By Mohamed Abdelli

Computational and Applied Physics Goes Online at Saad Dahlab University, Blida1(from 26 to 28 September 2021)

Computational physics and chemistry: when the digital replaces the overly complicated solutions of complex mathematical models.

Born from the intersection of mathematics, experimental sciences and computer science, computational physics represents a new approach that tries to substitute solutions of mathematical models, considered too complicated or that these same solutions do not have so-called expressions. in a closed form. Solution: numerical approximations come to the rescue to solve these mathematical models and make it possible to produce useful predictions that can be used industrially and in fundamental research.

The Laboratory of Surfaces, Interfaces and Thin Layers (Lasicom) of Saâd-Dahleb University, Blida1 organized from September 26 to 28, 2021 (three days in a row) the first international online conference on the theme: Computational and Applied Physics (ICCAP2021 ).

This meeting of indisputable scientific importance saw the participation of a dozen researchers, experts from multidisciplinary, national and international doctoral students who intervened through plenary sessions or topical oral communications in direct liaison with the industry or fundamental research, this time for the benefit of the applied. Four highlights represented the title of the themes of this first online ICCAP2021. The first day was devoted to numerical calculation or in the jargon of the field, ab initio, the second day focused on the same theme plus the simulation component. The third was dedicated to magnetic properties and their application, while the fourth day was reserved for experimental aspects in general. Target audience: research centres, teacher-researchers, international experts, doctoral students and industrialists.

« We want to marry the experimental and the theory and this is the current trend. Now it's not like before. Currently, experimenters do theory and theoreticians do experimentation. It is hoped that in Algeria the trend in research will gradually shift more towards the experimental than the theoretical. What characterized this conference is novelty. We have even seen work published in 2021 and even work not yet published, which constitutes an opportunity for our doctoral students. As they take advantage “Explained the president of the conference, Dr. Faiza Bouamra, research professor in the physics department at Blida1 University. Participants from various backgrounds ((physics, chemistry, biology, electronics, materials, MEMS, etc.) enriched this first international online conference with very enlightening debates on the main issues and obstacles that characterize useful university research at the time. The energy challenges pose quantitative and qualitative problems Producing quotas of electrical energy for billions of individuals whose way of life is becoming more and more energy-intensive and at the same time producing clean energies in order to limiting the impact on the environment, especially with the emergence of the concept of smart cities, smart factories, etc. acurrently a major challenge for R&D. Technologies for converting so-called clean energy into usable final energy are still very expensive. However, this is a time for optimism given the progress of research that is being made day by day, which suggests that their price will only drop in the future. In addition, technologies for the production of low voltage energy based on the phenomenon of fluctuating ambient temperatures are making steady progress. To this stinging issue of the news, Professor Nadjib Baadji, from the University of M'Sila is one could not be more optimistic: " with the development of the concept of smart cities, smart factories… we need more and more low voltage energy to power our devices and other trinkets that the need for human civilization has brought to light. We cannot, for example, put a battery or a battery in each sensor, in each detector… in a given environment and change them every month!

The idea is to produce electricity from fluctuations in ambient temperatures, increase the efficiency of thermal transport, convert the heat energy lost into electrical energy... need we say that the production is not consistent, but it is largely sufficient to supply sensors, recharge batteries, cell phones, etc. connected to a device that converts the heat for the skin or the difference in state of the surrounding environment in electricity. This is a promising market that will attract between 100 and 150 billion dollars worldwide in the 2022 projection. In this way, the USA is ahead of the rest of the world by 5 to 6 years, China is trying to catch up while the Europeans are hanging on. We are currently passive consumers in a market that is changing at an exponential rate will argue our interlocutor. Technologies emanating from the so-called clean energy production sector, whether at the microscopic or macroscopic level, will drain some 2500 trillion dollars globally by 2022. We have drawn this information from the site : https://www.edc.ca/fr/blogue/marches-mondiaux-technologies-propres.html.Physico-chemical, electronic, electrical properties… which were ignored a few decades ago have become very important and critical with the development of research in the field of MEMS and NEMS (Micro and Nano-Eslectro-Mechanical-System) and have given industrial applications in all fields. “These technologies are everywhere” said Belgroune nadir, of the physical research team applied to micro and nano systems, department of physics, Blida1 university. Confident, he will conclude: "As unifying physics, the MEMS and NEMS specialty has existed at the University of Blida1 since 2009. In this perspective, we can say that the University of Blida1 is a pioneer in the creation of this specialty which encompasses mechanics, electronics, optics, computer science, chemistry, etc. Research in the field of micro and nanostructures or systems is relatively new. Its growth began in the 1980s. As far as we are concerned, we are still in terms of research at the prototypical level. I call on industrialists to have their own R§D laboratory at the level of their box and to involve researchers and students to develop their industrial processes because quite simply the Algerian university gray matter is there. It is available to meet the challenge at very competitive costs ».

By Mohamed Abdelli

Teacher

Blida University1