News about the Faculty of Science 2017

Christmas is around us

On 15 December, Christmas parties were held at the departments, the faculty administration and Support Office Science. See a selection of photos below.

A Christmas greeting from the Dean

How meeting SDU colleagues at random social events can initiate fun scientific collaborations

It is often difficult to know what all our colleagues at SDU do and are good at. Coen Elemans from the Department of Biology gives us an example of how meeting SDU colleagues at random social events can initiate fun scientific collaborations from bottom-up and resulting in fantastic interdisciplinary work.

How a small travel grant led to a significant international collaboration

Strong bonds between Griffith University, Australia, and SDU.

A word from the Dean, 1 December 2017

Career inspiration at PhD Day

20 PhD students from the Faculty of Science signed up for PhD Day on 23 November.

Biannual Advisory Seminar

Outreach Coordinator and Harry Potter fan in one

Sara Ane Zachhau was employed on 7 October as Outreach and Education Coordinator at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy and she is already very enthusiastic about her new role. Particularly because the job means that she can work with one of her favourite things - the dissemination of research.

Lars Grøntved from BMB beat the odds

The Faculty Secretariat and SOS have moved in together

See photos from the move and the housewarming.

Seven questions and answers on the new General Data Protection Regulation

We all want our personal data to be handled responsibly - both information about our date of birth and address, as well as sensitive information about religion and health. The new General Data Protection Regulation, which comes into effect on 25 May 2018, will help to ensure the responsible handling of personal data.

ATLAS has opened

In April 2017, Susanne Mandrup received a grant of DKK 65 million from the Danish National Research Foundation to establish a Centre of Excellence. The Centre officially opened on Monday 6 November with a symposium held in auditorium O100 at SDU.

A word from the Dean

Politician on work experience at NAT

Physicist Mads Toudal Frandsen from the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy has had an unusual intern; the politician, Jens Henrik Thulesen Dahl, who represents the Danish People's Party in the Danish Parliament and the Assens City Council.

Researchers’ road to international media

Would you as a researcher want to reach out to a larger international audience? Also, do you want to share your research with quite ordinary enlightened people and, at the same time, get the chance for your research to be widely spread through major international media?

A word from the Dean

New Head of Department at BMB with roots in Southern Jutland

Associate Professor Jakob Møller-Jensen started as Head of Department ad interim at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology on 1 October 2017.

From Pharmacy in Riga to Medical chemistry in Odense

Marija Ciba has only been in Denmark for two weeks when she agrees to be interviewed about what it is like to be an international full-degree Master student at SDU.

Laboratory Technician with many talents

A laboratory technician at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy is involved in many different things, which is something that Pia Klingenberg Haussmann, laboratory technician at FKF since 2004, knows all about.

Red T-shirts, guides, dreams, enthusiasm and purple feathers

Study Start 2017 at the Faculty of Science

Classical musician or quantum chemist

Jacob Kongsted, professor at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Farmacy and Head of the PhD School at NAT, was faced with a dilemma after finishing high school: Should he study science or continue playing classic music? Here at NAT, we are glad that he chose research (and that he agreed to take part in the portrait), but the decision could not have been easy.

Geobiological centre based on The Maritime House

Together with Faaborg Gymnasium, the Department of Biology and the Laboratory for Coherent Education and Learning have received a grant of DKK 3.1 million from the Region of Southern Denmark's Education Fund for the Geo and Bio Science Centre South. The new centre is based in Svanninge Bjerge and was opened on 1 August 2017.

Exercise community

Every Tuesday and Thursday since September 2016, around 20-30 employees from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Department of Biology and Support Office Science have met to exercise during work hours.

Popular in high schools

Finding the right niche

Newly appointed professor Joan Boyar from IMADA is not a fan of the study progress reform. On the contrary, she believes that it pays to allow young people time. She herself broke the mould by switching to a different study programme when she started at university with the dream of becoming a researcher.

A word from the Dean

Summer video greeting from the Dean

The study year 2016/17 has been filled with positive events. Dean Martin Zachariasen looks back on the year in this video greeting - and wishes a good summer to everyone at the Faculty of Science.

Close encounters with reptiles

"Sure, sounds like fun!" was Associate Professor Coen Elemans' first reaction when he was asked if he would like to be featured in the portrait for this newsletter. The interview indeed turned out to be fun - with many good anecdotes throughout from Coen's adventures all over the world in his hunt for knowledge about reptiles.

Poster Session 2017

96 posters, 18 science judges, 4 innovation judges, 550 students, a touch of exam fever and a good deal of high spirits. See pictures from this year's Poster session, where group 86 from BMB took both the public and science prizes. A one-man group from Computer Science scooped the Innovation prize.

"When all else fails... join the circus!"

About 140 members of the Faculty's staff took part in the annual summer party on Thursday 1 June.

"Start small - think big"

This was one of the headlines for the Biannual Advisory Seminar which many people could agree on when the seminar concluded on Wednesday afternoon. Particularly in connection with collaborations with companies, which often start with smaller projects and later develop into something bigger.

Interdisciplinary approach makes science tangible

70 high school teachers have developed teaching courses that explain what happens when, for example, mathematics meets biology. The project, which was facilitated by LSUL, was completed on 2 May 2017ord with a seminar at SDU

A word from the Dean

The same at work as at home

When Suba Shanmugarajah, PhD Secretary at the Faculty Secretariat, is asked how she would describe herself, her answer is immediate: "Well, I'm the same here as I am at home". The first time you meet Suba, you also meet a smiling and welcoming person who has everything under control.

A word from the Dean, 14 May 2017

Full house at Danish Science Festival

YouTube stars, insect hotels, Science Show, bats and ABACUS 2.0. These were some of the ingredients for the successful Danish Science Festival, which this year attracted a large number of guests to Science's activities.

SDU eScience Centre opens on 7 June 2017

Claudio Pica, Professor WSR, will be Head of the SDU eScience Centre, which will be an important partner for SDU's researchers. The centre will be interdisciplinary but anchored at the Faculty of Science. All are welcome at the opening on 7 June at 11 a.m. in the SDU Cortex Lab.

Helene, Piotr and Stine attended uniTEST during the weekend

There was much at stake when over 5000 Quota 2 applicants arrived at SDU to attend uniTEST during the weekend. SDU staff had worked for many weeks to make sure everything went according to plan, but the many applicants had also prepared for the day - including Helene, Piotr and Stine.

Research with the outside world

When a NAT researcher enters a collaboration with a company, it opens up new opportunities for both the researcher and their department.

From SDU to A Room with a View

In the spring of 2016, physics student Julia Emily Bjørnstrøm and her fellow student Mads Elmelund Hansen travelled to Pisa in Italy on a student exchange programme. It turned out to be an exchange that threw up some challenges and surprises, but which in many ways also gave the students an insight into a new and different way of studying.

A word from the Dean

New 3-year project focuses on dropout and completion of NAT students

The dropout level from higher education in Denmark is high. Five years after study start, instead of putting the final touches to their thesis, 32 % of students have long since waved goodbye to what was once their dream education.

Career event for students at Science

On Wednesday 22 March 2017, for the first time, the Faculty of Science in collaboration with SDU Business held a 4-hour career event for all students, across all years and study programmes. Between 30 and 40 students participated, and feedback from the day was positive.

The modern smallholder

Sara Egemose, Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology, is a hobby smallholder/crofter and has mastered the art of balancing work and family life. She is also passionate about the compulsory Innovation Project, which she has helped to develop. In Sara Egemose's opinion, the project is valuable for students in many ways.

What do the students think about the study environment?

Today is the last day that students at SDU can let their opinions be known in the study environment survey. NAT's answer percentage was 43.7 %, which provides a good basis for the Faculty to work with.

NAT researchers receive strategic funds for engaging with society

The first grants have just been distributed to sub-projects under SDU's three strategic research focus areas on drones, welfare innovation and open data, Researchers from Science are involved in five out of a total of 14 projects and will consequently share in the DKK 10 million awarded to each area in the coming period.

A word from the Dean

Tyre producer Continental extends collaboration with Carsten Svaneborg from FKF

An EU report has investigated the significance of supercomputers for the competitiveness of companies. And the authors of the report are in no doubt: If a company wants to get ahead of its competitors, it needs to calculate more quickly than them.

A word from the Dean

10 positions available for talented young researchers

The Danish Institute for Advanced Study (Danish IAS) is now very much underway at SDU, and with 10 assistant professor positions posted in different research areas the goal is to set new standards for recruiting the best talents to the University.

25 years in the same job is nothing special

Some persuasion was needed before Karen Cauthery agreed to be interviewed for the Newsletter. She does not think she has anything special to say despite celebrating her 25th anniversary as Department Secretary at FKF in 2016 and being part of exactly half of the University's history.

New principles for teaching related tasks

Following a review in the autumn of 2016, the new principles for teaching related tasks have now been approved by the Faculty's Management Group. The principles replace the earlier specification of teaching activities, which has been in place at the Faculty for the last five years, by which all VIP's contact hours were calculated.