Research on the characterisation of solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy resources in the Kłodzko and Żywiec administrative districts will be conducted at Wrocław Tech by Prof. Fausto A. Canales. The scientist is a winner in the Stanisław Ulam Programme organised by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange.

Supporting the internationalisation of Polish universities and scientific institutions, The programme allows both recognised and promising researchers with at least a PhD title to come to do scientific work in Poland. The participants in the programme are expected to strengthen the scientific potential of the Polish units and become involved in their activities – primarily research projects and teaching.

The winners of the last edition of the competition are 42 scientists, two of whom are going to work at Wrocław Tech. Prof. Fausto A. Canales from Colombia will conduct his research at the Faculty of Environmental Engineering.

“Since I was a civil engineering student in Nicaragua, in addition to my love for mathematics and statistics, I have been also interested in water resources and renewable energy sources. Accordingly, I pursued and completed my master's and doctoral studies in the fields of water resources and sanitation in Brazil. Both my papers concerned aspects of resource optimisation, hydrology and hydropower,” says the winner.

In 2018, he was hired as a full-time professor at Universidad de la Costa in Colombia, at which point he teamed up with Jakub Jurasz, PhD of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering. The result of the collaboration was a paper on energy complementarity, a topic combining renewable energy sources and statistics.

“We’ve worked very well together ever since and have co-authored nine scientific papers to date. Due to my experience with water resources, Dr Jakub Jurasz introduced me to Prof. Bartosz Kaźmierczak, with whom we have co-written seven articles on hydrology and water quality, including several with Katarzyna Wartalska, PhD, Eng. and Piotr Jadwiszczak, PhD, Eng.” stresses Prof. Canales.

Successful collaborations with Wrocław Tech researchers, our university's position in global rankings, a love for exploring other cultures and languages, and the city's renown and beautiful architecture led the scientist to submit his documents for the NAWA competition. When entering the competition, he knew that he could count on the organisational support from people including Prof. Bartosz Kaźmierczak, Dean of Wrocław Tech’s Faculty of Environmental Engineering.

“My research will focus on the characterisation of solar, wind, and hydropower resources in the Kłodzko and Żywiec districts. The research will include, among other things, an assessment of the trends, variability, probability distributions, complementarities and available capacity factors of these renewable sources in the areas under study,” explains Prof. Calanes. “The research experience and methods used can then be extended to other regions of the world, contributing to more sustainable power systems. The work will involve statistics, as well as mathematical and hydrological modelling, combining well-known techniques with new approaches proposed by the researchers involved in this project,” he adds.

The second person to receive a scholarship and come to Wrocław Tech is Shriram Marathe, PhD. The Indian scientist will conduct his research at the Faculty of Civil Engineering.

Under the NAWA programme, foreign researchers’ placements in Poland can last up to 24 months with winners receiving a monthly stipend of 10,000 PLN and a mobility allowance to cover travel arrangements.