First Major Event of the Two Merged Universities Kaiserslautern and Landau
Young Researchers Symposium 2022 Brings Together Doctoral Students from Landau and Kaiserslautern
The Young Researchers Symposium (YRS 2022) was held for the fifth time at the Fraunhofer Center in Kaiserslautern on July 22. The special feature of this scientific conference is that the participants aim to communicate their own project in an entertaining and exciting way to an audience from outside the field. This year's winners convinced the audience with topics such as the Netflix algorithm, cat (pictures), mosquitoes and a lot of humor. The event is organized by the TU-Nachwuchsring of the Technical University of Kaiserslautern (TUK) and the High Performance Center Simulation and Software Based Innovation.
Interdisciplinary Linking of Doctoral Students from Different Disciplines
With 15 lectures and 30 poster presentations, the participants presented the diversity of research at the two sites. The lively discussions were praised, which was particularly enriching for both presenters and listeners in the strongly interdisciplinary environment. »There was a very pleasant atmosphere during the symposium. The presenters were listened to, very interesting questions were asked and sometimes there were stimulating conversations afterwards,« reports Annika Pick, runner-up in the Best Talk category. For Sara Kolbeschlag, who received first place in the Best Poster category, it shows: »The research areas of the universities of Landau and Kaiserslautern complement each other well and thus offer great opportunities for collaboration in future projects.«
A jury of scientists from the various departments of the TUK as well as from the two Fraunhofer Institutes and the Leibniz Institute for Composite Materials (IVW) and the audience select the winners. The three best presentations and posters are awarded a total of 6,000€ in prize money at the end of the event.
Casual Atmosphere Invigorates Networking
Between the lectures and poster presentations, there is enough free space for conversations among the participants.» The relaxed atmosphere was also a pleasant change from the big meetings or conferences,« emphasizes Sara Kolbeschlag. »In the context of the merger of Kaiserslautern and Landau, my colleagues and I found it a nice opportunity to look at what research is being done in Kaiserslautern and also to get to know other students and PhD students.« Finally, the participants used the waiting time until the announcement of the winners to network at a chill-out with finger food and musical accompaniment by the »Claudia Botzner Quartett«.
Prize winner
Best Talk:
1. Prize: Nicolas Hayer, TU Kaiserslautern: Learning from Netflix – Recommender Systems for Predicting Thermodynamic Properties
2. Prize: Annika Maria Pick, TU Kaiserslautern: Photoactivatable Zinc Sensors: One Step Closer Towards Understanding Zinc’s Role in Neurodegeneration
3. Prize: Simon Scherr, Fraunhofer IESE: Analyzing Emojis in Feedback to Improve Apps
Best Poster:
1. Prize: Sara Kolbenschlag, Universität Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau: Effects of a Mosquito Control Agent on Emerging Insect Communities in Freshwater Ponds
2. Prize: Meike Landsiedel, TU Kaiserslautern: Multinuclear Copper Complexes – From Nature to Industry
3. Prize: Nina Röder, Universität Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau: Efficient DNA Metabarcoding of Dipterans: How Work-Shy Scientists Identify Insects