Beata Zima, PhD, Eng. and Tomasz Majchrzak, PhD, Eng. with the award of the Gdańsk Scientific Society | Gdańsk University of Technology

Every year, the Mayor of the City of Gdańsk and the Gdańsk Scientific Society award five equal awards to young scientists, up to 35 years of age, for outstanding scientific achievements in the fields corresponding to the various Divisions of the Society:

Division I - Social Sciences and Humanities
Division II - Biological and Medical Sciences
Division III - Mathematical, Physical and Chemical Sciences
Division IV - Technical Sciences
Division V - Earth Sciences

Beata Zima, PhD, Eng. received an award in Division IV - Technical Sciences for a series of ten publications under the title "Analysis and use of wave propagation to identify mechanical devices".

The scientist has developed a number of algorithms for detecting, locating and estimating the size of damage in elements of engineering structures. Thanks to this, it is possible to effectively detect particularly dangerous subsurface damage (which may lead to secondary damage, e.g. corrosion centers) without interfering with the structure of the construction and without the need to carry out reference measurements, i.e. in a shorter time and at a lower cost than with the currently available methods. What's more, they can be used both in constant monitoring systems and during casual inspections.

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The award from the III Division - Mathematical, Physical and Chemical Sciences was received by Tomasz Majchrzak, PhD, Eng. for his doctoral dissertation entitled "A comprehensive analytical approach to assessing the quality of edible oils during the frying process using the electronic nose technique supported by real-time proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry". The thesis supervisor was prof. Andrzej Wasik, while the auxiliary supervisor - Tomasz Dymerski, PhD, Eng.

The main research work carried out by PhD Tomasz Majchrzak, the results of which were also described in the awarded doctoral dissertation, oscillates around the analysis of volatile organic compounds resulting from the frying process. The chemical composition of oil vapors that are formed when oil is heated is a collection of valuable information. Thanks to the measurements made with the use of an electronic nose, it is possible to assess the quality and freshness of the oil used for frying. As a result, the qualitative assessment process is significantly shortened - you do not need to take a sample of the substance, interrupting the frying process and test it in the laboratory using additional solvents. Sufficiently calibrated electronic nose sensors will assess whether the frying process complies with the standards, and whether the oil quality is appropriate.

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