university of malta Archives – Page 19 of 42

Bridging (through) the performing arts

Theatre, dance, and music are changing at the University of Malta. Recently, three new research groups were launched by the School of Performing Arts (SPA) with the aim of bridging different disciplines through the development of shared work processes and research areas. Through interdisciplinary research, these groups want to look outwards towards new concepts.

The groups cover three themes. First, ‘Twenty-first-Century Studies in Performance’, which is committed to the locating, reimagining, and development of performance practices in the 21^st century. Second, ‘Culture and Performance’, which is guided by the premise that culture and performance refer to complexities that emerge from the multitude of phenomena these terms describe. Third, ‘Performing Arts Histories and Historiographies’, which investigates and archives material related to historical events across the performing arts. These themes are possible thanks to a web of local and international collaborations, ranging from the Digital Arts and Humanities to Cognitive Science and Intelligent Computer Systems.

These new research platforms seek to facilitate dialogue between scholars and practitioners, academics and citizens.

Annual Collective Performance of the School of Performing Arts. White White is a performance about space, or the absence of it. Once upon a time, characters were in search of an author. Today they are in search of a space. The characters, played by the students of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta, are lost in a corridor in-between places. Around them all is empty. A void. Like a vault, all they have isÖWhite! Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi — Annual Collective Performance of the School of Performing Arts.
White
White is a performance about space, or the absence of it.
Once upon a time, characters were in search of an author. Today they are in search of a space. The characters, played by the students of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta, are lost in a corridor in-between places. Around them all is empty. A void. Like a vault, all they have is White!
Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

inFragments A devised performance created by the students of the School of Performing Arts, University of Malta MITP Photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi — inFragments
A devised performance created by the students of the School of Performing Arts, University of Malta
MITP
Photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi

SPA has an upcoming conference featuring some of the above topics called Interweaving Cultures: Theory and Practice in March 2017. For more information contact Dr Stefan Aquilina (stefan.aquilina@um.edu.mt) or, on the conference, Prof. Vicki Ann Cremona (vicki.cremona@um.edu.mt).

Leaving a legacy

A legacy gift is a planned future donation to a charity or trust which is given through a will or other designation. It allows individuals to express personal values by integrating charitable, family, and financial goals. Planned gifts drawn up in wills can be made in cash, or by donating assets such as stocks, real estate, and art pieces. The possibilities are endless.Continue reading

#research 2016 cancer legacy research trust RIDT university of malta

Insects taking over

Malta is thought to harbour around 6,000 to 8,000 species of insects. In the last two years almost 200 new records of these fascinating creatures were found around the Maltese Islands, and a new endemic species, unique to Malta, was also described as new to science. Jessica Edwards meets up with Dr David Mifsud to find out more about these amazing findings and why insects really do run the world. Photography by Dr Edward Duca.

bees entomological society Malta Environment flowers insect species insects malta pollination Smart bees project UM university of malta

Sea Breeze

Malta’s long Mediterranean summers mean that ACs are everyone’s best friend. In a country endowed by sun and wind, renewable energies cannot be an afterthought, yet they are. The UoM’s OWTEP project is creating a cutting-edge solution by combining an offshore wind turbine with a district cooling system. Prof. Ing. Tonio Sant and Dr Ing. Robert N. Farrugia speak to Tuovi Mäkipere.

Aħrax Point Bengħajsa cooling electricity energy production environmental friendly Floating wind farms green energy heat hydraulic power institute of climate change and sustainable energy OWTEP PV panels reusable energy rotors solar energy summer summer heat Sun sustainable energy Tuovi Mäkipere UM university of malta Wied Rini wind wind energy wind farm wind turbine Ħal Far

Where is the crowd?

Athletes who are cheered on during sporting activities are likely to perform better than athletes who don’t. The HeartLink project is investigating how to remotely cheer athletes while they are participating in sporting events. Dr Franco Curmi writes about his work for the HeartLink project.

cause charity encouragement faculty of ict family FEMA friends heartlink marathon ngo online remote running social media support supporters UM University of Lancaster university of malta

1565 – Was it that great?

A historical discovery does not always equal the unearthing of new documents or artefacts. Sometimes it’s about re-evaluating what we already know. Prof. Victor Mallia-Milanes tells Tuovi Mäkipere more.

1565 armour at arms conquest culture Department of History Dragut faculty of arts fleet Fort St Angelo Fort St Elmo Fort St Michael Great Siege timeline History Hospitaller Jean de la Vallette Knights of Malta Knights of St.John malta Malte maltese Mdina Medina Mediterranean Order of the Hospital Ottoman empire Ottoman Sultan Suleyman past religion Senglea ships The Great Siege of Malta Turks UM university of malta valletta victory Voltaire war

Testing MEMS

How do you test the sensors in smartphones, smartwatches, and up-and-coming medical devices? With a Femtotools FT-RS1002 Microrobotic System of course! In 2016 the Department of Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics (Faculty of ICT, UoM) set up a slew of devices to be able to to probe, prod and poke devices up to a resolution of 1 nm (thinner than the diameter of a human hair).

Quick Specs

Number of axes: 3

Maximum velocity: 5 mm/s

Minimum motion increment: 1 nm

Actuation principle: Piezoelectric scanning/stepping

Sensor probe tip area: 50 µm x 50 µm

FT-S100000 sensor force range: ±100000 µN

FT-S100000 sensor resolution at 10Hz: ±5 µN

Operating temperature: 5°C to 100°C

The team of computer scientists collaborated with global semiconductor chip maker ST Microelectronics to p roduce MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems). MEMS are the tiny sensors or devices often found in smartphones that allow them to act like a compass, know how fast a person is going, or detect sound. In Malta, the new equipment is being used to measure mechanical properties (for example shear testing and flexure testing) of tiny mirrors that can be used to turn phones into high-quality projectors (part of the Lab4MEMS2 project part-funded by the EU). This toolkit is incredibly versatile, forming part of a station that can have additional add-ons to widen its applications. Now the team wants to buy more sensitive microforce probes and microgrippers that will allo w the manipulation and assembly of microsystems. This toolkit’s micromechanical testing can be used in many research and industrial applications. This way, the horizon is open for studies into semiconductor technology, microsystem development, materials science, micromedicine, or biotechnology—placing Malta on the semiconductor map.

#research Department of Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics faculty of ict Femtotools MEMS micromechanical microrobotic microsystems sensor sensors smartphone sound detection ST Microelectronics testing UM university of malta

Digging up stories untold

Malta’s megaliths have attracted droves of archaeology and history enthusiasts over the years, all clamouring for the rich narrative our little rock has to offer. Shelby Marter talks to Prof. Nicholas Vella and his team as they dig up the past in Kordin and attempt to piece together long lost stories. Photography by Faisal Sadegh and Dr Edward Duca.

#research archeologist archeology coralline limestone coursework department of classics and archeology digging European research council faculty of arts fieldwork fragsus globigerina Heritage Malta humankind Kordin temples LIDAR malta history megaliths monoliths origin Planning authority prehistoric prehistoric remains Stone stone ages Superintendence of Cultural Heritage temples university of malta volcanic

Analysing Alice: Finding order in chaos

With every particle collision in the ALICE experiment, a terabyte of data per second is generated for analysis. But not all of it is essential information. David Reuben Grech speaks to Dr Gianluca Valentino and Dr Johann A. Briffa about their work in separating the wheat from the chaff and removing noise from two of ALICE’s 18 subdetectors.

#science ALICE ALICE-LHC Interface Project astronomy astrophysics big bang CERN Cherenkov Effect collision collisions creation david reuben grech electrons hadron collider Higgs Bosons Institute for Space Science and Astronomy ions LHC particles quark space the beginning UM universe university of malta

Curious matters

Society is built on curiosity; the drive to find answers to life’s abounding questions. This curiosity continues to fuel our brightest minds today. Cassi Camilleri talks to ALICE experiment leader Prof. Paolo Giubellino about his work at CERN and how it impacts our daily lives.

#science ALICE astronomy astrophysics big bang cassi camilleri CERN collision creation hadron collider Institute for Space Science and Astronomy ions LHC particles quark space the beginning UM universe university of malta