Projects and External Relations Manager of Technion University Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Shimrit Wagner-Lior had a visit at BME in the framework of Erasmus+, between June 26-29 2023. More
shaping the future
Projects and External Relations Manager of Technion University Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Shimrit Wagner-Lior had a visit at BME in the framework of Erasmus+, between June 26-29 2023. More
Hunor Csala, a BME Faculty of Mechanical Engineering graduate, is a PhD student at the University of Utah, spends his summer as an intern at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Unlike Oppenheimer, he uses neural networks and differential equations to model blood flow. More
Where were you born?
I was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but I am from Sudan. More
What was the topic of your lecture held at BME?
My lecture was a bit different from a classical academic speech, it was about how to conduct research and entepreneurship. How to go through the process, defining the questions, approaching and testing hypothesis, to get to a dissertation or a final business product. Despite the lecture took a few hours, the tools and the method was just a highlight of the studies we have made. So probably I will come back later this year, because I was asked so by the students to hold an extended workshop.
Tell me about the collaboration with BME’s Department of Mechatronics, Optics and Mechanical Engineering Informatics, in the framework of Erasmus+!
It is important to strengthen our collaboration, going back to more, than 20 years. BME and Technion exchange students, PhD students and scholars as well, and have joint research in the fields of dynamics, control, robotics, material sciences.
The option of Erasmus+ there were some difficulties due to COVID restrictions, but once we managed to launch, the project started to accelerate.
It is fascinating, that BME and Technion is doing research on nearly the same discipline, but on different approach, creating scholars’ and student exchanges serve science, education and the future. The students get an additional perspective, which they have not been exposed at their universities. These are the tools to enable science and research to become global.
Have you been to Budapest before? How do you like our city?
Budapest is beautiful, I have been here several times. I visited the Opera House, the Margit Island Open Theatre, I feel at home each and every time I come to Budapest. It is understandable, as I have roots from Hungary. My grandfather was a soldier in the Austro-Hungarian Army. Once, when I was walking on the street, near the Synagogue, I suddenly felt the smell of my grandmother’s kitchen.
How did you feel when you were awarded at BME?
It is flattering to receive a doctor honoris causa title, standing next to Katalin Karikó, and other colleagues from the MIT and Ohio State University. As I have said in my speech held at the ceremony: ’Being a honorary doctor does not come only with the honour, it also comes with commitment to continue the collaboration and student involvement, it is not just a degree to hang on the wall.’
(László Benesóczky)
Hangyu Lu, visiting PhD student at BME Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Applied Mechanics (MM) about his research and experiences in Hungary.Hangyu Lu, visiting PhD student (L), with professor
Gábor Stépán (R)
How
did you decide to come to BME?
It's
not my first time here. In 2019 I have stayed here for 5 and half months while
attending the first year of my PhD studies. Luckily, I received approximately 8
000 $ in funding from the China Association of Science of Technology (CAST)
China, a grant for the international mobility of PhD students. At that time,
our research group was researching on non-linear dynamics of shimmy wheels, and
we met and cited several papers of professor Gábor Stépán and Dénes Takács,
associate professor.
I had
an opportunity also to go to UIUC, but I decided to come to BME. I contacted
Gábor Stépán and Tamás Insperger. They replied within a day that I was
warmly welcome here.
The
second time, after two years, we decided to come again, as we have a lot of
joint co-operations and publications and a collaborative international project
(TÉT-IPARI) with the Hefei University of Technology.
My
current visit is funded by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). I came in July
2022, although my contract was ready even one year before, I could not depart
because of COVID restrictions in China. I am here for 12 months.
What
is Your research topic?
My
topic examines the dynamics and stability of vehicle handling with automated
control or human driving control. My other topic is time-delay effects in the
control loop of vehicle stability control systems.
How
do You like living in Budapest?
I love
Budapest, except in the winter, the weather is a little cold. For me, the time
zone difference is also a difficulty. What impresses me most is the Budapest
community transportation and traffic systems. The vehicles have a dense
schedule and are super convenient, taking you everywhere you want. Budapest is
merged by Buda and Pest, divided by the river Danube. I live on the Pest side
of Budapest, and every day I come to work by bike across the Danube, enjoying
the spectacular scenery. I experience Budapest as a super safe city, where I
can go anytime, almost anywhere, without worries.
Do
You have any favourite place in the city or Hungary?
I love
the scenery of Saint Stephen's Basilica and the story of the king's mummified
right hand inside the church. I have even been there three times. I have also
been to Esztergom, and Visegrád, Gödöllő; they are beautiful small cities near
Budapest, definitely worth visiting. Esztergom has a large cathedral, Visegrád
has a beautiful, ruined hilltop fortress and castle, while Gödöllő has one of
the royal residences from the times when Hungary was a kingdom.
Do
You find life in Hefei and Budapest very different?
Personally,
in my daily life, the most significant difference is cooking. In Hefei, I don't
cook at all. I only buy food at takeaway kiosks and go to restaurants. When I
arrived here, I started to learn cooking because I missed the flavours of my
homeland. Daily life, in other manners, is similar. Most people are very nice
both in Budapest and Hefei as well. The only difference is that here more
people greet each other. For example, when you enter a small shop, you usually
say hello to the shop assistant, even in a crowd.
In
academic life, there are a lot of differences. As a PhD student in China, you
have a lot of administrative work, but you do not have to teach. However, we
have to be in charge of project finances, costing a vast amount of time. But
now, as a visiting PhD student, I only have a few other tasks, so I can spend
my time working on my research topic.
What
do you do in your spare time?
I love
simulated driving, so I am also connected to my topic in my free time. I love
riding a bike at the weekends.
What
kind of plans do you have after receiving your PhD?
I want
to do the post-doctoral programme. Probably here, at BME.
In
some words, please explain what BME has given to You!
Firstly,
BME gave me the opportunity to visit and be a PhD student here. China is so
large not everyone has the possibility to get grants in foreign countries. I
also attended some lectures and seminars operated by BME. Teachers are very
dedicated and hard-working. I owe a lot from their courses and also personally.
In this
department, researchers are kind and open-minded. It is delightful for me to
have professional conversations which give expansions to my research area.
Laszlo
Benesoczky
From left to right: Frank Lujaji PhD (DSIT), Thomas Kivevele PhD (NMAIT), and Tamás Tábi PhD (BME) at the Polymer Engineering Laboratory at BME |
Two researchers from Tanzania, Frank C. Lujaji PhD (Dar-es-Salaam Institute of Technology) and Thomas Kivevele PhD (Nelson Mandela African Institute of Technology) explored the research opportunities at BME at the beginning of July. The visit of the two scholars is supported by ERASMUS+, under the invitation of Ákos Bereczky PhD, associate professor of the BME Department of Energy Engineering. Dr. Lujaji and Dr. Kivevele have already been at BME over ten years as a students of this university.
Where did you study before, and when did you get to know BME opportunities?
Frank Lujaji: I came from Dar-es-Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT), the oldest technical institution in Tanzania. I completed my Master's and PhD degrees in South Africa, and I considered a great fortune to be invited for four months to BME with the help of a "Tét" project, by Ákos Bereczky, in July 2009. I was working at an engine test lab, where I ran biofuel tests, to investigate engine performance, and I also did characterisations at the laboratories of the BME Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology (VBK).
Currently I am the campus director to start and register new programmes, and I also work as a mechanical engineering lecturer. Today I am here for the second time, but this visit takes only ten days. We hope, that we or our fellow researchers can return soon.
Thomas Kivevele: I work for the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Technology located in Arusha, Tanzania. I obtained my BSc degree at the University of Dar-es-Salaam and I submitted my master's studies in South Africa, but I did my research in India, and Hungary. I spent some time as a postdoctoral researcher at Baylor University in Texas.
I arrived in Budapest in November 2010. I was attending the same laboratories, I was running almost all of the experiments necessary for my thesis about original African biofuels. And I was also exploring characterisations at the chemistry laboratories.
It was excellent being here. We learnt a professional way of doing research. We could use state-of-the-art equipment.
You are here now with the Staff Mobility For Training within programme Erasmus+. What are the exact activities during your visit?
Ákos Bereczky PhD |
Frank Lujaji: This International Credit Mobility programme was supposed to start with student exchange. So far, only one student could come here from Tanzania, due to COVID restrictions, but he had to travel back to Tanzania. Our current visit is taking place as part of a staff mobility. We explored areas, and we collaborated in the mobility programme, to complete the work of the current project, but also to explore other research areas for future collaborations.
The visited Faculties were the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (GPK), the Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering (KJK), the Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology (VBK), the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (VIK), also two laboratories of BME Centre for University-Industry Cooperation (FIEK), the Faculty of Natural Sciences (TTK) and the Institute of Nuclear Techniques (NTI), and the Training Reactor, the Faculty of Civil Engineering (ÉMK), the Faculty of Architecture (ÉPK), and the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences (GTK).
Thomas Kivevele: The three-year project had two mobility categories: student mobility for studies and staff mobility for teaching or training. Now we are exploring staff exchange. Our main goal is to meet different staff members, visit different laboratories, and find synergies to make this project sustainable after the the close of the mobility programme as well. Now we got to know, whom we can contact at BME.
What are the main differences between Tanzania and Hungary?
Frank Lujaji: In Hungary, academicians are committed to research in their private labs, while in my country, there are rather centralised labs with general access. But we have challenges having access to more specialised equipment.
Thomas Kivevele: We both have similar challenges, access to funds, et cetera. Hungarian people are kind, nothing to complain about so far. Ákos Bereczky is keeping us busy (laughing), and does not let us survive alone. We, Tanzanians are also welcoming, warm-hearted people.
Ákos Bereczky: What is important to highlight, four years ago we were delighted that there was a possibility to start this cooperation. Unfortunately, there were challenges in making this cooperation finish perfectly. Finally, we are very happy, that one student could also come, despite the travelling difficulties and restrictions. I hope, we could not only improve our cooperation, but I hope, it can be more general cooperation with Tanzanian universities and BME. This is the target at the moment.
László Benesóczky
(Photo: Ákos Bereczky, János Philip)
Ghaith Burhani, PhD student, before coming to BME, graduated in the area of aeronautical and also fluid mechanics engineering at Syrian universities. Now he is a PhD student at BME Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Hydrodynamic Systems.
Where and when did you graduate before studying at BME Faculty of Mechanical Engineering?
I hold a BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Jordan since 2017. After graduation, I decided to pursue higher education; therefore, I applied for the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarships for an MSc position. More
He still likes Hungarian cuisine, and is very enthusiastic about working at the department. Interview.
'People always says that PhD studies are the most challenging part of life. But the PhD study at BME makes me not feel that tough, instead, it gives me the calmness and the balance between work and life when doing my research. It teaches me how to make an enjoyable PhD life. And I also have time to do my hobbies, I am a marathon runner.' More
Dr Szabolcs Berezvai graduated on PhD level in July 2020, and he is already rated as the most excellent lecturer of BME, out of nearly one thousand lecturers, and gained the honours of the Best Lecturer of BME. Interview with Szabolcs Berezvai, the senior lecturer of BME Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Applied Mechanics. More
'I research diverse topics, and mechanistic turbulence has aerodynamical relevance, moreover, is an exciting model with a great heritage.' More
The Respray
team started to think about creating refillable aerosol cans and their
refilling machines. The team is made up of two students: Andor Réti, mechanical
engineer student of BME, and Gergely Zámbó, a finance and accounting student of
Corvinus University.
In the 2nd semester of the Startup Campus program, gained a 15 million HUF (49000 USD) subsidy, allowing them to create the prototype of the first self-driven machine and can. The objective of Respray is the cooperation with major firms in the deodorant distribution. Interview.
How did you find the idea of the
refillable aerosol cans?
Andor Réti: Our common fields of interest are environmental protection and business; this gave birth to this idea. We believe that environmental protection can only be successful if opportunities for reducing carbon footsteps require only a minimal compromise for the consumer. We focused on aerosol cans, as aerosols have adverse health effects, and also produce waste, is caused by petroleum gases, while our solution uses compressed air. Thus the future users will not inhale hydrocarbons. More
You graduated as a mechanical engineer at the La Sapienza University of Rome in 2008. Why did you choose Mechanical Engineering?
Since when I was in high school, I was fascinated by the possibility of predicting the dynamics of physical objects by using mathematics. This made me love physics and in particular mechanics. When I had to choose which university to go to, I was undecided between mechanical engineering and physics, what I knew is that I wanted to deal with mechanics. In the end, I chose mechanical engineering because it gives more job opportunities. More
'I have lived in Budapest for a year during my bachelor's degree. I won a scholarship for a sandwich degree, which meant a two semester-long period of my bachelor's in Hungary. To tell the truth, I did not know much about Hungary before, but when I got to Budapest, I saw that it is a beautiful city, with classical buildings and friendly people. After this year, which is a fond memory for me, I returned to Brazil, but I kept thinking about Budapest.
During my masters in Brazil, I got to know about the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship, and that it is available for PhD as well. That time I have already decided to continue my studies in a PhD programme. I started searching for doctoral programmes for mechanical engineering, that is how I have found the BME and especially the Department of MOGI (Mechatronics, Optics and Mechanical Engineering Informatics). I also had a look at the scientific performance of the professors and lecturers here, seeing, that they are highly qualified and are doing serious research, like my supervisor, Balázs Vince Nagy. Besides, I already had some friends who studied here and were satisfied with the education and the research opportunities.' More
Gao Min, an alumna of Guangxi University, China, is a PhD student of BME Faculty of Mechanical Engineering researches retina stimulation opportunities at the Department of Mechatronics, Optics and Mechanical Engineering Informatics.
We talked not only about her research topic, but also her favourite Hungarian dishes and places in Budapest.
'As a master student, I had a dream to study on PhD level abroad. My husband applied and received the Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship. Then we decided to come to Hungary together. It was an easy task to choose BME as an optical engineer, as there is a well-known department focusing on optics at the university (BME MOGI). Here I met my supervisor, Dr. Balázs Vince Nagy, researcher of human vision.' More
Ákos Gyenge |
In the first part of the
BME Mechanical Engineering Blog interview series, we talked with Ákos Gyenge,
and Donát Takács, students of our faculty, as a team won the big gold of the
competition with their work in the category ’Smart cities and sustainable
lifestyle’. Interview.
'The whole work was a great professional challenge: although I attended a few university lectures regarding urbanism, I have never delved into the topic this deeply before. However, the most challenging aspect was something else: considering the economic and social effects in the long term of novel, exciting solutions. The results of the current, rapid technological development are undoubtedly impressive, but the last decades have proven that these developments can have unexpected yet significant social and ecological consequences. Moreover, the development of a city has a much larger inertia, than e.g. the smartphone market does: urban developments are hard to reverse and usually have long-term effects.' More
In the second part of the BME Mechanical
Engineering Blog interview series, we talked with Balázs Riskutia, the winner
of the category Platform Economy: AI, robotics and green technologies.
What was the biggest challenge in this project?
Undoubtedly, the biggest challenge was the research through the various types of literature. Platform economy as a topic is discussable from several points of view. I got to the result with the help of legal, technological, IT, economy and business review articles. To be satisfied by an abstract, general platform model is definitely tempting. But we can only see the big picture of the platform economy if we get to know the technological processes that led to its emergence, if recognise its integration in the institutionalised society and if we can follow how the platform economy creates novel business models for companies. On the whole, the challenge was to collect a set of articles with appropriately diverse approaches from which one can still construct a unified view for the reader. More
Four of BME Faculty of Mechanical Engineering students, launched a startup for developing an application for e-mobility navigation. This startup was born as a project not only winning the MVM Edison energy startup contest but also receiving investment from a subsidiary. Interview with Kornél Kálmán, co-founder of Volteum.
Kornél Kálmán: In the current Volteum team, four of the founders are contributing, and all started at BME on Energy Engineering BSc programme. We have got to know each other at the Student Association of Energy on BME, where we participated in various projects and also the management of the association. Besides our studies, we were also curious about the challenges and current development directions. We always have wanted to be part of these, so we got into the rapidly growing e-mobility sector. More
Contest of 2019 |