Researchers in Europe 2005

An experiments marathon will take place in the Kozma László conferenceroom at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, on 23September 2005. The event will be broadcasted on the internet by NIIF(National Infrastructure Development Office), and users of 2,000 PCswill also be able to receive the programme at the same time.

European Researchers' Night
Within the framework of the Researchers in Europe 2005 program

ENCOMPASS organised jointly, in cooperation with the Tivadar Puskás Telecommunications School and the Department of Physics of the Budapest Technical University
date: September 23, 2005
location: Informatics building at Budapest University of Technology and Economics, László Kozma room

About Researchers in Europe 2005

15.30: Opening address - László Sallai, managing director of ENCOMPASS and János Sipos OM Deputy Administrative State Secretary

15.35: Physics in primary school (lesson on sounds) - dr. Anett Nagy
We explore together, using simple experiments, some of the astonishing characteristics of sound. We investigate how it is generated and how we can influence its features. We deliver a small concert using everyday gadgets (bottles, cups, sticks), while we learn physics in play.

16.20: Molecular espionage - Zsófia Szalay
The NMR spectroscope is used nowadays in a large number of areas from medical imaging to physics. A lecture will be delivered about these issues and about its use in chemistry, with a rich variety of pictures for the participants.

16.55: Physical experiments for secondary school students:games and tricks at home too -
dr. József Vida
These will be mostly physical experiments that are interesting for everybody, and have surprising, unexpected or sometimes shocking results. Some tricks that might be shown during a lesson on physics will be also demonstrated. (These so-called motivation experiments, according to our experience, improve the attitude towards physics as an academic topic.) A good portion of the experimental tools can be prepared at home by anyone and demonstrated to family members, friends, in company, if there is an appropriate occasion for this. The bulk of the experiments are from the subject matter of mechanics, but there shall also be some experiments regarding thermal measurement and electric phenomena.

17.45: Physics discover the secrets of our body (The role of physics in medical diagnostics) -
dr. János Martos
Several tools of medical imaging diagnostics use the different laws of physics in order to see what is going on within the human body, to establish suspected irregularities, and to assist the doctor in the selection and implementation of the most optimal treatment. A common feature of these methods is the communication of energy and the measurement of energy modified by the body. Of course this energy means a burden for the organism, therefore, in line with the development of modern physics, there is a permanent struggle to use the least possible quantity of energy in order to achieve the best possible image quality.

18.30: Measuring length and time (university physics presentation) - dr. Gábor Szabó
The laws of physics express relationships between physical quantities. To discover or prove these laws, precise measurements are needed. Measurement of a physical quantity means a comparison with a precisely defined unit of the same quantity. Consequently, the development of physics - in some cases even the progress of civilization - is closely correlated with the development of units and measuring techniques. We will demonstrate this by following how measurement of length and time evolved from the early human civilizations up until recent times.

19.20: Stock market and physics? - Zoltán Eisler
Nowadays, the natural sciences are undergoing a gradual transformation. In addition to the clearly separable scientific areas (physics, chemisty, etc.) the role of research in the adjoining areas, of the interdisciplinary sciences, such as nano- and biotechnology, is obtaining an increasing role. One of these subjects, economic physics, is covered in this lecture. With the use of physical analogies and techniques, we will be looking for answers to questions such as: "What is the worth of an insurance policy on the stock market (a so-called option contract)?" or "What is similar in a magnet and in the equities market?"

19.50: Mistakes in science - dr. Mihály Beck
Mistakes are a necessary attendant of scientific research. We could even say that the path to truth is paved with mistakes committed in good faith. Mistakes, especially the recognition of mistakes made by others, is an appealing adventure, but recognition of one's own mistakes can be also very informative.This presentation will demonstrate some interesting mistakes from the field of chemistry, partially on the basis of literature, partially based on our own experiences.

20.40: What is science, what is false science and who cares? (discussion panel) - Moderator: dr. Iván Almár, dr. László Orosz, dr. László Füstöss, Károly Härtlein, Gábor Hraskó
Foreword:
An investment opportunity to double our money within one year can be a good thing. Fortunately, not all of us will pick up their savings when hearing about such an offer. We are more experienced now, and the law also helps - ten years ago, pilot games looked irresistible, yet today they are prohibited. There are still victims, but based on what have learnt we are more careful about our finances.However, we are more than ever exposed to fortune-tellers, quack doctors, and all sorts and sorts of charlatans. Often, the stake remains hidden behind the teaching, perhaps it is not of a monetary nature at all. Those who would like to believe in palmistry, astrology, and the Hartmann grid, will do so. In addition, the dissipation of illusions is a task with no reward, since it only takes something away without giving something to replace it. There is no Royal Road to a general unveiling of false sciences, as the last thing that links science with false science is scientifical respect. False science is not troubled at all by the fact that it is not considered to be a science. On the other hand, we know, and many scientists have explained, that the first moment of a discovery is not necessarily a rational idea, it becomes rational only afterwards, and total cognition is not necessarily a rational thing either. Where do the paths of a scientific approach and that of intuition cross each other, how are they linked, and where is the point that both of them get away from charlatanism that damages the soul?

The event will be broadcast by the National Information Infrastructure Development Programme (NIIF) online at vod.niif.hu and www.mindentudas.hu. Archives on vod.niif.hu.

Further information:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/researchersineurope/events/event_2214_en.htm
www.puskas.hu

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Retrospective Competition for the Construction of Appliances
Experiments to broadcast programmes in Hungary began in 1923 in the shared courtyard of the post office's testing station and the school for telecommunication engineers. For two years, a closed removal lorry served as the first studio; the acoustics entirely fulfilled the required conditions at the time. The continuous broadcasting of programmes began eighty years ago on 1st December 1925 from a now well-constructed studio. On 26th November 2005, the Tivadar Puskás Technical College of Telecommunications is holding a competition to construct appliances. All telecommunications lovers from the Carpathian Basin are eligible to participate.
26 November 2005
Puskás Tivadar Távközlési Technikum
Address: 1097 Budapest, Gyáli út 22

Student Competition (TDK)
During the autumn term, institutes of higher education will be organising student competitions.
8 November 2005
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics

10 November 2005
Budapest Technical University
Kálmán Kandó Faculty of Electrical Engineering

30 November 2005
Miklós Zrínyi National Defence University

EARLIER:

6 June 2005 at 18:00, Informatics building at Budapest University of Technology and Economics, László Kozma room.

"The physics of light", a lecture by Professor Norbert Kroó, Vice-President (Natural Sciences) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, aimed at the general public and broadcast by several Hungarian television channels and on the radio. Summaries will be published in the daily press. The lecture will in addition be distributed on the Mindentudás Egyeteme (ENCOMPASS) website (www.mindentudas.hu/en), which will also feature information in English on the speaker and a summary of his lecture.
Address: Budapest XI, Magyar tudósok körútja 2/B

Competition for secondary schools
Regional heats and semifinals

ENCOMPASS has announced a competition for groups of four students and two teachers from secondary schools. Following the selections on the internet in spring 2005, the regional heats will start in September and will continue with the semifinals until the end of November. A preparation camp for the televised final will be organised by the ENCOMPASS for participants in the semifinals in October.

9th National Symposium of Research Students (for the winners of the TUDOK competition)
18 - 23 July 2005, Káptalanfüred (lake Balaton), Camp Komádi
Programme summary
Monday, 18th July
14:00 - 15:00 Inauguration: discussion with the Minister of Informatics and Communication, Kálmán Kovács
15:00 - 17:00 Discussion with Imre Kertész, Nobel Prize winner for literature
Tuesday, 19th July
09:00 Péter Csermely (chairman): What is science and what makes a good researcher? The objectivity of science and the question of the communication and dissemination of scientific works
10:00 - 12:00 Discussion with Gyula Dávid on the year of physics and the future of the universe
17:00 - 19:00 Discussion with the academician András Falus (immunology)
19:00 Obstacle course or excursion
Wednesday, 20th July
09:00 Péter Csermely: How can you successfully deliver a lecture or make a poster? How do you choose a laboratory and what is the life of a researcher like?
10:00 - 12:00 Discussion with the academician András Róna-Tas (history of peoples and languages)
20:00 - 21:00 What next? (experiences of former students)
21:00 Scientific film and debate (led by András Réz, specialist in cinematographic aesthetics)
Thursday, 21st July
09:00 Péter Csermely: How can we be successful in our profession? How can you apply your knowledge? What do you have to do to acquire a management point of view on knowledge?
10:00 - 11:00 Discussion with the academician Attila Borhidi (diversity and protection of the environment)
11:00 - 12:00 Discussion with the psychologist József Forgács
Friday, 22nd July
09:00 - 12:00 Sponsors' day

Physics competition in honour of György Békésy
27 - 29 May 2005
Address: Puskás Tivadar Távközlési Technikum
1097 Budapest, Gyáli út 22

György Békésy is the only telecommunications engineer to have been awarded the Nobel Prize. He taught in a secondary school for telecommunications engineers (currently the Tivadar Puskás Technical College for Telecommunications) between 1927 and 1945. The bronze statue of Békésy was inaugurated in the hall of the current school in 1999 to celebrate the centenary of his birth. Since then, a physics competition has been organised in his honour every year on the last weekend of May. The competition is for students of the 11th grade and concerns electrical and acoustic studies. All students from all secondary schools in the Carpathian Basin are eligible to participate providing they have won prizes for competitive exams during the past two years.

Miklós Vermes International Physics Competition

Miklós Vermes was a physics teacher at the Lutheran Secondary School, which educated several future Nobel Prize winners. He taught people how to like physics. His alma mater, the Dániel Berzsenyi Secondary School of Sopron, has organised an international physics competition in the fields of optoelectrics, thermology and mechanics for decades, on the third weekend of June. All students from all the secondary schools in the Carpathian Basin are eligible to participate providing they have won prizes for competitive exams during the past two years. This year, a bronze bust of Vermes will be inaugurated at Sopron to celebrate the centenary of his birth.
18 June 2005
Vas- és Villamosipari Szakközépiskola és Szakmunkásképző Intézet
Address: 9400 Sopron, Ferenczy J. u. 7.