WINTER 2013 • ISSUE 4
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U N I V E R S I TY
IF DISASTER HITS MALTA
How can 2000 people die? DIGITAL EDITION
THINKIDEA SMALTARE ARESEARC HPEOPLEU EUNIVERSI THINKIDE ASMALTAR ARESEARC CHPEOPLEU Cover photo
Satellite image captured at 09:45 on the 31 May, 2012. Maps the Maltese Islands to 0.41 metres in black and white, and 1.65 metres in colour. Disaster management teams need this level of detail to use the image as a reference point. After an incident, a new image can be taken and the two compared. Damage to buildings, roads, and other vital organs can be quickly determined to co-ordinate a country-wide response. Analysts can also identify different landcover use for many other purposes. The satellite used is called GeoEye-1 and can revisit any point on Earth every three days.
ASMALTA ESEARCHP CHPEOPLEU UNIVERM ITY EASMALTA RESEARCH CHPEOPLE UNIVERCONTENTS 12
Learning for the future
Video games: curse or saviour? Can they teach our kids how to read and write?
Research is Vital
alta is a beautiful place. Dr Formosa’s research made my jaw, and the designer’s, drop. Inspiration hit and we painted everything silver. Malta deserves no less. It also merits proper research investment. At the time of writing, the election season was in full swing. Research was off the political agenda and never debated. Contrast that with every developed country investing heavily in research and innovation (R&I) since it generates wealth, jobs, and ultimately a better society. Flip to our contents page to find a snapshot of some of Malta’s best research. So, I came up with a few suggestions I hope politicians consider. Items bought through EU research funds or national/ government funds (MCST) should be tax-free. After all, the funds are sourced through citizens’ taxes. Tax cuts should also be provided to companies that employ PhD graduates or support R&I in Malta. Government should include research in already existing cofinancing schemes for EU projects. This would help the country source millions in funds. Apart from attracting EU investment, Malta also needs national competitive funds to support post-doctoral positions and research. After a Ph.D., a scientist usually works as a post-doc and produces their best results at this point. The country also needs competitive funds to communicate research to the public creatively. Malta has to reverse the brain drain to its advantage. Incentives are needed to bring back the best and brightest researchers to Malta. Ultimately, more funds should be pumped directly into University research. Fingers crossed. Malta needs it.
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COVER STORY
Future-safe Malta
Malta mapped in 3D and free for all to use this June
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Discover University 2012 Open week: over 200 events last November
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Edward Duca
EDITOR
A new business model for University
Cosmetics, businessmen, and science
[email protected] @DwardD
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CONTRIBUTORS Prof. Marie Therese Camilleri Podestà
CONTENTS OPINION
Prof. Mark Brincat
Shattering women's glass ceiling 10
Prof. Charles L. Mifsud
Prof. Camilleri Podestà voices her thoughts on gender equality at University
Prof. Liam Delaney
FEATURE
Healthier Fitter Happier through economics
Dr David Mifsud
Dr Saviour Formosa
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Obesity, climate change, and recessions solved
Prof. Helen Grech
Victoria Muscat FEATURE
Daphne Pia Kelleher
Experiment Malta: Maltish or Engtese?
Patricia Camilleri
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Bilingualism in Malta: force for good or confusion?
Dr Ġorġ Mallia FUN
The Left Brain is Creative the Right Brain is Logical?
Costantino Oliva
Dr Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone
And much, much more
Dr Karsten Xuereb
Wilfred Kenely Are you a student, staff, or researcher at the University of Malta? Would you like to contribute to THINK magazine? If interested, please get in touch to discuss your article on
[email protected] or call +356 2340 3451
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CULTURE GENES
Meme
CONTENTS
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STUDENTS
Students' thinking About: diamonds, molecular labs, earthquakes, and modelling
OPINION
Assisted Conception
THINK
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Prof. Brincat shares his ideas on IVF in Malta
I D E A S
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M A LTA
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U N I V E R S I TY
WINTER 2013 - ISSUE 4
EDITORIAL
Edward Duca EDITOR
PRODUCTION
FEATURE
Insects of Malta
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Meet moths, beetles, and bees: they dig into trees, rot fruit, and produce honey
Jean Claude Vancell
PRINTING
Print It Printing Services, Malta ISSN 2306-0735 Copyright © University of Malta, 2013 The right of the University of Malta to be identified as Publisher of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright Act, 2001.
Alumni Talk Making the real world digital and communication law in Bahrain
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University of Malta, Msida, Malta Tel: (356) 2340 2340 Fax: (356) 2340 2342 www.um.edu.mt
THINK is a quarterly research magazine published by the University of Malta.
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CULTURE
Europe, Culture and the Southern Mediterranean The challenge and power of culture in the Arab context 53
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STUDENT
students’ THINKing Diamonds in computers, shaking in Xemxija, and molecular labs, all being researched by University of Malta students PET
Labs in solution IMAGINE the smallest thing you possibly can. The eye of a needle? A human hair? A particle of dust? Think smaller, something you cannot even see, something on a molecular scale. Now imagine that molecule has the potential of a whole laboratory. This dream is now becoming a reality. In recent years, the field of molecular sensors has grown into one of the most groundbreaking areas in Chemistry. Molecular sensors are compounds that can detect a substance, or unique mixture of substances, and provide an easily detectable output. Usually this is a change in the absorption of ultraviolet or visible light, or in the emission of Fluorescence. In other words: colours! John Gabarretta (supervised by Dr David Magri) created a simple example of these fluorescent molecular sensors. The molecule was based on the Fluorophore-Spacer-
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Flourophore
SPACER
Receptor
hv
Flourophore hv
SPACER
Receptor
F
The molecule’s structure, based on the Fluorophore-Spacer-Receptor model (shown as a scheme), allowed for a bright blue fluorescence when exposed to Ultraviolet light
Receptor model, where the ‘output’ part of the molecule (the fluorophore — a structure which shines light) is separated from the ‘input’ part (the receptor — a structure which is sensitive to a particular substance, such as acidity or a metal ion) by an intermediate spacer, whose main function is to link these two components together. The model means that a molecule can detect a chemical and respond by shining light or not. The process gives information about the chemicals in a solution. The molecule was made by a two-step synthetic route (which took several attempts and resulted in several different colours), and its behaviour was tested by dipping into an acid. In water the molecule was switched ‘off ’, but quickly turned ‘on’ in an acidic solution by giving a bright blue light when exposed to ultraviolet light (UV) — a pretty satisfying sight!
Molecular sensors have some very advanced applications — the pioneer A. P. de Silva said that there is room for a “small space odyssey with luminescent molecules”. This odyssey includes some that detect substances such as sugars. While very advanced systems are approaching chemical computers, since they have multiple inputs and use Boolean Logic, the so-called ‘Moleculator’ or ‘gaming tic-tac-toe’ systems. The future is bright (if you pardon the pun) and with more complex structures more possibilities will appear; the molecular laboratory may become a reality detecting diseases or toxins in no time at all.
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This research was performed as part of a Bachelor of Science (Honours) at the Faculty of Science.
THINK STUDENT
Scientific beauty of diamonds LAPTOPS AND MOBILES are smaller, thinner, and more powerful than ever. The drawback is heat, since computing power comes hand in hand with temperature. Macs have been known to melt down, catch fire and fry eggs — PCs can be even more entertaining. David Grech (supervised by Prof. Emmanuel Sinagra and Dr Ing. Stephen Abela) has now produced diamond–metal matrix composites that can remove waste heat efficiently. Diamonds are not only beautiful but have some remarkable properties. They are very hard, can withstand extreme conditions, and even transfer heat energy faster than any metals. This ability makes diamonds ideal as heat sinks and spreaders. The gems are inflexible making them difficult to mould into the complex shapes demanded by the microelectronics industry. By linking diamonds with other materials, new architectures can be constructed. Grech squashed synthetic diamond and silver powders together at the metal’s melting point. The resulting composite material expanded very slowly when heated. The material could dissipate heat effectively, and was cheaper and simpler to produce
than current methods — a step closer to use on microchips. Grech’s current research is focused on obtaining novel types of interfaces between the diamond powders and the metal matrix. The new materials can improve the performance of heat sinks. New production techniques could help make these materials. By depositing a very thin layer of nickel (200 nanometres thick) on diamond powders using a chemical reaction, the gems would form chemical bonds with the layer while the metal matrix would form metallic bonds. The material would transfer heat quickly and expand very slowly on heating. A heat sink made out of this material would give us a cooler microprocessor and powerful electronics that does not spontaneously catch fire — good news for tech lovers.
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This research was performed as part of a Bachelor of Science (Hons) at the Faculty of Science. It is funded by the Malta Council for Science and Technology through the National Research and Innovation Programme (R&I 2010-25 Project DIACOM) and IMA Engineering Services Ltd.
Main image: Diamond particle without an interface taken by Scanning Electron Microscopy Above: Diamond particle with metal matrix taken by Scanning Electron Microscopy
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STUDENT
Xemxija and Earthquakes ON FEBRUARY 22, 2011, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 181 people and causing widespread destruction. Curiously, this damage was not evenly distributed, even for areas right next to each other. This phenomenon is called the site effect and depends on the underlying geology. Malta, unlike New Zealand, is not typically associated with earthquakes. The islands lack a seismic building code and many structures could be damaged with moderate shaking. Malta’s past records list several earthquakes that have damaged buildings and even caused some to collapse. Apart from not being reinforced, buildings have been built on less stable ground, which increases risk. Sharon Pace (supervised by Dr Pauline Galea) investigated this effect in one test area — Xemxija, in the north of Malta. She studied how sites in Xemxija would respond to the energy from an earthquake by using a portable seismograph to record ambient noise (caused by sea waves, vehicular traffic, and other anthropogenic
sources) at over 100 points across the village (pictured). The ground’s surface can be considered a vibrating platform, which can be shaken both by ambient noise as well as stronger waves from earthquakes. The ground may “resonate” at particular frequencies, or not at all, depending on the kind of rock or soil layers making up the top 30 to 50 metres. Analysis of ambient noise shows if such resonance phenomena exist, how they are related to the local geology, and how this would translate into actual earthquake shaking. At Xemxija, the study confirmed that the presence of clay (whether at the surface or buried) does amplify the grounds motion at certain frequencies. The results match previous studies in other areas, but this research went further by constructing geological models that can determine the ground’s underlying structure . Taken together, the survey shows areas in Xemxija that might need extra support to survive future earthquakes and prevent deaths. Xemxija is not the only area with soft clay geology, the urbanised area of
Mellieħa and historic citadel Mdina are built on top of similar structures. Considering the importance of these areas means that more studies are needed to better understand the structure of Maltese buildings and how they would respond to earthquakes.
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This research was performed as part of a Masters of Science in Physics at the Faculty of Science. It was partially funded by the Strategic Educational Pathways Scholarship (Malta). This scholarship is part-financed by the European Union — European Social Fund (ESF) under Operational Programme II — Cohesion Policy 2007 - 2013, “Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life”.
Resonant Peak Frequencies f
