The first IFToMM Young Faculty Group Symposium entitled “Emerging Fields in Mechanism and Machine Science” is about to launch and will be held online from 19th to 21th November 2024, each day from 12:00 to 15:00 CET. Each session will consist of 4 to 5 talks on different topics, followed by 15-minute parallel discussions in break-out rooms, allowing for the delegates to choose which discussion to attend.

The IFToMM Young Faculty Group Symposium on Emerging Fields in Mechanism and Machine Science (IFToMM YFG-MMS) is a single-track, peer-reviewed, symposium designed to foster international networking among young faculty members via a novel format. Each talk is structured in two parts: (1) 5 minutes to introduce the main author, strengths and interests, and (2) 10 to 15 minutes to present the topic covered in the abstract.

The International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science (IFToMM) is one of the largest international scientific communities dedicated to the field of mechanism and machine science and its applications. Since its foundation in 1965, its mission has been to bring people from all nationalities and systems together to exchange science and technology as well as to strengthen their international bonds. IFToMM’s Young Faculty Group is a cross-disciplinary group pursuing IFToMM’s mission from within the working core of academia. By summoning young professors and lecturers from all over the world, the group aims at figuring out how to use mechanism and machine science to tackle the academic and technological challenges of the future.

The IFToMM YFG-MMS welcomes talks that address topics on mechanism and machine science and engineering, including biomechanical engineering, computational kinematics, engines and power trains, gearing and transmissions, linkages and mechanical controls, micromachines, multibody dynamics, reliability, robotics and mechatronics, rotor dynamics, sustainable energy systems, transportation machinery, tribology, vibrations, education, standardization of terminology, history of mechanism and machine science, and sustainability.

More details can be found in the symposium website

https://saja8.github.io/IFToMM_YFG-MMS/

The 7th Asian Conference on Mechanisms and Mechanical Engineering (Asian MMS – 2024), supported by the International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science (IFToMM), opened on August 28, 2024, in Almaty. The prestigious event, hosted by the Joldasbekov Institute of Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering, the al-Farabi Kazakh National University, and the National Engineering Academy of Kazakhstan, saw the participation of over 110 attendees from 10 countries, including notable representatives from China, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Germany, Turkey, Ukraine, and others.

The conference was highlighted by an opening address from Prof. Amandyk Tuleshov, Scientific Director of the Joldasbekov IME, who emphasized the significance of IFToMM and its influence on global science. The plenary session featured keynote speeches by several distinguished figures, including Vice-Minister of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan Darkhan Akhmed-Zaki, who discussed the new Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Science and Technology Policy” and its implications for scientific development.

The event also included technical sessions and a round table on “Science and Technology: Cooperation and Transfer,” where key issues in technical sciences were discussed, and foreign scientists were recognized with honorary memberships and awards.

Prominent keynote speeches during the event included:

“Design, Control and Ground Verification Test of Space Manipulating Robots” by Prof. Zhong He (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

“Development of Theory of Mechanisms and Machine Science in Kazakhstan: Theory and Practice of Synthesizing New Innovative Mechanisms and Biomechanical Robotic Systems” by Prof. Amandyk Tuleshov and Prof. Sayat Ibrayev

“Development of Skiing and Curling 6-Legged Robots for Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games” by Prof. Feng Gao

The conference concluded with the recognition of active scientists and organizers, marking a significant milestone for Kazakhstan’s role in the global scientific community in mechanics, mechanical engineering, and robotics.

More photos are available under

 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12oDwOhT611rv3roOdvnUy_wOlvAnFO67?usp=sharing

Almaty

August 30, 2024

During the MMT (Mechanism and Machine Theory Journal) Symposium “Celebrating 60 years of the journal’s foundation” in Guimarães, Portugal on June 26-28, 2024, Prof. Feng Gao from the Intelligent Legged Robot Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Systems and Vibration, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, gave an enthralling keynote on the developments on the Beijing Winter Olympics Journey for Curling and Skiing Six-Legged Robots.

Check out this fascinating keynote as an inspiration for current and further developments in robotics under

https://my.hidrive.com/lnk/XNDs93rJb

The Mechanical Engineering Laboratory (LIM) at the Center for Research in Marine and Industrial Technologies (CITENI), part of the Industrial Campus of Ferrol at the University of A Coruña, has partnered with GKN Driveline Zumaia to revolutionize ePowertrain motor testing. Using advanced multibody dynamics simulation, they have developed a methodology to conduct essential motor tests without physical full-vehicle prototypes.

Overheating is a critical issue for ePowertrain motors, as excessive temperatures can cause irreversible damage. The traditional characterization of their response and their thermal dynamics when they are mounted on a particular vehicle would require extensive and costly test campaigns, which are time-consuming and expensive.

Together, LIM and GKN have created an innovative setup that interfaces the eMotor with a model-based multibody dynamics simulation of the vehicle. This can be driven by a human or an automatic driver, replicating a wide range of driving conditions.  The key benefits of this solution are:

•            Cost and time efficiency: Lab-based tests decrease the need for expensive and lengthy circuit campaigns.

•            Safety and replicability: Controlled lab environments reduce risks and ensure precise, repeatable conditions.

•            Versatility: Easily replaceable vehicle models allow for varied scenarios without multiple full-system prototypes.

•            Advanced sensor integration: Enables the use of sensors that are difficult to deploy in physical vehicles.

•            Integration with digital twins and visualization: The test bench can be combined with a digital twin of the tested motor to determine the thermal operation point of the device. An intuitive visualization tool provides real-time feedback to the test bench users.

This approach promises to streamline testing processes and set new standards for safety, efficiency, and precision in ePowertrain motor evaluation, potentially serving as a model for future electric vehicle technology research and development.

For more information, please contact the Mechanical Engineering Laboratory at CITENI, University of A Coruña:

E-mail: f.gonzalez@udc.es
www: https://lim.ii.udc.es/contact.es.html

The Multibody System Dynamics Outstanding PhD Thesis Prize, also denominated Lagrange Award to the best PhD research on Multibody Dynamics, was established in 2017 by the IFToMM Technical Committee for Multibody Dynamics with the aim of recognizing the outstanding achievements of a young researcher (under 35 years old) at the early stage of their scientific career..

The Lagrange Award is presented annually to recognize the most successful PhD thesis on Multibody Dynamics over the prior year as judged by the evaluation committee. The winner will receive a certificate and Springer books to the value of € 250, plus a 1-year subscription to Multibody System Dynamics. This year, the decision will be announced during MULTIBODY 2023, the 11th ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Multibody Dynamics, which will be held in Lisbon on July 24-28, 2023.

The Lagrange Award – Multibody System Dynamics Outstanding PhD Thesis Prize  2023 is now open for applications. This award is presented annually by IFToMM’s Technical Committee for Multibody Dynamics and Springer’s journal Multibody System Dynamics to recognize successful PhD theses on Multibody Dynamics. 

The current edition of the Award accepts applications from doctors who defended their theses during 2023. The call for applications will be open until January 15, 2024. Please note that this is earlier than in previous editions.

Applicants must submit

- a copy of their PhD thesis (in English),
- a curriculum vitae, and
- a maximum of three publications related to the thesis content.

to the award coordinator, Prof. Francisco J. Gonzalez (f.gonzalez@udc.es).

The award coordinator will be happy to answer any questions that you may have regarding the Award.

Additional information can be found on the website:
http://lim.ii.udc.es/events/lagrangeAward/

Closing date for applications: January 15, 2024
Decision on the winner: tba

IFToMM is proud to announce that due to kind negotiations with Springer Nature, a first instance of Proceedings of IFToMM Conferences will be made available to individual IFToMM Members for free eBook access. These are Volumes 1 and 2 of the 11th IFToMM International Conference on Rotordynamics. If you are an individual member of an IFToMM Member Organization, Permanent Commission, Technical Committee, or Cross-Disciplinary Group, please send confirmation by your corresponding Chair to website-affairs@iftomm-world.org, and you will be provided access to the restricted area for free downloading of the papers of these Proceedings. Note that both the downloaded papers as well as the access link to them are for your personal use only and may not be distributed to any other persons or institutions, according to current legal Copyright provisions.

In the meantime, for temporary use, the following links can be used for direct access:

Volume 1: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-40455-9

Volume 2: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-40459-7   

This a first of a series of targeted free-access Conference Proceedings within the IFToMM community, which we look forward will evolve to a many futher IFToMM Conference Proceedings for strong visibility and usability of IFToMM-patronaged conferences. We invite you to take part of this boosting of scientific interactivity and the further blossoming-up of this our beloved Federation.

Let’s join to make this Federation strong!

Your President

Andres Kecskemethy

The spread of COVID-19 has brought a huge impact on the whole world and on our normal life. PCR testing is currently the “gold standard” for diagnosing COVID-19 cases and one of the most important means of preventing and controlling the COVID-19 epidemic. However, swab sampling before PCR testing currently mainly relies on medical staff and manual operation, often facing serious problems such as insufficient personnel capacity and high-intensity work. In addition, medical staff needs to collect probes at close range during the collection process. In order to prevent cross-infection, a full set of protective equipment must be worn. The increase of labor intensity also affects the standardization of the operation, so that the overall sampling efficiency and accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

To solve the above problems, the Advanced Mechanism and Roboticized Equipment Lab from Tsinghua University and Yantai Tsingke+ Robotics Joint Research Institute Co., Ltd. jointly developed a throat swab sampling robot that is aimed at automatic swab sampling for large-scale 10-in-1 and 20-in-1 mixed PCR screening. Taking place of medical staff to complete throat swab sampling, virus collection tube recovery, virus disinfection and other functions, the sampling efficiency is as high as 42 seconds per person, and the sampling efficiency is 100%, providing a strong guarantee for scientifically and effectively responding to the risk of the spread of the COVID epidemic. It is worth noting that the robotic arm used in the swab sampling robot was designed and developed by Tsinghua University and Yantai Tsingke+ Institute with 22 patents filed.

We at IFToMM are starting through this blog a communication channel for coordinating Ukraine help initiatives from the IFToMM organs (Member Organizations, Permanent Commissions, Technical Committees, Cross Disciplinary Groups). This may involve financial aids or channels for hosting students and researchers searching for a place in peace to move forward on research and education. Currently, the IFToMM EC and also the Member Organization Turkey have started financial support for the Member Organization Poland to bolster the gigantic and unselfish efforts Polish people are doing to receive millions of refugees escaping from unjustified and traumatizing despair due to a cruel and needless war.  

In case you wish to share an initiative within IFToMM, please contact the responsible member of the IFToMM Executive Council for Coordination of Ukrainian Support:

Prof. John Michael McCarthy,  jm.mccarthy-ec@iftomm-world.org

We thank everyone who is approaching us with initiatives to help the Ukraine people and those helping them.

Sincerely

Andres Kecskemethy
IFToMM President
In the name of the IFToMM Executive Council
and the whole IFToMM Community

Actual information:
********************

(1) MO Turkey:

It is planned to provide the opportunity to work in the status of “contracted teaching staff with nationality” in the Research Universities listed in the attachment for the academicians of Republic of Ukraine who had to leave their academic and scientific studies at their universities due to the extraordinary conditions in Ukraine so that they can carry out their unfinished scientific and academic studies and not to leave the academic environment. Academicians who are Ukrainian citizens in this situation can apply to the e-mail address of our Presidency, together with their CVs, cohe@yok.gov.tr, or they can also apply directly to the e-mail addresses of the university they want to work with in the attached list.”