We invite schools from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina, the region and the world to attend this year’s event “Materials without borders 2024”. Deadline for registration is Aug 15, 2024.

For the third year in a row, the Chemistry Department of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (PMF) is organizing the “Materials without Borders” conference. As in previous years, the sponsor is the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education (project number: 19.032/966-67/23).

This conference was designed by young researchers of PMF as part of the RM@Schools international project, which was implemented at our Faculty during the previous five years. Each year was truly “without borders”, because so far we have hosted guests from several countries, including Italy, Germany, Hungary, as well as schools from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For a limited number of registrations, we can also provide financial support in the cost of transportation and accommodation. Food, educational material and transportation to field educations are provided during the entire conference for all participants.

Students are aged between 13-18 years of qualification, and the topic of the presentation should be from the STEAM field, preferably chemistry, physics, materials or interdisciplinary fields that include computer science. Send a summary of the presentation with the names of team members and teachers/mentors to the email of the conference coordinator: suzana.gotovac.atlagic@unibl.org  The text should be up to one A4 page in length.

Students will have 12-15 minutes to present, while the team posters will be displayed in the Faculty hall (poster printing provided by the organizers).

Conference program

First day 26.08.2024. WELCOME

14.00-17.00 Reception of guests, guide to accommodation provided if necessary (accommodation provided in Student center Nikola Tesla” and hostel “Evropa” depending on the number of guests and order of registration)

18.00-21.00 Welcome dinner, “Vila Vrbas” restaurant

Second day 27.08.2024. CONFERENCE (Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Ulica Mladena Stojanovića 2, 78000, Banja Luka, ground floor: classroom 7)

7.00-8.00 breakfast in the accommodation facility

9:00 a.m. Gathering and registration, checking and preparing posters, networking and getting to know the participants, coffee corner and refreshments provided,

9.30 Statements for the media (coordinators and teachers, team leaders)

10.00-10.05 Welcome speech (organizers, PMF Chemistry Study Program)

10.05-10.15 Welcome speech (representatives of the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education)

10.15-10.30 Retrospective of previous conferences and presentation of ambitions for the future, Prof dr Suzana Gotovac Atlagić, conference coordinator

10.30-11.30 Pupils’ presentations

11.30-12.00 Coffee break and poster presentation

12.00-14.00 Pupils’ presentations

14.00-14.30 Award ceremony, greetings and discussion

14.30-16.00 Lunch at the site and networking

16.00…  free time at the accommodation and relaxation

Third day 29.08.2024. INDUSTRIAL VISIT

7.00-8.00 Breakfast in the accommodation facility

8.45-9.00 Gathering at the parking lot of the Faculty of Science

9.00-10.00 Transfer to the location, EFT Stanari

10.00-13.00 Welcome discussion with engineers, tour of the laboratory, mine and thermal power plant, location with examples of successful land reclamation

13.30-15.00 Lunch at the local restaurant “Sunce”

15.00-16.00 Return to Banja Luka, team farewell, FREE TIME

WELCOME!

Read more about previous years on our posts:

https://hemija.pmf.unibl.org/srl/konferencija-materijali-bez-granica-na-studijskom-programu-hemija/

https://hemija.pmf.unibl.org/srl/zavrsen-medunarodni-edukativni-kamp-materijali-bez-granica/

Professors Biljana Davidović-Plavšić and Biljana Kukavica were guests in the program “Eho Nauke”, edited and hosted by Tatjana Mizdrak.

The occasion for the visit was their monograph, “Abiotic stress and redox homeostasis of the cell”, published by the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka.

At the beginning of the discussion, the authors explained the mechanisms of pesticide action on cells, and then emphasized the response of cells to pesticides, which are ubiquitous both in the environment and in different organisms.

You can listen to the entire programat the following link:
Author of the text: Dr. Biljana Davidović-Plavšić, Professor

With a great pleasure, our Department hosted for the second time a very dynamic team from Seville of coordinators of the “RISBriefcase” project, in which we have been participating since 2023. Lidia, Santiago and Silvia, brought the “secrets” of the fluorescence of natural minerals to the pupils of several Banja Luka schools.

This property of molecules or atoms to absorb light at one wavelength and then almost instantly emit it at a larger ones, has found its application in numerous chemical and optical analysis techniques.

At the workshop, held in our Training Center for Materials Innovation, the students enjoyed learning about a new topic, trying out the technique themselves and discussing the chemical compositions of minerals that their colleagues brought from their distant country.

Also, with the help of a Google virtual reality set, they were shown what the inside of the mine in Spain where these materials were found looks like.

They made this day and science, and Spain a little closer to us.

The “RISBriefcase” continues its journey, and during the summer and autumn we are expecting a series of interesting events with students of various ages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Professors Saša Zeljković and Milica Balaban participated in the 10^th Slovenian-Serbian-Croatian Symposium on zeolites as part of the bilateral project “Circular Economy: Application of Waste Raw Materials in Zeolite Synthesis”. The symposium was held from May 23 to 25 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The organizer of the Symposium was the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana. The bilateral project is supported by the program of joint scientific research projects, within the scientific and technological cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Slovenia for 2024 and 2025.

The symposium provided a venue for meetings with partners from Slovenia and offered an opportunity to present the latest results in the field of zeolites.

Author of the text: Dr. Saša Zeljković, Professor

Chemistry teacher training aimed at improving the quality of chemistry teaching in secondary schools, within the Erasmus+ project ChemTeach (101129417-ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CB-VET), was held in the period from April 8 to 12, 2024 in Bratislava ( Slovakia) and Pardubice (Czech Republic). The courses were attended by Professor Saša Zeljković from the Faculty of Science and Mathematics and chemistry teachers from the Gymnasium, Medical, and Technological Schools in Banja Luka.

During the visit to the High School of Chemistry from Bratislava (Stredná odborná škola chemická, Bratislava), the teachers visited the laboratories and attended professional subject classes. The topics of lectures and workshops included professional education and training in EU countries, teaching and evaluation using digital tools, and extracurricular professional activities as a form of professional development. The visit was also an opportunity to talk with students participating in chemistry competitions and with students doing professional practice. The hosts paid special attention to the presentation of their promotional activities, and Erasmus+ projects were highlighted as an important part of professional education.

At the Higher Secondary School of Chemistry in the Czech city of Pardubice (Střední průmyslova škola chemická Pardubice), emphasis is placed on the application of digital tools in the teaching of chemistry and laboratory work. The focus of the presentations and discussions was on methods that can be used to promote chemistry and attract future students.

Author of the text: Prof. Dr. Saša Zeljković
Photos: Prof. Dr. Saša Zeljković

The team of the Chemistry Department participated in the final conference of the project "Agricultural Residues and Plastic Waste Materials as a Sustainable Source of Alternative Fuels and Valuable Chemicals" (AGRIPLAST), which was held from April 8 to 10 in Sombor. This project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), deals with the chemical characterization and valorization of agricultural and plastic waste, according to the principles of the circular economy.
At the conference that brought together researchers from Serbia, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia, Prof. Milica Balaban held an invited lecture entitled "Microplastics as a carrier of pollutants in the environment". Also, in the part of the conference that was dedicated to the elaboration of possibilities for continuing the activity, Sanja Pržulj, senior teaching assistant and Dejana Savić, teaching assistant, presented the situation and perspectives in the Republika Srpska on the topic of plastic waste and waste from the food industry.

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the

University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Innovation Centre Banja Luka cordially invite you to this year edition of the NanoPol 2024, international conference dedicated to:

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Nanomaterials and Polymers 

Applied  Chemistry  for Sustainable Development

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Conference is open to the domestic and international scientific/professional community and students of all three cycles of study in chemistry, technology and material sciences in general. It aims at drawing attention to the new developments in polymer and nanomaterials and environmental aspects of these materials, their production, processing, recycling and environmental safety issues related.

Date: June 13-14, 2024

Place: Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Venue: Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics,

Mladena Stojanovića str. 2, 78000 Banja Luka (MAIN AMPHITHEATHER)

Working language: ENGLISH

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Plenary speakers

NANOmaterials section

Prof dr Matteo GUIDOTTI Italy CNR SCITEC, Milano	Prof dr Dragana TOMAŠEVIĆ PILIPOVIĆ Serbia University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad	Prof dr Radovan KUKOBAT, Bosnia and Herzegovina University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka

POLymers section

Dr Eyad KHALAF  Egypt Science & Technology Centre of Excellence, Cairo	Prof dr Anita GROZDANOVA North Macedonia Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje	Prof dr Miroslav HUSKIĆ Slovenia Faculty of Polymer Technology, Slovenj Gradec

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Submission/registration instructions:

ORAL PRESENTATIONS are assured through two sections of plenary speakers dedicated to the NANOmaterials and POLYmers

POSTER PRESENTATIONS are open for submissions and encouraged for the competition in BEST POSTER  design and most innovative scientific idea presented through the poster. Up to 10 posters will be accepted per each of two sections (NANOmaterials and POLYmers) and the poster size is defined to 91.4cm x 121.9cm.

Poster abstracts accepted until: May 13, 2024 (4PM CET DEADLINE)   ABSTRACT TEMPLATE HERE

Book of abstracts will be assigned an ISBN number and published at the UNIBL open data repository „Sova“: https://sova.unibl.org/en/homepage/

Attendance (+/- abstract) registration open until: June 05, 2024 (4PM CET DEADLINE)

REGISTRATION FORM HERE

Abstracts (+/-) registration for attendance to be submitted to: nanopol@pmf.unibl.org

PROGRAMME HERE

Event is open for the added-value sponsorship of promo-gadgets for attendees and are wellcoming the promotional stands for industry, projects and environmental or research NGOs related to the subjects of the Conference.

Conference participation is free of charge and fully supported by European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT) Raw Materials project „DeepGreenInno“ and by co-funding  contract to this project, protocol number 19.032/966-66/23 from the Ministry for Scientific-Research Development and Higher Education of Republic of Srpska.

The seminar “New Approach to Porous Oxide Synthesis” (supported by the COST Action Netpore 20126 project) was held on February 12, 2024, at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka.

During the seminar, lectures were delivered by Prof. Dr. Milica Balaban, Prof. Dr. Dijana Jelić, and the coordinator of this project, Prof. Dr. Saša Zeljković. Presentations on the latest results in applying the solvent-deficient method and kinetics of parallel chemical reactions were followed by discussions and plans for future research.

This project is supported by the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education of the Republic of Srpska.

In January 2024, the students of the fourth year of the Chemistry Department visited three leading instrumental laboratories in the Republic of Srpska. They visited the Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Srpska, the Clinical Institute for Nuclear Medicine and Thyroid Diseases of the University Clinical Center (Hot lab) and the Forensic Laboratory of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Banja Luka.

During the visits, the students were able to get acquainted with the application of instrumental chemical methods for the analysis of items of general use, radiopharmaceuticals and psychoactive substances. For this purpose, the contemporary instrumental methods are used, such as liquid and gas chromatography, atomic absorption spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and other methods that the students could see on the spot. Such events are really important for the professional development of chemistry students, because they have the opportunity to see the theoretical knowledge in action.

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Chemistry student Aleksej Vučić won first place at the 16^th International Scientific Conference “StES-Students Encountering Science”. His paper titled “Identification and monitoring of the migration of oil polluting substance on the example of sediments from the city zone of Banja Luka ” was one of the 21 papers in the field of natural sciences.

The 16^th StES jubilee, held from November 23 to 25, 2023, was organized by the Student Parliament of the University of Banja Luka, attracting students from all three study cycles across the entire region. The award-winning research was conducted under the mentorship of Professor Ivan Samelak.