel) embarked on a ten-

day research mission to the Dead Sea. They investigated groundwater sources in

the extremely saline water there in an attempt to find causes for the sharp drop in

the sea‘s water level, which sinks by approx. one meter each year. The decline of

the Dead Sea creates cavities in coastal areas that sometimes collapse, causing

serious damage to buildings and roads. To study this phenomenon, the scientists

took samples from submarine groundwater sources at depths of three to 20 meters

below the surface. These are currently being investigated in German and Israeli

laboratories.

The excursion was carried out under absolute drought conditions, with air tem-

peratures of up to 45°C and water temperatures of up to 27°C. Since the sites of

investigation were not always accessible by even off-road vehicles, the scientists

often had to carry their equipment (weighing around 400 kilograms) through the

rocky terrain to the shore. Due to the high salt content and, thus, the high degree

of buoyancy of the Dead Sea, the divers needed up to 60 kilograms of additional

weight on their bodies to be able to work under water at all.

UnDERwATER RESEARCHERS FROm TU FREIBERG VISIT EGYPT AnD ISRAEL

A scientific diver in the Dead Sea

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A mining professor from TU Bergaka-

demie Freiberg, Prof. Dr. Carsten Dre-

benstedt, gave a lecture in March at

the world‘s northernmost university.

The mining specialist was a guest at the

University Center in Svalbard (UNIS) on

the island of Spitsbergen off the northern

coast of Norway.

In his guest lecture, Prof. Drebenstedt

discussed Germany‘s “Energiewende”

(energy transition) with international

guests from UNIS – including the role

of coal in that transition. In particular, he

explained how the experience gained

in environmentally and socially respon-

sible mining in Germany is playing an

important role. “With the specialist fields

of geology, geophysics and technology

and how they are tailored to the Arctic

region, UNIS offers interesting opportu-

nities for cooperation with TU Bergaka-

demie Freiberg,” said Prof. Drebenstedt.

Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen, one of

the northernmost towns in the world, is

home to the University Center in Sval-

bard (UNIS), the northernmost institution

of all Norwegian universities. In dealing

with sensitive Arctic ecosystems, the de-

velopment of geological resources in the

Arctic region is a primary focus of UNIS.

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iNTERNATiONAL

TU BERGAKADEmIE FREIBERG InTEnSIFIES PARTnERSHIP wITH mOnTAnUnIVERSITÄT LEOBEn

TU Bergakademie Freiberg has expanded its cooperation with

the Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria. In March, four doctoral

students from the two universities met in Styria (Steiermark) for

scientific exchange on their research within the framework of the

newly founded post-graduate colloquium on raw material ac-

ceptance. The new colloquium complements existing cooperati-

on between the universities in joint international study programs

and further activities in raw materials research and education.

„The exchange with the scientists from Leoben and, in parti-

cular, the discussions held after the lectures will definitely enrich

my doctoral studies,“ said media expert Stefanie Walter, who

conducts research at TU Bergakademie Freiberg into the com-

munication of complex mining issues in critical environments.

Dipl.-Geoecologist Kirstin Kleeberg represented TU Freiberg

at the post-graduate colloquium with a topic on the levels of

knowledge about raw materials among pupils and young peo-

ple. Both are industrial scholarship holders supported by the

European Social Fund.

mATERIAL RESEARCHER VISITS TU DELFTA delegation of professors of materials science and enginee-

ring from TU Freiberg headed by Prof. Dr. Rudolf Kawalla,

Prorector for Research, visited the Technical University of Delft

in the Netherlands on June 20 and 21. The subject of the dis-

cussions was the development of a cooperation agreement

between the two universities. During the visit, possible areas

of cooperation in research and education were discussed,

including in the technological fields of materials and process

analysis and simulation, the development of innovative light-

weight engineering and functional materials, and materials

research into additives for production. Another focus will be

the joint training of young scientists.

As at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, materials research at TU

Delft forms one of the central pillars of their academic profile,

indicating that the research areas and equipment of the two

universities complement each other quite well.

EnERGY TRAnSITIOn In EUROPE – InTERnATIOnAL SPRInG SCHOOL AT TU FREIBERGHow can the “Energiewende” (Energy Transition) in the Euro-

pean Union be carried out efficiently? Some 75 participants

from more than 15 countries addressed this question at the

International Spring School hosted by TU Bergakademie

Freiberg at Freudenstein Castle from March 19 to 22, 2018.

The theme of the Spring School was European Energy System

Transformation and Climate Policy – Heterogeneous Perspec-

tives Ranging from Global via European to Local. Experts

from the most diverse scientific disciplines such as economics,

psychology and the natural sciences traveled to TU Freiberg

to exchange their knowledge.

Dipl.-Ing. Michael Tost and MA Susanne Feiel were the

representatives from Leoben. Mr. Tost‘s topic was that of

„Environmental costs in the context of the limits of our planet

and their influence on mining“, while Ms. Feiel presented

„Responsible production/consumption using the example of

the aluminum cycle“.

Among the 170 partner universities associated with TU

Bergakademie Freiberg, the 175-year-old Montanuniversität

The post-graduate colloquium

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in Leoben holds a special position. It is the only university in

Austria with a mining profile analogous to Freiberg, and has

a comparable size with approx. 4,000 students.

13

In May, the Freiberg-Kazan double-

master degree in Paleontology/Strati-

graphy was again awarded via Skype.

The agreement was signed in 2016, and

means that the Dean of the Faculty and

Director of the Institute of Geology and

Petroleum Engineering of Kazan Univer-

sity, Professor Dr. Danis K. Nurgaliev,

could communicate with Kazan’s gradu-

ates from 2017 and 2018 at TU Freiberg

by video link. Some 800 kilometers east

of Moscow, Kazan is the capital of the

Russian Republic of Tatarstan and is an

important scientific location.

CHInESE SCIEnTIST In FREIBERG TO InVESTIGATE THE RECYCLInG OF STEEL SLAGS

The double-masters graduates with their certificates

Prof. Olena Volkova with Chinese Humboldt fellow, Dr. Yong Fan.

GRADUATES OF DOUBLE-mASTERS PROGRAm COnFERRED

Chinese materials scientist Dr. Yong

Fan has dedicated himself to reducing

the amount of waste that occurs during

steel production. Since the beginning

of January 2018, he has been carrying

out research at the Institute of Iron and

Steel Technology at TU Bergakademie

Freiberg. Dr. Fan is a scholarship-hol-

der from the Alexander von Humboldt

Foundation. “China is currently the

world‘s market leader with an annual

production of around one billion tonnes

of steel. The question of what happens

RESOURCE-ORIEnTED EnVIROnmEnTAL TECHnOLOGIES FOR THE 21ST CEnTURY

How abandoned, contaminated mi-

ning waste can become a source of raw

materials – this is the question that scien-

tists from TU Freiberg are dealing with in

the „rECOmine“ joint environmental pro-

ject. As one of 32 convincing proposals,

it has been evaluated positively by the

German Federal Ministry of Education

and Research (BMBF) funding program

„WIR! – Transformation through Regio-

nal Innovation“ and is now entering the

conception phase. With this project, the

EIT RawMaterials Regional Center Frei-

berg intends to bundle expertise in the

field of environmental technologies in

the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountain) mining

region and work on new test facilities. In

the longer term, the solutions developed

in this regional context are to be esta-

blished on the world market. TU Berg-

akademie Freiberg is working on this new

form of raw material extraction with the

Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource

Technology and SAXONIA Standortent-

wicklungs- und -verwaltungsgesellschaft

mbH. The project is also supported by

Wirtschaftsförderung Erzgebirge GmbH.

to the large quantities of waste that are

incurred is far from irrelevant,” said Dr.

Fan. In the course of his scholarship, he

will carry out research in Freiberg until

the end of 2019 on how waste products

from steel production can be reduced

and recycled. He is conducting his in-

vestigations at the Institute of Iron and

Steel Technology (IEST) at TU Bergaka-

demie Freiberg.

“In our so-called ‚Slag Laboratory‘,

Dr. Fan analyzes waste materials such

as slags and dusts at temperatures of up

to 1,650 degrees Celsius,” explained

Prof. Olena Volkova, head of the IEST.

Highly specialized laboratory instru-

ments are used in the process, such as

a hot stage microscope designed and

constructed by the scientists themselves.

The first-class international reputati-

on of TU Bergakademie Freiberg drew

the 31-year-old materials scientist to

the University: “The Bergakademie is

very well known in China in the field of

metallurgy,” he said. TU Bergakademie

Freiberg has signed an agreement with

his alma mater in Wuhan, China, regar-

ding double doctoral studies.

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TU FREIBERG STREnGTHEnS COOPERATIOn wITH UnIVERSITIES In CHInATogether with Wuhan University of

Science and Technology (WUST), TU

Bergakademie Freiberg plans to estab-

lish an international laboratory for new

technologies in refractory materials and

metallurgy. Bergakademie Rector Prof. Dr.

Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht signed an ag-

reement to this effect with WUST President

Prof. Hongwei Ni in China on May 11.

During his trip to China from May 5 to

11, Rector Prof. Barbknecht also deepe-

ned TU Freiberg‘s cooperation with three

other elite Chinese universities. Among

the agreements signed was a renewal of

the “4+2 Program” with China Univer-

sity of Mining and Technology (CUMT)

in Beijing on May 7. Another was the

expansion of a joint double master’s ag-

reement with China University of Geosci-

ences (CUGB) in Beijing. This agreement

focuses on the field of economics and

business administration – and in particu-

lar the “International Business in Develo-

ping and Emerging Markets” program.

Some 215 students and 31 doctoral can-

didates from China are currently enrolled

at TU Bergakademie Freiberg.

SUPER-LIGHT mATERIALS OF THE FUTURE: TU FREIBERG OPEnS nEw FACILITY FOR mAGnESIUm TECHnOLOGIES

TU Bergakademie Freiberg is brea-

king new ground in exploring the use

of magnesium – a strong, lightweight

metal. This research will play an impor-

tant role in the courses of study “Ma-

terials Science and Technology” and

“Vehicle Construction: Materials and

Components”. On March 21, a new

research facility was inaugurated to

enable the production of magnesium

wire. In a world first, the facility will ap-

ply the energy- and resource-efficient

casting-rolling technology developed

and patented at TU Bergakademie Frei-

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berg. A strong and super-light material,

magnesium will be used in the future in

biomedical applications, or in joining

technologies in the form of screws or

welding wire.

The plant can operate for up to ele-

ven hours while continuously producing

wires, or rods up to a diameter of 20

centimeters and with lengths of up to

eight meters. In the new plant, the metal

melt is cast directly between two rota-

ting rollers and undergoes solidification

during its first forming pass. This not only

makes the wire more stable, but also

makes the production sequence more

efficient. With this technique, process

steps and, thus, material and energy

costs can be reduced, while at the

same time improving both productivi-

ty and operating efficiency. If the tests

are promising, the pilot plant will see

the technology transferred to industrial

scale.

The project is being funded to the

tune of five million euro by Saxony‘s

Ministry of Science and the Arts through

the European Regional Development

Fund (ERDF).

15

PLASTIC wASTE AnD OCEAn GARBAGE: RAw mATERIALS FOR CHEmICAL InDUSTRIES

The littering of the environment is a global challenge of the 21st century. The Freiberg Institute of Energy Process Engineering

and chemical engineering is working on a new project to reduce the amount of plastic waste in the ocean.

RESEARCh

The issue of plastic waste in the environ-

ment is one of the global challenges of

the 21st century. TU Freiberg‘s Institute

of Energy Process Engineering (IEC) is

facing up to this challenge, and is wor-

king on a new project to recycle plastic

refuse and waste from the ocean.

Up until now, the recycling of plastic

waste has focused on the higher-quality

constituents of the waste. However, re-

searchers from Freiberg are intent on

using their method to recycle the rest,

which is currently disposed of in land-

fills or incinerated. Led by the head of

the institute, Prof. Dr. Bernd Meyer, the

team works on converting the carbon-

containing waste (including plastic

waste and ocean garbage) into a syn-

thesis gas in a large-scale pilot plant

on the Institute‘s site in Freiberg. The

liquid gas consists of hydrogen and

carbon, and can be used to produce

new plastics. Scientists can produce

up to half a tonne of plastic from one

tonne of waste, and with less carbon

dioxide released than with the previous

incineration of the waste. Prof. Meyer‘s

team is thus making an important con-

tribution to the efficient recycling eco-

nomy of the future. Saxony‘s Minister

of Science and the Arts, Dr. Eva-Maria

Stange, inspected the facility during her

visit to Freiberg in May. Dr. Alexander

Laugwitz, who is responsible for the

technological development of solid-

material gasification, explained the

volume potential of the chemical use

of previously incinerated residual was-

te, and the additional requirements for

the further development of gasification

technologies. During the visit, the Mi-

nister also gained a direct impression of

the large-scale test facilities at the IEC

and the input materials used, such as

plastic waste from the oceans (provided

for the project by NABU, Germany‘s

Nature and Biodiversity Conservation

Union).

Saxony’s Ministry of Science and

the Arts has funded a corresponding

research project on low-CO2 coal

chemistry and chemical recycling as a

contribution to a sustainable and low-

emission recycling economy in Saxony

and its neighboring regions.

In addition to projects in receipt of

public funding from the state and fe-

deral governments, the Institute also

cooperates with major national and

international industrial partners.

(from left) Institute Director Prof. Dr. Bernd Meyer explains the procedure to Saxony‘s Minister of Science and the Arts, Dr. Eva-Maria Stange and Mr. Leif Timmermann, Managing Director of EP Power Europe.

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Two research projects at TU Bergakade-

mie Freiberg placed among the top ten

at this year‘s Steel Innovation Awards,

which were presented in the presence

of the Federal Minister of Economic Af-

fairs and Energy, Mr. Peter Altmaier, at

the ‘Berliner Stahldialog’ (Berlin Steel

Conference) on June 13. According to

the German Steel Center, Germany

is the largest steel producer in the EU

and the seventh-largest steel producer

in the world. At some 17.2 billion euro,

the steel industry in Germany accounts

for around 30 percent of the value

added by the steel industry in Europe.

Steel is also the subject of research at

TU Bergakademie Freiberg. Among this

year‘s 561 entries to the Steel Innova-

tion Award, two projects from Freiberg

in the category ‘Steel in Research and

Development’ were among the ten best

entries.

TU FREIBERG RESEARCHERS In TOP TEn AT 2018 STEEL InnOVATIOn AwARDS

Top prize: A sculpture by the artist Stefanie Welk

HIGH-STREnGTH SHEET STEEL FOR HEAT EX-CHAnGERSA novel project is being funded by the

Federal Ministry of Education and Re-

search under the leadership of Prof. Dr.

Andreas Weiss at the Institute of Iron

and Steel Technology at TU Bergakade-

mie Freiberg. Christina Schröder‘s team

developed a more cost-effective form of

stainless steel: The new metal is stronger

and, at the same time, more ductile than

conventional stainless steels. This means

that savings can be made amounting to

approximately a quarter of the materi-

al normally required. For example, only

half of the normal quantity of nickel –

an expensive alloying element – is re-

quired, which also reduces the risk of

contact allergies. A patent is currently

pending for the steel, the process for its

production in the form of thin sheet me-

tal, and its application. The developers

are TU Bergakademie Freiberg (the Ins-

titute of Iron and Steel Technology), DBI

Gas- und Umwelttechnik GmbH, WÄT-

AS Wärmetauscher Sachsen GmbH,

and GESMEX GmbH.

LOw-LOSS ELECTRICAL STEEL FOR EnERGY-EF-FICIEnT DRIVE SYSTEmS

The German Research Foundation’s Re-

search Unit no. 1897 at the Institute of

Metal Forming, TU Freiberg applied for

the Steel Innovation Award in the cate-

gory Steel in Research and Develop-

ment, and placed among the top ten.

The research group is working on the

further development and optimization

of the magnetic properties of highly

silicified non-grain-oriented electrical

steel components used in electric drives

and generators. In order to increase

their efficiency, the researchers exami-

ne the entire process chain experimen-

tally, and develop modeling strategies

to produce improved materials.

RESEARCh

The Foundry Institute’s new pilot plant for the production of thin-walled steel castings

After a construction period of one and

a half years, TU Bergakademie Frei-

berg inaugurated a pilot plant for the

production of thin-walled cast steel at

its Foundry Institute on June 26. The in-

stitute invested approx. 700,000 euro

in the hall and another half a million

euro in equipment. TU Freiberg’s project

partner – Borgwarner Turbo Systems

GmbH – is a significant supplier of au-

tomotive components, and also intends

to make a contribution (in the millions of

euro) in equipment and personnel over

the next five years.

Research at the new pilot plant is em-

bedded in the Faculty of Materials Sci-

ence and Materials Technology, where

materials scientists and technologists

work together on new materials and

processes. In the new pilot plant, inno-

vative steel grades are being develo-

ped for high-temperature applications

in turbochargers, which in turn require

hi-tech casting processes.

PILOT FOUnDRY InAUGURATED AT TU FREIBERG

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The new SHADE WINGS sunshade

Many road traffic accidents occur due to drivers being dazz-

led by sunlight. Now, three graduates of TU Bergakademie

Freiberg want to make driving safer and more comfortable

with the innovative SHADE WINGS visor.

The innovative visor protects drivers from constantly chan-

ging, incoming solar radiation and can be easily retrofitted to

passenger cars. Thanks to its ingenious sliding and clamping

mechanisms, the system is compatible with almost all cars. The

safety and functionality of the SHADE WINGS visor is also

certified by DEKRA, the German automotive testing company.

Shade Wings won the futureSAX Audience Award for Saxon

start-ups at the end of June, and have already received an

EXIST start-up grant from the Federal Ministry of Economic

Affairs and Energy, with which they were able to further de-

velop their project thanks to the support of the Saxeed start-up

network. SHADE WINGS can be ordered on the international

crowdfunding platform www.kickstarter.com.

FUTURESAX – AUDIEnCE AwARD FOR DRIVER GLARE PROTECTIOn

BIOmEDICInE: TU FREIBERG In-VESTIGATES STRESS REACTIOnS OF mICROORGAnISmSThe living conditions of microorganisms are the focus of a new

interdisciplinary project led by the Institute of Electronic and

Sensor Materials of TU Bergakademie Freiberg.

Researchers from TU Bergakademie Freiberg are investiga-

ting the stress reactions of microorganisms, and the findings

are to be used primarily in the field of biomedicine. The pro-

ject on “Microbiological Activity measurement using Chemical

Sensors (MACS)” is funded by Saxony‘s Ministry of Science

and the Arts and the Sächsische Aufbaubank and will run

until the end of 2020. The results will be used to improve

understanding of cell-to-cell communication processes during

the formation of biological films, and in the identification of

antibiotics. In addition, the results will be used in medicine

(tissue cultivation and diagnostics), biotechnology, bioenergy

processes, bioleaching and phytomining, as well as in food

technology.

AnTI-CAnCER DRUGS FROm THE OCEAn

Gold sponge

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Natural substances extracted from sea sponges have been

proven to have a healing effect on cancerous tumors and

metastases, according to researchers from TU Bergakademie

Freiberg and University Hospital Dresden. The results of their

research have now been published in the renowned scientific

journal Marine Drugs. Aeroplysinin-1, an active agent from the

so-called “Gold Sponge” or “Yellow Tube Sponge” (Aplysina

aerophoba), was identified for the first time in the laboratory as

a potential active agent against malignant pheochromocytoma

tumors and corresponding metastases in the adrenal medulla

(located just above the kidneys). As the researchers explain in

the Marine Drugs article, there is currently no adequate therapy

for this relatively common disease. Prof. Dr. Hermann Ehrlich is

head of the ‘Biomineralogy and Extreme Biomimetics’ research

group at the Institute of Experimental Physics, TU Bergakademie

Freiberg. Together with the spin-off company BromMarin GmbH

in Freiberg, Prof. Ehrlich and his research group specialize in

active substances and biomaterials made from marine sponges.

Initial research results and products have led to collaboration

with hospital director Prof. Dr. Stefan Bornstein and his team

at the Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital in Dresden. This

interdisciplinary cooperation has dedicated intensive research

work to the battle against cancer.

The term ‘blue biotechnology’ is derived from the color of the

sea, whose biological organisms are the subject of this discipli-

ne. Research into the diversity of the marine species found in our

seas and oceans could facilitate the discovery of new medicines

or, for example, enzymes that could be used in industry.

18

In the future, shopping, transporting parcels

and connecting to public transport will be

convenient and environmentally friendly

with an electric cargo bike. The Institute of

Electrical Engineering at TU Bergakademie

Freiberg is researching a bike-rental con-

cept with compact cargo bikes suitable for

everyday use. They will be tested in Freiberg

in the near future.

The project is being evaluated against

a background of increasing emissions and

the critical parking situation in city centers.

According to a study by the German Federal

Ministry of the Environment, 79 percent of

drivers could imagine doing without their

car more often, and two thirds of them say

that they would use their bicycles instead.

The electric cargo bike concept could prove

the perfect solution in the University City of

Freiberg.

The German Federal Ministry of Educa-

tion and Research is funding the one-year

concept phase to the tune of 100,000 euro

until the end of November, 2018. This will be

followed by a three-year test phase.

RESEARCh

ELECTRIC CARGO BIKE: REPLACInG THE CAR In EVERYDAY LIFE

Climate change has arrived in the Erzgebirge, but how will the situation develop

in the coming decades? Such were the questions addressed at this year‘s An-

naberg Climate Days, which were co-organized by TU Bergakademie Freiberg

on May 16 and 17, 2018.

Experts from Saxony and the neighboring Polish region discussed current

developments in climate change, such as torrential rainfall, drought and heat

waves. In particular, the results of new projects on the analysis, interpretation

and evaluation of regional climate data were presented.

TU Bergakademie Freiberg is also researching possibilities for predicting

extreme weather conditions in the context of climate change. To this end, the

Interdisciplinary Environmental Research Center of TU Freiberg received appro-

val for a doctoral training project at the end of May – the Innovative Training

Network „C.A.F.E.“, which operates under the framework of the EU‘s „Horizon

2020“ research program. Among other issues, the program deals with climate

protection and adaptation to climate change, but also with the development

of systems for comprehensive and continuous global environmental monitoring

and corresponding information systems.

20 institutions from Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain, and Uruguay

are involved in the international consortium, including the European Center for

Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the Potsdam Institute for Climate

Impact Research, Munich Re and the French Meteorological Service.

CLImATE CHAnGE In THE ERZGEBIRGE

mUSEUm ROBOT LOOKS VISITORS In THE EYE

“Here‘s looking at you, kid!” – To make the contact between robot and human

being a little more ‘personal’, a doctoral student from Freiberg has developed

new software for the recognition of persons. Among other things, the software

is intended to help the ‘TESARO’ museum robot to interact better with visitors.

“My software version can also recognize people who turn to the side, e.g.

to view an exhibit,” said Dr. Peter Poschmann, explaining one advantage of

his new technology. Dr. Poschmann‘s dissertation was titled “Multi-Sensor

Multi-Person Tracking on a Mobile Robot Platform,” and he defended it on

February 1, 2018 at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. Peter Poschmann‘s work

was supervised by Prof. Dr. Bernhard Jung at the Chair of Virtual Reality and

Multimedia in Freiberg, and by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans-Joachim Böhme at the

Chair of Artificial Intelligence at HTW Dresden. The project was funded by

the European Social Fund (ESF).

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Peter Poschmann and the TESARO robot

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PARFORCE AT TU FREIBERG: PROCESSInG 1000 KILOGRAmS OF PHOSPHORUS wASTE PER DAY

SUPER-mATERIALS FOR AUTOmOTIVE AnD AEROSPACE: FREIBERG RESEARCHERS PATEnT THE FUTUREWith special processes to “marry” raw

materials, TU Bergakademie Freiberg is

enabling the production of highly inno-

vative materials for components subject

to high mechanical stresses. The combi-

nation of steel and ceramics could save

lives in the future – in traffic accidents,

for example. The process has now been

patented. For a solid material to change

its volume in such a way is a unique cha-

racteristic. This is mainly due to the mix-

ture: the composite materials consist of

metals and zirconium dioxide ceramics.

The scientists use so-called TRIP steels in

the mixture (TRIP: TRansformation Indu-

ced Plasticity). In comparison to conven-

tional types of steel, they are particularly

stable and, at the same time, formable.

They are therefore of particular interest

to the automotive industry.

In the patented process, the scientists

mix powdered forms of both compo-

nents with other additives. With the aid of

special molding processes, the mixture

is then processed into various geometric

structures, such as foams, honeycombs,

spherical shapes or spaghetti-like bo-

dies. Subsequently, the high strength of

the materials is achieved by sintering.

The formable masses are baked in a fur-

nace at temperatures below their melting

points to produce solid components. A

second method of producing such for-

mable masses is to fill special ceramic

moulds with molten steel.

In the Collaborative Research Center

SFB 799 “TRIP-Matrix-Composites”,

scientists from three faculties (the facul-

ties of Mechanical, Process and Ener-

gy Engineering; Materials Science and

Technology; and Business Administra-

tion and the International Resource In-

dustry) have been working together for

nine years on the development of a new

family of materials made of steel and

ceramics. It was not until May 2016 that

the third and last funding period of the

research project was approved by the

German Research Foundation (Deutsche

Forschungsgemeinschaft). This funding

period will run until 2020.

The PARFORCE project team at TU

Bergakademie Freiberg now has the

capacity to process up to 1000 kilo-

grams of phosphate-containing waste

per day. This was illustrated by an initial

series of experiments at the new PAR-

FORCE research facility.

The technology is particularly inte-

resting for municipal sewage treatment

plants. In future, municipalities will be

obliged to recover phosphates from the

waste they produce.

At the end of March, the first series

of industrial-scale tests was successfully

completed with the PARFORCE tech-

nology. The research plant required is

being financed by the German Federal

Ministry for Economic Affairs and Ener-

gy and the Free State of Saxony with a

total budget of 1.3 million euro, and

was inaugurated in September 2017.

In order to recover phosphates, the

German government issued a new

sewage sludge regulation in October

2017 to govern the recycling of sewage

sludge. According to this, operators of

municipal wastewater treatment plants

must recover the phosphates bound in

the sewage sludge, starting in 2029.

The recovery obligation can either be

fulfilled directly from sewage sludge ma-

terials or from the ashes left over after

their incineration.

The PARFORCE team finishing the first series of experiments

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HOw DROnES EXPLORE THE UnDERwORLDIn February, the four-year ‘UNDRO-

MEDA’ project (Underground Robotic

System for Monitoring, Evaluation and

Detection Applications) on the use of

drones in mining was launched by

researchers from TU Bergakademie

Freiberg and a number of external

partners, including EIT RawMaterials.

The result will be an autonomous robot

system for three-dimensional explora-

tion and monitoring of underground

caverns, tunnels and canals. From a

mobile platform, a drone carrying

highly sensitive cameras and radar

systems will be able to launch into and

explore underground areas that are

difficult to access. Technologies such

as e.g. laser scanners, radar devices,

3D measurement technology and op-

tical navigation devices will be used.

The Bergakademie scientists have

already carried out their first test

flights in the Reiche Zeche research

and training mine in Freiberg. They

are currently testing various methods

to prevent the drone‘s propellers from

being damaged by collisions with the

surrounding rock. A video of the test

flight can also be found on YouTube:

q https://youtu.be/1uk46ZkkejE

By the end of 2019, the scientists will

develop various carrier and sensor sys-

tems, as well as autonomous software.

These will then be installed in a proto-

type planned for 2020.

RESEARCh

RESEARCHERS TEST nEw UTILIZATIOn STRATEGIES FOR TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL RESIDUES

During the processing of rice and, in

particular, sugar cane, large quanti-

ties of residual materials are produced

in Asia every year. These are usually

not used for further processing, but are

stored or incinerated. In the German-

Vietnamese „BioMatUse“ cooperation

project, researchers from Freiberg are

investigating new ways of using agricul-

tural residues in a sustainable manner.

To do this, they process rice husks, rice

straw and sugar cane residues such as

bagasse using process engineering me-

thods to convert them into three different

products. These are soil improvers for

enriching poor soils, activated cokes for

gas or water purification, and special fi-

ber mats for protection against soil ero-

sion, which are currently being tested in

field trials on the TU Freiberg campus.

The preliminary results are very pro-

mising. The scientists want to build on

these positive results and deepen their

work in the future by using further resi-

dual materials.

BACTERIA FILTERS TO REDUCE USE OF AnTIBIOTICS In AnImAL HOUSInG

Researchers from TU Freiberg are wor-

king in a joint project on filters for harm-

ful germs, in particular in the animal

housing used in factory farming. These

filters are intended to further reduce the

need for antibiotics for the animals.

The Institute of Mechanics and Fluid

Dynamics at TU Bergakademie Frei-

berg is testing the optimal structure of

the filters in the university‘s own wind

tunnel. The first models will then be

tested by a sanitation company from

Plauen, Germany under real conditions

in an animal stable. If the filter can be

used successfully, a market launch is

planned for the end of next year.

With a total of four project partners,

the joint project is being funded by the

Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs

and Energy until September 2019.

A scientist with drone and robot in the virtual projection room

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RESEARCh

RECOVERY OF RARE EARTH mETALS FROm ELECTROnIC SCRAPIn Europe alone, around 400,000 metric tonnes of scrapped

printed circuit boards are produced each year. Currently, how-

ever, only five to six elements are being recovered during recy-

cling. It is exactly those metals with low concentrations – such as

the rare earth elements – that are being lost. Now the Institute

for Nonferrous Metallurgy and Purest Materials at TU Bergaka-

demie Freiberg has joined together with Muldenhütten Recy-

cling und Umwelttechnik GmbH, Composite Recycling Ltd. in

Ireland, and other international research and industrial partners

in the “RecEOL” project (Recycling of End-of-Life Products) to

research methods of significantly increasing the recycling rates

of classic metals such as copper and both precious and strategic

metals such as indium or tantalum compared to conventional

processes. In addition to electronic scrap, other materials – such

as end-of-life solar cells or LED lamps – are to be integrated

into the process. The German project partners in the “RecEOL”

project will be funded by the BMBF (German Federal Ministry

of Education and Research) for a duration of three years within

the framework of the ERA-MIN 2 co-funding scheme.

TU FREIBERG SCIEnTISTS EnSURE SAFETY On THE BASTEI FORmATIOnAt the request of the National Park Administration of the ‚Sa-

xon Switzerland‘ near Dresden, the staff of the Institute for

Mine Surveying and Applied Geodesy at TU Bergakademie

Freiberg measured the „Wehltürme“ and „Wehlnadel“ rock

formations in Rathen in March. The sandstone formations are

subject to natural erosion and weathering processes each

day. A viewing platform at the Bastei has already had to

be closed to visitors due to safety precautions. By precisely

measuring the rock formations, the scientists can draw at-

tention to the dangers of weathering and erosion. The last

measurement of this kind took place in 2007.

HIGH-PERFORmAnCE mODULES FOR LOw-COST SOLAR POwERIn order to produce solar power even more cost-effectively,

the Institute of Applied Physics at TU Bergakademie Freiberg

has spent three years conducting intensive research into the

durability of solar cells as part of the nationwide “AdmMo”

project, and can now produce monocrystalline silicon solar

cells with a very high efficiency of over 22 percent.

Based on these cells, the research network produced a mo-

dule with 120 half-cells and an output of over 300 watts. At

the same time, the production costs for such modules could

be reduced significantly. The next task is to transfer the tech-

nological building blocks from the project step by step into

mass production.

nEw RECYCLInG PROCESS FOR TOXIC PLASTICSIn recent years, brominated flame retardants have increa-

singly become the subject of public and scientific debate.

The housings of end-of-life electronic devices, for example,

very often contain flame retardants that form organobromine

compounds with highly toxic and environmentally hazardous

properties during combustion.

The Institute of Technical Chemistry at TU Bergakademie

Freiberg has developed a process that avoids this problem. In

this method, the thermal recycling of such plastic waste takes

place in an extremely oxygen-rich atmosphere at very high

temperatures. This ensures complete combustion of the plastics

and the accompanying substances they contain, and prevents

the emission of toxic compounds. The special feature of this

process is that the bromine the plastics contain can be reused

economically in the form of hydrogen bromide (HBr). The

resulting hydrogen bromide is no longer an environmentally

harmful pollutant, but can be returned to the raw material

cycle as a valuable source of bromine.

Safety measurements on the Bastei

Electronic scrap

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HYDRAULIC PRESS FOR A RAnGE OF RAw mATERIALSA Freiberg-based startup is developing a

hydraulic press for residual and waste mate-

rials as well as for fossil fuels and mineral raw

materials. For example, sugar cane residues

from Vietnam will be pressed into briquettes

and used for cooking and heating, as will

other harvest waste, sawdust, sewage sludge

or coal. The concept of the energy-efficient,

fully automated universal press is based on

the pressing of coal into briquettes. The new

process concept is based on the standards

of process integration in the sense of Industry

4.0, and opens up a wide range of industrial

applications thanks to its modular design. For

the project „Energetically optimized, redu-

ced-wear agglomeration technology“ (EVA),

the five-member founding team has received

EXIST funding of approx. 750,000 euro from

the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and

Energy since April. By November 2019, the

young entrepreneurs – two of whom are gra-

duates of TU Freiberg – intend to develop a

prototype of the hydraulic press, which will

then be launched on the market.

YOUnG RESEARCHERS DEVELOP EnVIROnmEnTALLY FRIEnDLY SILICOnES

Silicones can be found in many everyday products, such as conditioners, cos-

metics, paints, kitchen utensils and even the soles of our shoes. The ESF junior

research group CO2-Sil at TU Bergakademie Freiberg is currently developing a

particularly environmentally friendly process for silicone production. The seven-

member junior research group is working on the chemical conversion of carbon

dioxide into materials that are important for a wide range of applications. First of

all, these materials are produced from silicon compounds in a sustainable and

particularly environmentally friendly manner, with carbon dioxide acting as an

oxygen source for the products. The new process also eliminates the need for

highly toxic by-products such as phosgene. The project introduces a new method

for storing carbon dioxide and, thus, for purifying industrial exhaust gases.

TU RESEARCHERS InVESTIGATE FIRST SEmI-AUTOnOmOUS HOUSES wITH FLAT RATES FOR EnERGY AnD REnT

ARCHIVInG RESEARCH DATA DIGITALLY

The OpARA (Open Access Repository

and Archive) project is now online. With

this new research database, scientists at TU

Dresden and TU Bergakademie Freiberg will

be able to archive their digital research data

free of charge for at least ten years. The re-

search database was developed jointly by

the Center for Information Services and High

The housing cooperative eG Wohnen is building two intensively solar-powered

multi-family houses in Cottbus that can supply themselves with heat and electricity.

TU Freiberg and the Freiberg Institute are accompanying the first years of the EVER-

SOL research project in terms of energy and economics. In addition to the technical

and economic evaluation of the energy concept, the sociological evaluation of

the project will also play an important role. This is because it is not only the energy

requirements that represent a minor revolution – with self-sufficiency rates of 55

to 65 percent for heating and hot water and 70 to 77 percent for electricity – but

that a new type of rental model will also be used. The tenants of the apartments will

pay monthly and are guaranteed a stable flat-rate rent over five years, which will

include housing, heat and electricity at a flat rate. The planning security required

for this is achieved by the high rates of self-sufficiency.

RESEARCh

Impression of the multi-family houses

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Performance Computing at TU Dresden and the University Computer Center at

TU Bergakademie Freiberg. The database makes it possible to store vast amounts

of research data on a long-term basis in accordance with the guidelines of the

DFG and the EU, to make it publicly accessible, and to store it sustainably. The

archived research data is stored at both locations in order to guarantee the

secure preservation of the data.

23

RESEARCh

TU FREIBERG SCIEnTISTS EXPERImEnT wITH SUPER X-RAY LASER In HAmBURGThe largest X-ray laser in the world,

the 3.4-kilometer-long XFEL X-ray la-

ser generates extremely intense X-ray

laser flashes – 27,000 times per second

and with a luminous intensity billions of

times greater than that of the very best

conventional sources of X-ray radiati-

on. Since it opened in September last

year, XFEL has offered completely new

research opportunities for scientists and

industrial researchers.

The “Structure Research with XFELs

and Synchrotron Radiation” research

group at TU Bergakademie Freiberg

is part of the Institute of Experimen-

tal Physics there. The project offers a

unique opportunity for students from TU

Freiberg to have direct access to such

large-scale facilities as part of their un-

dergraduate studies.

A special series of lectures – “Materials

Research with X-ray Free-Electron Lasers

(XFELs)” – has been held for three years

now. During this one-week course (which

is held at the facility in Hamburg), leading

scientists from the European XFEL instruct

students on the design and application of

the latest generation of X-ray light sources

as well as their wide range of application

in materials research.

PERSONNEL, APPOiNTMENTS

nEw PRORECTOR FOR STRUCTURAL DEVELOPmEnT

Prof. Urs Peuker, Institute of Mechani-

cal Process Engineering and Mineral

Processing, Director of EIT RawMate-

rials Freiberg, since June 2018

nEwLY APPOInTED PROFESSORS

Dr.-Ing. habil. Andreas Siegfried Bräuer as Professor for Thermal Pro-

cess Engineering at Faculty 4,

since January 2018

nEw HOnORARY PROFESSORSDr. rer. nat. Gert Nolze, Honorary Professor for Electron Beam Microphase

Analysis (Faculty 3, since April 2018)

Dr. rer. pol. Torsten Dietze, Honorary Professor for Mining Economics

(Faculty 3, since April 2018)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans-Peter Vogt, Honorary Professor for Formable Metallic

Lightweight Structural Materials (Faculty 5, since April 2018)

EmERETI

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Diana Grosse, Pro-

fessor for General Business Admi-

nistration with a focus on Manage-

ment of Research & Development,

esp. Innovation Management, at

Faculty 6 (to March 31, 2018)

nEw COnTACT PERSOnS

Christin Grunenberg Personal Assistant to the rector,state rectors’ Conference of saxony

since January 2018 Akademiestraße 6, r. 1.09 tel.: 39-4349

Jonathan Engelhard transfer Assistant since March 2018 Prüferstraße 1A, r. 1-2-4 tel.: 39-4394

Julia Bachmann transfer Assistant – Leichtbau-Allianz saxony since June 2018 Prüferstraße 1A, r. 1-2-4 tel.: 39-2341

Thomas Mittelstädt Legal Department since January 2018 Akademiestraße 6, r. 1.15 tel.: 39-2993

Ulrike Unger JLegal Department since April 2018 Akademiestraße 6, r. 1.15 tel.: 39-3243

Maike Baudach Academic Adviso since January 2018 Prüferstraße 2, r. 3.405 tel.: 39-3469

Lisa Schmidt student Marketing since February 2018 Prüferstraße 2, r. 3.405 tel.: 39-3827

Birgit Holthaus Press Officer since January 2018 Akademiestraße 6, r. 1.16 tel.: 39-2930

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E V E N T S I n T H E 2 n D H A L F O F 2 0 1 8

8 OctoberIntroductory event at commencement of studies

10 a.m., Audimax

8 to 9 OctoberInd. Eng. camp, Fall holidays9 a.m., Schloßplatzquartier

16 OctoberAkademische Feier

2.30 p.m., Nikolaikirche

17 OctoberScientific work for freshmen9 a.m., Schloßplatzquartier

18 October167th Freiberg Colloquium “10 Years of terra mineralia”

7.30 p.m., Senatssaal

24 OctoberSymposium “EUGAL Connects – Business

And Science in Saxony”11 a.m., Alte Mensa

25 OctoberFreiberg Alumni-Stammtisch

4.30 p.m., Saxon State Parliament, Dresden

29 to 30 OctoberWorkshops on topics related to inclusion

9 a.m., Mittelbau (Akademiestraße)

3 NovemberGraduation Ceremony

10.30 a.m., Nikolaikirche

University and Graduate Ball6.30 p.m., Tivoli

5 to 6 November

8th Mining Colloquium9.30 a.m., Alte Mensa

6 to 7 NovemberEIT RawMaterials: Short course Water Treatment

9 a.m., Freiberg

8 to 9 NovemberStudent Technical Conference 2018

9 a.m., Alte Mensa

14 to 15 NovemberConference on “Processing and Recycling 2018”

9 a.m., , Lecture theater, Chemnitzer Str. 40 in Freiberg

16 November47th Colloquium on Geomechanics

9 a.m., Alte Mensa

21 November to 22 DezemberFamily tour: Nocturnal tour of the museum

Every Wednesday and Sunday, 5 p.m., terra mineralia

22 November168th Freiberg Colloquium “The Lithium Project in Zinnwald”

7.30 p.m., Senatssaal

30 NovemberAnnual General Meeting / Barbarafeier celebration

Verein der Freunde und Förderer1 p.m., Alte Mensa

7 DecemberNight-Laboratory on Glass

7 p.m., Institute of Ceramic, Glass and Construction Materials

10 to 13 DecemberMINTEC Camp Future Materials – Ceramics meet Steel

2. p.m., Institute of Ceramic, Glass and Construction Materials + Institute of Iron and Steel Technology

20 December169th Freiberg Colloquium “Silver from the New World“

7.30 p.m., Senatssaal

CALENDAR

I m p r I N T

To improve readability, the simultaneous use of male and female language forms is sometimes waived. All personal designations then apply to both sexes.Published by: The Rector of TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter BarbknechtEditorial staff: Luisa Rischer, Birgit Holthaus | Press Office at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, v.i.S.d.P Akademiestraße 6 | 09599 Freiberg | Tel.: 03731 39-3801, -2930 presse@zuv.tu-freiberg.de | www.tu-freiberg.de/presse/hochschulmagazinPhotos: TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Detlev Müller, Klaus Jedlicka, Eckardt Mildner, Sven JachalkeLayout: Patrick Morgenstern | Print Production: Media Center, TU Bergakademie FreibergPress date: October 2018Print run: 300