Colloquium RTG 828 & 1554/1/2
In the year 2010, the Research Training Group (RTG) 1554/2 financially supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) was started at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (OvGU). A group of professors representing the fields of mechanical engineering, process and systems engineering, physics, and mathematics established a research training group on “micro-macro-interactions of structured media and particle systems”. This RTG was supported for nine years, until April 1st, 2019.
To this day, the RTG 1554/2 lists the successful defence of
In addition, several alumni of present RTG embarked on a scientific career, i.e. became head of a research group, assistant professor, associate professor or full professor. However, more than 60 students from over 20 nations from around the globe were affiliated with RTG 1154/2.
To celebrate the success of this RTG, a special colloquium was arranged in Magdeburg from June 20th to 22th, 2019. All former and current participants were invited to this final workshop. There were
- 22 students,
- 12 professors,
- 6 postdocs, as well as
- 34 alumni & guests
who followed this call. Together with our RTG secretary Madeleine Ruhbaum, the student representatives Sebastian Dieck and Joachim Nordmann prepared a colorful program. The final workshop took place at "Festung Mark". It is one of the last witnesses of the once largest prussian fortress Magdeburg. This was a splendid choice as it offers excellent premises for such colloquia in addition to its central location nearby the university campus.
The final workshop was sprinkled with topics from
- mechanics,
- mathematics,
- physics,
- chemical and process engineering, and
- material science
A total of 21 lectures were held. In addition, 20 students took the opportunity to present the current status of their research within a poster session. For this, the students first introduced the content of their poster in a few presentation slides within 2 minutes each. Several discussions were ignited during the talks and the poster presentations which led to extensive conversation during coffee breaks, lunchs, and evening events. The results presented provided a solid basis for practical applications and future research directions. Nevertheless, the wide range of scientific topics among the specification areas "metallic materials" and "particle and pore networks" in context of "micro-macro-interactions..." led all participants unanimously to the opinion that the now expired Research Training Group needs a new edition. The conversation around the workshop was therefore twofold:
- The discussion of conclusions and evaluation of the results of the finalized RTG in terms of applicability, limitations, and still open problems with a specific focus on micro-macro-interactions.
- The illustration of possible ways forward a reintroduction of a research training group and the examination of current challenges that should be addressed in order to continue fostering graduate students in such a framework.
In addition to the scientific part, there was a social program to round off the event. On Thursday, there was a guided tour through the medieval climes of "Festung Mark" while the evening dinner was held in beautiful Elbelandhaus. On Friday, there was a guided city tour through Magdeburg in the afternoon. The evening was organized in "Festung Mark" with an ample dinner followed by evening festivity.
All members of RTG 1554/2, with sincere thanks, acknowledge the financial support of DFG for the past 9 years. The dedicated research work of all participating colleagues and of many guest scientists from diverse countries also is gratefully mentioned.
