In 2008, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development has donated CHF 1.5 million to ETH Zurich for the programme “Sawiris Scholarships – Science & Technology for the South”. This programme is a grant scheme providing ten doctoral scholarships of CHF 150’000 each. Over a period of five years, each year two scholarships will be granted. A grants committee selects the candidates according to specific selection criteria. The goal of the programme is to promote the development of products or methods, which are directly relevant for improving the livelihoods of poor people in developing countries. The topics have to be of high scientific standards100

As of May 15th, Dr. Mateusz Wielopolski as a Post-Doc researcher and Karsten Schlesier as an external advisor joined the research team of CoReSing in Singapore. Both are active in the composite bamboo research and investigate chemical, physical as well as mechanical material properties. Mateusz Wielopolski has received his PhD in Chemistry in Germany at the University of Erlangen. His background in physical chemical and materials sciences has led him through researcher positions in the UK, Japan, Germany and Switzerland. Thereby, his expertise is found in the development and analysis of new materials. In this field he has contributed to100

The Chair of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel at FCL Singapore was awarded the SMART Innovation Grant in the tune of SG $250.000 on March 22, 2013. The grant supports the research of CoReSing in the area of bamboo composite reinforcemnet systems and will assist to help it reach the marketplace. The SMART Innovation Grant enables the research team to pursue new avenues of extended research and participate in programs that will help accelerate innovations toward commercialization.  The funding will be used to de-risk the technology by developing prototypes or conducting proof-of-concept experiments and determine a go-to-market strategy for100

“Smart City: The Next Generation”, Focus South-East Asia How do new projects – from architecture, urban planning to urban interventions – influence the behavior of a city’s inhabitants and users? How do these projects affect the urban fabric and its functionality? The exhibition “Smart City: The Next Generation” and associated events at the Architectural Forum Aedes am Pfefferberg, will discuss innovative “smart city” projects from South-East Asia: buildings, planning, urban interventions, initiatives and visions for the future from internationally known experts as well as young architects, planners and initiators from Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, who are making the cities more100

Felix Heisel and Alireza Javadian traveled to China this month to perform a final inspection of the machinery for the new Advanced Fiber Composite Laboratory Singapore, which will start operation in April 2013. Together with the manufacturer, they checked the functionality of each item, tested first bamboo samples and arranged for last  adjustments before the laboratory will be shipped to Singapore at the end of March. CoReSing will start production of fiber composite reinforcement materials in its own laboratory in Singapore very soon. The AFCL will be equipped with the technologies necessary to produce and test different organic fiber composite100

Public Lunch Talk by Alireza Javadian at the FCL Future Cities Laboratory Singapore on 1st November 2012. Bamboo has been used as a construction material for centuries around the globe. The benefits of using bamboo are enormous: its fast growth, high tensile strength, and the capacity to capture large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are just some of the most remarkable properties it has to offer. For decades, researchers around the world have searched for methods to activate those benefits for use within the building sector and transform bamboo from a locally applied organic material into an industrialized100

On a recent visit to China, CoReSing visited several factories for bamboo flooring. The so called WSB (Woven Strand Board) is commonly produced from 5-year old Moso bamboo culms, a fast and very tall growing species. After its harvest, the culms are immediately cut into approximately 2m long sections, sliced lengthwise into splits and finally processed into strands. They are then boiled and carbonized. Next, they are submerged into a pool of an adhesive agent and then left out to dry. Placed into molds, the pressing of the strands produces blocks of varying sizes. These can then be cut into100