The investigation carried out in the Algarve will be well represented at the Investigators' Night 2012, which will take place on Friday at the Ria Shopping, in Olhão.
Those who visit the commercial space in Olhão between 10 am and 22 pm will have many opportunities to put on “Mãos na Massa”, that is, to wear a scientist's gown and carry out or participate in experiments.
Many exhibitors have already confirmed their presence, between public and private entities. O Sul Informação reveals at first hand what some of the entities present will offer to visitors, in a lifting of the veil of what will be the Algarve version of the European Researchers' Night, an event that takes place simultaneously in more than 200 cities in 30 countries in Europe. «Science and Sport» is the theme of this edition.
The University of Algarve (UALG) will be, as expected, one of the most represented entities, not only through its associated research centers, but also through researchers working in the most diverse areas, in projects linked to other institutions. In the Algarve region, the Investigators' Night was organized by the CRIA-Division of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer of UAlg, so the house could not be missing silver.
Part of the “Made in Algarve” knowledge is concentrated in the research centers CCMAR – Center for Marine Sciences of the University of Algarve, CECTA – Center for Studies in Agricultural Sciences and Technologies of the University of Algarve and CTA – Center for Sciences and Technologies of Water from the University of Algarve, who will all be represented at the Researchers' Night.
UAlg will also be represented by the Faculty of Sciences and Technologies and by the Cognitive Neurosciences Group – Faculty of Human and Social Sciences of the University of Algarve.
The presence in Olhão of the Tavira Living Science Center (its counterparts in Faro and Lagos are also participating in the initiative, but with activities on their premises), the company « SCHIU, Vibration Engineering, Noise », the itinerant laboratory of molecular genetics Lab-IT, a project with a strong pedagogical nature that was born at UAlg and the Commission of Algarve Regional Coordination and Development (CCDRA).
O Sul Informação it leaves here, in summary, exclusive information about what you can find on Friday in Olhão. In addition to these activities, CRIA keeps the secret in relation to some surprises reserved for the day of the initiative.
CCMAR – Marine Science Center
The exhibitor at the Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR) will present some of the lines of scientific research being developed at the Center and which have an impact on people's lives.
«Taking the Ria Formosa ecosystem as a starting point, CCMAR will promote dynamics and interactions with visitors, allowing them to learn more about algae and marine plants, understand how Aquaculture is developed in a sustainable way and the impact of changes in this ecosystem.
CCMAR will also provide a “visit” to the DNA molecule. Visitors will be able to wear the lab coat of scientists and they, too, will extract the powerful DNA that contains the code that largely determines who we are!», revealed CRIA.
CECTA – Center for Studies in Agricultural Sciences and Technologies
On the exhibitor of this center linked to research in the field of agronomy, it will be possible to determine the state of ripeness of various fruits. For this, it will be necessary to operate several devices: The sugar content is determined using a refractometer, the color of the fruit using a colorimeter and the hardness of the fruit using a penetrometer.
CTA - Water Science and Technology Center
At the CTA stand, an experimental installation will be set up that simulates the hydraulic operation and transport of pollutants in aquifers on a laboratory scale. The observation of this installation is accompanied by the projection of a film which highlights various technical and scientific aspects relating to groundwater and its importance in the management of water resources at local and regional scales.
FCT – Faculty of Science and Technology
The FCT will exhibit a prototype demonstrating the operation of a Gas Effluent Treatment System, with direct implications for the quality of the air we breathe.
Tavira CCV
The science dissemination center in Tavira offers visitors a very original exercise, closely linked to the theme of Sport. The experience is based on several questions: “Do you know what factors affect the ball's speed during shooting? And in which areas of the body are most heat released during physical exertion? And your reaction speed, do you know what makes it vary?"
To get the answers to these questions, the CCV of Tavira will carry out activities on the theme of Physics and Sport, measuring some parameters through the use of specific sensors.
One of the experiments will try to determine the speed of a kick. A radar will measure the speed the ball reached after being kicked, as well as the variables that could influence the result. Participants will be able to assess performance based on gender, physical condition or age.
In the same exhibitor, an attempt will be made to determine the emission of heat from a body following a physical effort. Here, participants are invited to pedal and can see the heat they are producing through images captured by a thermographic camera. They will also be able to test the speed of reaction to stimuli and its variants. «In this activity, an adapted computer game will be used, in which the average recognition speed of objects that appear on the screen is measured», revealed the CRIA.
SCHIU - Vibration and Noise Engineering
In this company's exhibitor, the “star” will be a sound level meter, with which experiments will be carried out that will allow visitors to know the different decibels associated with different daily situations and the respective limits recommended by the World Health Organization.
Cognitive Neuroscience Group - Faculty of Human and Social Sciences
At the stand of this research group, visitors will be able to learn a little more about how the brain works. In addition to discovering some of the mysteries associated with the brain, visitors can put their knowledge to the test through various demonstrations and games.
Among the activities planned are demonstrations and explanations of different types of optical illusions, Stroop tests, which assess attention and concentration, and games such as Brain Puzzle and Brain Trivial, the first dedicated to establishing correspondences between functions and brain areas and the second based on a set of questions about this organ of the human body.
Itinerant Molecular Genetics Laboratory Lab-IT
Molecular biology will be in the spotlight at the Lab-IT project stand, a structure that, equipped with sophisticated equipment, is supported by a highly qualified team that provides support to Secondary Schools in the region in the areas of Biology, Biotechnology and Molecular Genetics.
On the Researchers' Night, activities are planned that will allow visitors to get in touch with some basic molecular biology techniques, such as the extraction and amplification of DNA from fruits, microscopic observation of the biodiversity of the microbiota populations of the Ria Formosa, and the handling of some scientific equipment.
CCDRA
CCDRA will join the Researchers' Night through the Europe Direct Center and promote various activities related to the theme "Renewable energies in the European context". Among them, we highlight the two gatherings that will take place from 20 pm onwards, which will revolve around two interventions, the presentation «Solar Kitchen» by Professor Celestino Ruivo of UALG and the presentation «LED lamps: what they are and for what do they serve?”, by Eng.º Miguel Mendonça, from AREAL.
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