Today, 18 August 2011, the TU Dresden rector, Prof. Hans Müller-Steinhagen (centre), the deputy mayor of the state capital, Dresden, Dirk Hilbert (left), and Prof. Ulrich Wagner (right), the Board of the German Aerospace Center (in German: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, or DLR), presented the “DLR_School_Lab TU Dresden” project at the technology museum, the Technische Sammlungen Dresden, at Junghansstraße 1-3.

The TU Dresden, along with the German Aerospace Center, is going to build a laboratory for schoolchildren. They will model the laboratory on the DLR_School_Labs that already operate at many DLR locations to acquaint students in half or full-day workshops with the questions and methods of current science and technology development. This opportunity is aimed at 14-18 year-old students. The state capital, Dresden, will build the necessary space on the third floor of the Technische Sammlungen Dresden, with a surface area of about 250 square metres to ensure the operation of the “DLR_School_Lab TU Dresden.” The state capital city of Dresden has invested approximately 250 thousand euros in the laboratory space. The opening is planned for the end of 2012. With this project, the three partners intend to introduce students to the world of the natural and engineering sciences early, and to stoke their enthusiasm particularly about the topics of energy and mobility. The DLR_School_Lab TU Dresden is a project that supports the TU Dresden’s application in the second phase of the federal Excellence Initiative to sponsor cutting-edge research. The state capital city of Dresden, the TU Dresden, and the DLR signed a letter of intent today, confirming their cooperation.

In the past few years, the Technische Sammlungen Dresden has successfully begun to build a science centre to support education in the natural and technical sciences, in addition to their museum collections dealing with the history of photography and video technology, as well as with computer and information technology. “In light of demographic developments, the state capital city Dresden will take on the challenge of attracting young people to apprenticeships or university study and a career in a technical field, or in one of the natural sciences,” explains the deputy mayor, Dirk Hilbert. “The goal of the science centre is, therefore, to support public interest in and understanding of mathematics and natural sciences in general, as well as current research and new technical developments, through interactive exhibits, workshops, and instructive museum activities. I am very pleased that, thanks to the cooperation of the TU Dresden and the DLR, we are able to create a student laboratory focusing on energy and mobility at the Technische Sammlungen.”

The DLR_School_Lab TU Dresden can build on the very successful “Mathematics Adventureland,” which is also a cooperative effort of the TU Dresden and the Technische Sammlungen.

The programmes are geared towards children and adolescents; however, they are open to people of all ages in Dresden, Saxony, and neighbouring regions. The programmes connect measures to promote broader education with projects that are focused on supporting especially gifted young people.

On the TU Dresden side, the “DLR_School_Lab TU Dresden” is supervised by Christoph Leyens, professor of materials science.  

Experiments planned for the DLR_School_Lab TU Dresden:

•  1. Ultra-light, and yet stable: how fibre-reinforced composites help build lighter automobiles [mobility] The students will first learn which material properties are necessary for stable construction. Materials testing shows the pronounced directional dependence (anisotropy) of fibre-reinforced composites and the necessity of adapting the materials to the geometry of the part.
  

• 2. An unbeatable team – coated titanium protects aero craft engines from sand [Mobility] The demands of aero craft parts are many. Based on a series of measurements, students are to learn which materials are particularly wear-resistant, and which protective capabilities can be achieved through thin coatings.
  

• 3. A good connection – adhesives that stick the right way [Mobility] Holds during use, dissolves for recycling.  The students will learn the difference that a good adhesive can make, where its properties come from, and how the properties differ among adhesives. Various adhesive holds will be produced in the laboratory and tested.
  

• 4. Mature, but not yet exhausted – how the efficiency of modern gas turbines could be increased [Energy + Mobility]  Gas turbines are highly complex machines that generate electrical energy and aid aeroplane function. Students will learn how one can increase the efficiency of gas turbines by conducting computer simulations and comparing different gas turbine designs.
  

• 5. It’s getting hot in here – highly efficient power plants [Energy] Modern power plants attempt to increased their general efficiency by coupling processes so that as much electrical energy as possible from the fuel. The students will learn which combinations of power plant processes exist, the technical challenges must be mastered, and the consequences that the high process temperatures have on the lifetime of the plant’s components.
  

• 6. Store energy, but how? Accumulators and supercapacitors provide power [Energy + Mobility] Classical electrical energy storage will not suffice for the power density demands of the future, e.g. to build an electric automobile with a large range.  Students will learn new concepts of electrical energy storage and will examine their characteristic properties through a series of measurements.

• 7. Preventing transportation collapse – From A to B on time, in rush hour traffic [Mobility] Rush hour traffic, and still everyone gets there on time? Students learn how local public transportation and, in the future, private modes of transportation can be controlled so that traffic is as fluid as possible. With the aid of computer simulations, various concepts will be compared with one another.
  

• 8. Valuable raw material – Energy from Waste [Energy] Thermal recycling serves to regain electrical energy from waste. The students learn what kind of waste is suitable, how much energy can be recovered, and which process engineering challenges exist when burning waste from different sources.  Gases produced during burning will be chemically analysed.
  

• 9. Photovoltaics – Electricity from the sun [Energy] Solar cells transfer sunlight into electrical energy. How does that really work, and where are the technical and physical limits? Students measure the electrical yield of solar cells under different light conditions and develop concepts for a comprehensive energy supply from photovoltaics.
  

• 10. Fuel cells – Electricity without harmful effects [Energy] Fuel cells transfer chemical energy directly into electrical energy without harmful by-products. The students will learn how fuel cells work and what sort of scientific and technical challenges they present. The students will experiment with a fuel cell and calculate its efficiency.
  

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(Fotos: Franz Zadnicek)

Information for journalists:
Kim-Astrid Magister, Tel. + 49 (0)351 463-32398

Kim Astrid Magister
18. August 2011