Climate and extensive anthropisation of the area make the Po Valley one of Europe’s most polluted regions, despite emissions being actually comparable to those of other industrialised districts. Particulate matter, or fine dust, heads the list of the most critical polluting agents.
Long-term exposure to high concentrations of particulate matter increases the incidence of both cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Industries, traffic and domestic heating are some of the leading sources of fine dust emissions. However, even intensive livestock breeding and agricultural activities can contribute to the dissemination of this harmful pollutant. To date, few studies have been conducted on the topic.
The D-DUST project (Data-driven moDelling of particUlate with Satellite Technology aid) vaims to bridge this gap by providing important data to investigate the impact of emissions from agricultural and livestock activities on our health. D-DUST, funded by Fondazione Cariplo, ’s 'Data Science for Science and Society' call for proposals, counts on Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA) as lead partner, in partnership with Fondazione Politecnico di Milano, the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering /strong> (DEIB) and l’Università degli Studi dell’Insubria (DiSAT) as scientific partners.
Maria Antonia Brovelli, Geographical Information Systems professor who is coordinating the project, explained that
the D-DUST project will test new analytical and predictive procedures for the generation and diffusion mechanisms of particulate matter from the agricultural sector. These procedures are solely based on the vast wealth of environmental data and observations now available as open data, with particular focus on the potential contribution of new satellite missions designed to monitor air quality.
The study will also make use of the Sentinel satellite platforms of the European Copernicus programme, including the Sentinel 5P satellite, which provides open data measurements of the main atmospheric pollutants on a global scale, together with the study of spatial predictive models based on machine learning techniques. Models will be developed taking into account data from the fixed ground-based monitoring stations of the ARPA Lombardy network, and data from the detection and chemical characterisation campaigns of particulate matter combined with data on the incidence of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Professor Brovelli further emphasises that
The research aims to increase local knowledge of particulate matter even in areas not covered by ground-based measurement stations, in order to provide estimates and forecasts that could be replicated and used to monitor and analyse population exposure to this pollutant.
In parallel to the research described above, educational activities will be organised, mainly involving students from agricultural senior high schools through awareness-building workshops and direct participation in monitoring campaigns. The project will also involve non-profit organisations and foundations actively participating in research, education and dissemination projects on environmental issues.
"Awareness of the gender gap is a first step that must be followed by concrete actions not only within our universities, but also in a global context. The importance of building networks, like ENHANCE, and joining common causes increases our ability to influence decision makers "
Pro-rector Donatella Sciuto comments on the result of the first annual report on diversity and gender equality within ENHANCE , the alliance formed in starting from 2020 from 7 universities of excellence (including Politecnico) that wishes to promote gender equality and diversity within higher education institutions.
You can read the report here. The reports highlights the potential of the universities involved in making academic opportunities accessible to all and promoting inclusion and equal opportunities as main values in their strategies.
Credits: Martin Braun
ENHANCE'S GOALS
There are three main objectives of the report, which allow to identify the common challenges to be faced and to monitor the improvements brought about by the implemented actions:
encourage and support students and young female researchers with fewer opportunities to successfully undertake and complete a STEM degree program, as well as to participate in mobility projects;
offer empowerment tools to under-represented and disadvantaged groups;
develop training resources related to diversity and gender equality to be used in higher education institutions, promoting awareness of these issues.
“Although the female population is under-represented in many of the activities carried out at our universities, the ENHANCE initiatives have achieved noteworthy gender parity, with 54% male participation and 46% female participation”.
explains Melih Özkardes, who coordinates the working group dedicated to Diversity and Gender Equality within ENHANCE. And he adds:
"Awareness of diversity and gender equality in a group increases the chances of developing innovative ideas and allows you to work in a climate of greater well-being".
POLITECNICO'S INITIATIVES
In order to learn about, cultivate and enhance the diversity of the polytechnic community, the University in recent years has developed various initiatives that are fully integrated into the vision supported by Enhance.
Among these, there is the POP - Pari Politecnico Opportunities , the strategic program with which the Politecnico di Milano is committed to guaranteeing a study and work environment that respects gender identities, different abilities, cultures and backgrounds. The POP program is developed along 5 strategic lines of action : gender identity, culture, nation and religion, sexual orientation, different abilities and psychological well-being.
Within the POP, there are also initiatives to promote STEM subjects among high school girls , such as Girls @ Polimi , scholarships for future students enrolled in engineering courses with low percentage of women (Mechanics, Electronics and Computer Science), which make 8000 euros available to deserving candidates each, repeatable for the three years of the degree , in addition to free accommodation.
EnginHERing is aimed instead to high school students, to bring female students closer to the choice of engineering faculty through the passionate words and experiences of female students , researchers and Alumnae of the Polytechnic tell us about the still little explored reality of engineers.
You too can support the Girls @ Polimi scholarships with a donation starting from 10 euros. Click here .
Simone Callegari, Alumnus in Engineering of Materials and Nanotechnologies of 2015, received the CERN Alumni Champion 2021 Award for his contributions to the CERN blog during the period of the pandemic.
Callegari worked there as a researcher from 2017 to 2019, collaborating on engineering projects of an international nature. In particular, he held the role of R&D Project Engineer on operations related to Large Hadron Collider (the particle accelerator used for experimental research in the field of particle physics). The experience in his years at CERN then prompted him to write the three articles on the CERN blog on the theme "Science and Engineering Stories", for which he was awarded (read them here , here and here ).
“I am happy to have finally received my CERN Alumni Champion 2021 award and to experience such a significant moment in my career - comments Simone Callegari on Linkedin -. This means a lot to me, because it came after such a good time in my career and also because of the results obtained during the difficult pandemic situation, like the Science and Engineering Stories blog. I am grateful that Rachel, along with the CERN Alumni, valued my efforts and made me feel part of this generous community that has been so instrumental in supporting me over the past few months. Making my small contribution to science has so far been such an exciting and rewarding experience for which I am very grateful. Feeling supported in our communities is really essential to realize your dreams while always keeping your passions. "
The theme of the award ceremony was “Research Matters”, and is dedicated to CERN researchers for their impact on the world and for their brilliant careers.
There is still a lot to discover about our past and new technologies are coming to meet us, shedding light on hitherto unsolved mysteries. One of the most fascinating and remote mistery relates to the Kofun period in the history of Japan , between the third and seventh centuries AD, known for the huge tumulus tombs (called Kofun) which, according to tradition, guard the earthly remains of the first, legendary emperors and dignitaries of Japan.
They are among the largest monuments ever built and so far little studied, because they are strictly protected by the Japanese government and it is also forbidden for researchers to approach them . There are no written sources, either from the time or more modern, to refer to to find out more.
So we study them from afar : with satellite eyes, using the remote sensing technique. The group of Politecnico di Milano led by researchers Giulio Magli, Norma Baratta and Arianna Picotti was the first to observe, in the its entirety, the shape, size and orientation of these constructions, which recall enormous keyholes.
In particular, for the first time the researchers were able to "explore" the largest and most mysterious mound: the majestic Daisen Kofun , 486 meters long and about 36 meters high, attributed to the legendary Japanese emperor Nintoku, the sixteenth in the history of Japan. The remote sensing has made it possible to study the orientation of over one hundred Kofuns and verify that there is "a connection of all the entrance corridors with the arch of the sky where the Sun and the Moon are visible every day of the year ". The Daisen Kofun, on the other hand, is oriented "towards the arc of the rising / shining Sun", where - during the winter solstice - the Sun is born.
"The study of the orientation of ancient tombs is a powerful tool to better understand the cognitive aspects of religion and power in ancient societies", reads the article published by researchers in the prestigious journal Remote Sens ( here the link to the full article ). The ancient Japanese emperors linked to the mythical origin of their dynasty, precisely to the Sun, the deity believed to be descended from the Sun Goddess Amaterasu.
The research group is led by Giulio Magli , astrophysicist and archaeoastronomer specialized in the study of the relationships between the architecture of ancient civilizations, the landscape and the celestial vault, teacher of Archaeoastronomy at Politecnico di Milano.
Work has begun on ROSE, the project funded by the European Union which sees Politecnico as one of the seven leading European partners.
The ROSE project is dedicated to people affected by a total or partial loss of smell (anosmia and hyposmia) and aims at developing technologies to give them support. Unlike other sensory systems, to date there is no way to partially or totally restore the sense of smell, once damaged.
The ROSE project combines disciplines such as nanotechnology, microtechnology, biotechnology, mechanical design, neurosurgery, clinical olfaction, neuroscience and cognitive psychology, with the aim of verifying the feasibility of a olfactory prosthesis miniaturized that combines micro odor sensors and neural stimulators .
In fact, it is estimated that the loss of smell affects about 20% of the world population, with a recent increase due to the Covid-19 pandemic, since about 1 in 2 infected registers anosmia or hyposmia among its symptoms.
Credits: meafarma
THE ROLE OF POLITECNICO
Our University plays a fundamental role in the development of the project: under the guidance of the professors Marina Carulli and Monica Bordegoni of the Department of Mechanics, Politecnico will develop customized miniaturized olfactory receptors and will have to design, test and produce prototypes of miniaturized olfactory prostheses, using 3D printing technologies .
The project is funded with over € 3 million by the European Union under the H2020 Pathfinder Pilot program. In addition to the Politecnico the participants are Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CNRS, France), Technische Universität Dresden (Germany), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland), Aryballe (France), Aristotelio Panepistimio Thessalonikis (Greece) and CEA LETI (France ).
Politecnico di Milano and CONI - Italian National Olympic Committee signed a framework agreement for the training of students and graduates and carrying out research activities in the plant engineering sector.
The agreement, signed in a meeting at our University, provides for a four-year collaboration for the promotion of training initiatives and learning paths that allow students and graduates to broaden their knowledge relating to implementation and management sports infrastructures, also thanks to the carrying out of laboratory exercises, projects and graduation papers.
Credits: polimi.it
Thanks to the agreement it will also be possible to carry on research aimed at technological innovation in the sector and new resources and courses will be provided for the professional updating of CONI operators.
The event for the signing of the agreement was attended by Giovanni Malagò, President of CONI, Ferruccio Resta , Rector of Politecnico, Emilio Faroldi, Head Scientific of the agreement for Politecnico, and Francesco Calvetti , Rector's Delegate for Sports Activities.
Mars2020 project began to take shape in 2012, after the landing, of rover Curiosity . It took almost ten years to perfect the design, make calculations, projections, tests and finally give birth to the Perseverance rover, which landed on February 18, 2021 .
Marco Dolci , engineer and Alumnus of Politecnico di Milano, is one of the 1000 engineers, scientists and researchers who contributed to creating Perseverance, and tells us about his experience:
"From the initial draft, to being able to touch the rover with your hands and see that it works as expected ... it's like taking care of a growing child", "As parents, in his adventure we are always there for him, but follows its own path and goes far. It is a parallelism that is also valid in the retail appreciation of the little things that Perseverance does, every day. Among journalists and in society there is always a tendency to ask ourselves what his latest great discovery is; but for people who have been working there every day for almost 10 years, every step they take is a great event: behind there is the work of many people who have thought about it, who have done countless tests, who have not slept, so that that single step were possible ".
Credits: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
Perseverance is a kind of robotic geologist and studies the rocks and mineral properties of the Martian soil, on scales ranging from 1 m to 1 mm in size. The second objective touches on one of the great questions of astrobiology: was there ever life on Mars?
Another important task of Perseverance is the collection of samples of soil, rock and atmosphere for a possible future Mars sample return mission: the goal of which would be to be able to bring these samples back to Earth for analysis.
And finally, thinking even bigger, Perseverance is also on Mars to prepare human exploration : in fact, some specific experiments are planned that will allow us to understand if it is possible to use Martian resources to make the planet more habitable. for a possible mission with "real human beings on board".
Credits: https://mars.nasa.gov/
Dolci takes care of the rover's robotic subsystem and, in particular, of the two manipulators, the external and internal robotic arm. The design is very similar to Curiosity's (a proven design helps minimize the risks) but there are some important differences. The robotic subsystem of Perseverance, designed by Dolci, is the most complex ever sent by man beyond Earth's orbit to be able to explore the solar system.
"It consists of two parts - explains the engineer - One part is the robotic arm of about 2 meters, which carries, at the end, a turret with scientific instruments for analysis and a drill to collect samples. Once the sample is collected, the arm folds towards the rover and deposits the sample in the Perseverance "belly". Inside the rover there is another robotic arm that takes the sample, inserts it into a tube, examines it and puts it in safety, with the idea of leaving it on Martian soil for a possible future recovery mission ".
A new invention capable of revolutionizing acoustic technology for noise attenuation: these anti-noise panels are capable of absorbing sound waves, based on "labyrinthine metamaterials". These metamaterials, so defined because they have higher potential than those of conventional materials, have a particular "labyrinth" structure that allows the acoustic wave to be reflected several times inside them, progressively reducing until it disappears.
The minds behind this new technology are six students of the Alta Scuola Politecnica, the international program that brings together the best students of the Politecnico di Milano and Politecnico di Torino: Leonardo Bettini student Aeronautical Engineering), Venus Hasanuzzaman Kamrul (Alumnus Engineering Physics 2021), Emanuele Musso ( Alumnus Engineering Mechanical 2021) , Fabio Nistri (student of Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology), Davide Piciucco ( Alumnus of Civil Engineering 2021) and Matteo Zemello (Alumnus of Aeronautical Engineering 2021).
Credits: Alta Scuola Politecnica
In addition to the particular structure, the new panels are characterized by being light and inexpensive , and are created through 3D printing, using waste plastics. The erasable noises are very varied: from medium frequency sounds, typical of speech and some musical instruments, to low frequency ones, caused by motors. The sectors of application are also different, from construction to automotive, up to domestic use.
The project was tested and validated at Energy Department-DENERG "Galileo Ferraris" of the Politecnico di Torino and involved, as an industrial partner, Phononic Vibes , a company born in 2018 as a spin-off of the Politecnico di Milano; will now continue within the European research path FET - Boheme , coordinated by the University of Trento and in which the Politecnico of Turin, the Imperial College of London and the Federal Polytechnic of Zurich (ETH) are involved among others.
In Italy, university sport is traditionally not very popular, but last January 7 something happened that could change this, and 2022 could be remembered as the beginnging of a new sport .
THE RACE
For the uninitiated, the CES - Consumer Electronics Show is the largest trade fair in electronics in the world, held once a year, every January, in Las Vegas, since 1967. There some products that have made history have seen the light, such as the video recorder in 1970. The technologies that pervade our lives are always revealed, well in advance, at CES.
In 2022 the 55th edition was held (from 5 to 8 January). The VCR is a distant memory. We live in a world of artificial intelligence, augmented and hybrid reality, self-driving cars ... A world in which the Polytechnic has a place of honor. During CES, the first head-to-head race between unmanned cars took place on 7 January , the Autonomous Challenge, organized by the Energy Systems Network (the non-profit organization that also launched the Indy Autonomous Challenge ). It involved the running teams of the best universities in the world and it was Italy, with Politecnico di Milano, that won the first prize of 150 thousand euros ( read more here).
Recap of previous episodes : Team PoliMOVE , led by Professor Sergio Savaresi of the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of Politecnico di Milano, is a team that this year has won almost everything. The extraordinary results achieved are also the result of the collaboration with e-Novia , which supports the team as main sponsor, Fluentis and Movyon , in as supporting sponsor. The team is also a partner of the University of Alabama.
The cars used for the race are Dallara AV-21 cars , the most advanced self-driving racing cars in existence. All the same, for all teams . What changes is only the "pilot" driving, the artificial intelligence. Our car has a name and (in the intentions of the programmers) a face: AS.CAR.I. (acronym for AutonomouS CAR Intelligence) , in homage to the great Italian driver.
On October 23 AS.CAR.I. missed gold by a hair , due to a breakdown in the car that sends him off the track, however, winning the championship speed record: 252 km/h. The Dallaras are indeed the most advanced self-driving cars in the world, but they are not yet perfect : " The engine broke down when we reached maximum speed, ”explains Savaresi, who at the moment doesn't know exactly what happened. In first place, the German team TUM, of the Technical University of Munich.
The same fault limits the results of PoliMOVE also in December 2021, during a solo race carried out to beat the absolute speed record for an autonomous vehicle . AS.CAR.I. makes it for a very short time: with 283.18 km / h, or 175.96 mph, it surpasses Roborace's speed record (175.49 mph) recorded by the Guinness and UK Timing Association in 2019. Watch the video of the record: World's Fastest Autonomous Racecar - PoliMOVE Speed Record .
“ We were able to identify the nature of the fault: there was an overcurrent which shut down the engine. All teams would have had the same problem, if another team's car had reached that speed, it would have shut down like ours. We were going too fast for her. We finally understood where the problem was and the organizers have, on our indication, removed it in time for the new race of 7 January 2022 “.
This time, a real head-to-head competition : while in Indianapolis the cars took to the track one at a time (to limit the difficulty coefficient of such a new and unpredictable competition) at the Autonomous Challenge @ CES final we see the first head-to-head in history between artificial pilots at those speeds , once again PoliMOVE in the final against the Germans of TUM. A challenge with overtaking strokes, in which the polytechnic team triumphs in the end:
"A milestone in the history of autonomous driving: two cars launched at 280 km per hour , almost touching each other. But this time they didn't manage to keep up with us ”, comments a beaming Savaresi after the victory.
Watch the highlights of the race Credits: Sergio Savaresi and Indy Autonomous Challenge
NEXT STEPS
This glorious year for Politecnico is almost at the end: the last step, in a few weeks, will be the attempt to break the world record again.
“We aim for 200 mph, 320/330 km / h ”. What about next year? "Triplets: first in the simulation race, first at Indy and first at CES", jokes Savaresi, but he knows that, in sport, victory is not sung too soon: "Seriously, it is important to remain among the first, then sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. What is certain is that we can no longer hide: we are the ones to beat ". A few numbers: the car costs 600,000 euros, of which 300,000 are subsidized by ESN and 300,000 through sponsors and donations. In addition to out-of-pocket travel costs, not counting the research grants of the PhD students in the team, about thirty automation, computer, electronic, telecommunication and mechanical engineers. “You have to do it right. We need a budget of 1 million euros per year ".
THE FUTURE IS EPIC: HUMANS AGAINST ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
"In general, motorsport has always had the function of anticipating automotive technologies," explains Savaresi, becoming serious again after the emotion. "Futuristic solutions are tried on the track, perhaps a little dangerous, which can also fail, are tested in a controlled context with limited risk, and then the experience is transferred to production cars. All car technologies have passed from motorsport : engine development, aerodynamics, materials, etc. All, except automatic checks . Artificial intelligence (the one that gave rise to ABS, traction control, stability control ...) is systematically banned by the federations because it detracts from the role of the driver. For this reason, there is a huge gap between F1 technology, the highest expression of motorsport, and production cars: the latter are much more refined . But the autonomous car is the keystone of a revolution that will affect the world of mobility over the next 10-15 years, forever changing the way we travel (but also how we live). This revolution requires a major technological leap: the development of a completely autonomous car. Therefore, we need a field of experimentation ".
This is the meaning of the birth of a new sport, autonomous motorsport. Which could one day lead to a confrontation between a flesh-and-blood Ascari and an artificial one:
“ In the future I imagine a championship in which man and machine will compete . In 10 years, perhaps, every F1 team will have an artificially piloted car and a car with a human driver ”.
And who will win? We ask: “Good question. Some say that it will end up like chess, where at a certain point the artificial intelligence has exceeded our computing abilities and from that moment on it has always won. But driving a car isn't like playing a game of chess, it doesn't end in a finite number of combinations. I expect AI to be able to compete with a human pilot in about ten years . Then, it will take another 10-20 years for the machines to overtake us. But, at that point, we must keep in mind that AI has an advantage over us that has nothing to do with the ability to calculate: its ability to perceive the world at 360 ° with a quantity of sensory stimuli that do not we can match with our natural senses. To continue competing, we will develop augmented human : we will equip human pilots with augmented perception. We do not yet know how, but technology will give man a perception comparable to that of the car: at that point the race will be open again. The human and the artificial mind will compete on equal terms ".
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