RU Infrastructure Fund

The role of the RU Infrastructure Fund is to provide grants for the purchase and/or development of equipment, databases and software, and other equipment that is considered important for progress in teaching and research at RU. 

In assessing applications, consideration is given to the quality of the application and application documents, e.g. take into account the following points:

• The importance of the infrastructure for progress in teaching and research at RU.
• Predictable utilisation of the infrastructure between RU's departments or between employees.
• Reality and consideration of cost estimates.

Grants from RU Infrastructure Fund 2022

The RU Infrastructure Fund has awarded 8 grants. The total amount awarded is 21.965.000 ISK. The deadline for submitting applications was May 15 2022 and the Fund received 10 applications. The total amount applied for was 24.203.200 ISK. Below is information on the projects receiving grants from Fund 2022. This is the second time the Fund allocates grants. 

Grants in 2022

1.

Applicant: Paolo Gargiulo

Department: Verkfræðideild / Dept. of Engineering

Co-proposers: Yonatan Afework Tesfahunegn

Name of the infrastructure: Supermicor 7039A-I Mid-Tower DP Workstation

Short description of the intended use of the infrastructure: The workstation will be used:

1. to develop prototypes that can be used in testing and innovation in the geothermal and automotive industries for testing new and existing models.
2. to design implants from images software for example 3shape.
3. to design molds and thermoforming tools, rapid manufacturing of grips, jigs, and fixtures.
4. to optimize and validate exiting and new products

Grant amount: 2.000.000 Kr.

2.

Applicant: Ármann Gylfason

Department: Verkfræðideild / Dept. of Engineering

Co-proposers: Yonatan Afework Tesfahunegn, Einar Jón Ásbjörnsson, Jónas Þór Snæbjörnsson

Name of the infrastructure: Engineering design, disassembly and transport of existing tunnel and equipment, including electrical infrastructure.

Short description of the intended use of the infrastructure: The wind tunnel facility is designed for broad applications in fluid mechanics, for research and education at all levels, discovery and dissemination of knowledge. There is an immediate need for an improvement of the existing wind tunnel to meet the objectives of the recently funded, three-year research project: Wind Power Installations in Harsh Environments (RANNIS IRF). This project requires a multi-purpose wind tunnel, capable of simulating the atmospheric boundary layer to assess wind farm efficiency, wind loads during high strength gusts, and fouling by dust, hail or rain.

Other, highly relevant research projects led by the collaborators in this proposal, including wind loads on Bridges, cables and power lines, power plant components, and shape optimization of aerial vehicles would benefit greatly from the application of this facility, as would projects that simulate wind patterns in residential areas.

On the teaching side, it is essential to increase the visibility and capability of the thermal-fluids laboratory at Reykjavik University. It is abundantly clear that topics relevant to sustainable energy generation, and efficiency in electrical generation and transport are of the highest concern for our society. On this front, the Iceland School of Energy and the Department of Engineering, offer a variety of courses in sustainable energy, including wind power, that would benefit greatly from a devoted thermal fluids laboratory. It is particularly interesting to be able to increase the lab-based aspects of this program to increase the depth and scope of the education provided, and further strengthen the ties of the program with international collaborators and attract visiting students.

Grant amount: 3.000.000 Kr.

3.

Applicant: Andrei Manolescu

Department: Verkfræðideild / Dept. of Engineering

Co-proposers: Halldór Guðfinnur Svavarsson, Ágúst Valfells, Paolo Gargiulo

Name of the infrastructure: UV Laser

Short description of the intended use of the infrastructure: Our group, called the Nanophysics Center of Reykjavik University, http://nano.ru.is/ , includes four permanent faculty members, Ágúst Valfells, Andrei Manolescu, Halldór Guðfinnur Svavarsson, and Sigurður Ingi Erlingsson, several postdocs, Ph.D., Master's, and BS students. We work on several research topics, the most relevant for this application being vacuum electronics, the photoresponse of thin films, silicon nanowires, and perovskite photovoltaics. In recent years our activities gained a lot of momentum, and one important objective of this application – from our point of view – is to establish a research lab in our own building (Reykjavik University) equipped for our specific needs. The other wavelengths, in the infrared or visible domain, are useful in projects on photovoltaics, for the characterization of thin films, perovskite materials, silicon nanowires, or other materials studied at the Nanophysics Center.

Grant amount: 3.000.000 Kr.

4.

Applicant: Slawomir Marcin Koziel

Department: Verkfræðideild / Dept. of Engineering

Co-proposers: Anna Pietrenko-Dabrowska

Name of the infrastructure: High-performance computing unit with four GPUs

Short description of the intended use of the infrastructure: Extensive (round-the-clock) repetitive electromagnetic simulations using CST Microwave Studio, which is necessary to conduct numerical experiments for the modeling and optimization techniques being developed in EOMC. As mentioned before, re-orienting our research towards AI- and machine-learning-based methods results in a tremendous increase in computational resource demands.

Grant amount: 3.000.000 Kr.

5.

Applicant: Ingi Þór Einarsson

Department: Íþróttafræðideild / Dept. of Sport Science

Co-proposers: Íþróttafræðideild / Dept. of Sport Science

Name of the infrastructure: The Monark 894E

Short description of the intended use of the infrastructure: We have long needed a device to measure peak anaerobic power as we can do with the Monark894e bike. We have also been missing a bike to measure VO2max both in teaching as well as in our research like the ones with Liposan and the Driftline. We are also starting research with an external partner where many participants will not be able to run on a treadmill but will be able to bike on a stationary bike like the AtomX. We will also use the bikes in our practical teaching in courses like Exercise physiology, strength, and conditioning and in our new diploma program.

Grant amount: 1.965.000 Kr.

6.

Applicant: Birna Baldursdóttir

Department: Sálfræðideild / Dept. of Psychology

Meðumsækjendur / Co-proposers: Erna Sif Arnardóttir, Hafrún Kristjánsdóttir, Anna Sigríður Islind

Name of the infrastructure: Virknimælar (e. actigraphs) af tegundinni ActTrust frá framleiðandanum Condor

Short description of the intended use of the infrastructure: Kaup á 38 nýjum virknimælum til viðbótar þeim 240 mælum sem nú þegar eru til mun ótvírætt skapa fjölmörg ný tækifæri til að framkvæma stórar þverfaglegar rannsóknir á Íslandi. Aðkoma fleiri rannsóknarhópa að verkefninu tryggir einnig að tækjabúnaðurinn mun nýtast vel og verður að öllum líkindum nýttur flesta daga ársins. Búnaðurinn mun einnig stuðla að samstarfi milli rannsóknahópa innan HR sem utan, jafnvel hópa sem ekki hafa unnið mikið saman áður. Mikilvægt er að vísindasamfélagið á Íslandi hafi aðgang að góðum og verulegum fjölda mælitækja vegna þess að oftast byggja rannsóknir á samfeldum vikulöngum mælingum. Samnýting mælitækjanna er því augljós kostur.

Nú þegar eru styrkumsækjendur í rannsóknasamvinnu þar sem fyrirliggjandi virknimælar eru nýttir í rannsóknum á ýmsum sviðum. Má þar nefna rannsókn á líðan háskólanema í HR en þar eru virknimælarnir notaðir til að kanna hreyfi- og svefnmynstur þátttakenda. Í rannsókn á áhrifum ljósameðferðar og svefnfræðslu á svefn og vellíðan unglinga sem framkvæmd var árið 2021 í tveimur grunnskólum á höfuðborgarsvæðinu voru fyrirliggjandi virknimælar notaðir. Að auki eru mælarnir notaðir í slembiraðaðri samanburðarrannsókn sem fékk öndvegisstyrk Rannís 2018 en í þeirri rannsókn er verið að kanna áhrif ljósameðferðar á þreytu og líðan kvenna sem eru í meðferð við brjóstakrabbameini (e. Bright Light Therapy to Treat Cancer-Related Fatigue among Breast Cancer patients undergoing Chemotherapy, styrknr. 184999). Það er því mjög mikil eftirspurn eftir þeim virknimælum sem þegar eru til staðar enda hafa þeir reynst mjög vel.

Þeir virknimælar sem hér er óskað eftir styrk til að kaupa munu sömuleiðis nýtast í rannsóknasamstarfi umsækjenda sem og annars vísindafólks í framtíðinni. Þessi tækjabúnaður mun því ótvírætt veita vísindafólki þann möguleika að framkvæma þverfaglegar, framsæknar og öflugar rannsóknir á komandi árum. Að þessari umsókn stendur rannsóknarhópur í sálfræðideild HR (aðalumsækjandi) í samstarfi við rannsóknarhópa í Svefnsetri HR (með aðsetur í verkfræðideild HR), tölvunarfræðideild HR og íþróttafræðideild HR.

Grant amount: 3.000.000 Kr.

7.

Applicant: Halldór Guðfinnur Svavarsson

Department: Verkfræðideild / Dept. of Engineering

Co-proposers: Andrei Manolescu, Ágúst Valfells, Guðrún Sævarsdóttir

Name of the infrastructure: Rafeindasmásjá (e. scanning electron microscope, SEM), tabletop unit.

Short description of the intended use of the infrastructure: Flestir kennarar og doktors-nemendur sem sinna verklegum tilraunum þurfa reglulega að nota SEM. Vegna þess hversu algengar SEM eru orðið erlendis er full ástæða til að kenna verkfræði-nemendum á MSc stigi að nota þessa tækni. Tækið skapar einnig mun víðari samstarfsgrundvöll við erlenda rannsóknahópa sem og fjölmörg Íslensk tæknifyrirtæki. Tækið mun að ýmsu leyti valda straumhvörfum í rannsókna-aðstöðu verkfræðideildar og kennslu í framhaldsnámi.

Grant amount: 3.000.000 Kr.

8.

Applicant: Hannes Páll Þórðarson

Department: Iðn- og tæknifræðideild / Dept. of Applied Engineering

Co-proposers: Paolo Gargiulo, Aldís Ingimarsdóttir, Indriði Sævar Ríkharðsson

Name of the infrastructure: 3D scanni fyrir Heilbrigðissetur, orku- og véltæknifræði, byggingartæknifræði og verkfræði

Short description of the intended use of the infrastructure: Fyrir orku- og véltæknifræði: Skanna inn 3D módel fyrir FEM greiningu. Oft er erfitt að teikna upp rétt 3D módel af raunverulegum hlutum sem á að FEM greina. Einnig nýtist skanninn í gæðaeftirlit með því að bera saman teiknað 3D módel og raunverulegan hlut eftir smíði. Nýtt námskeið í framleiðslutækni er í vinnslu, og mun skanninn styðja vel við það námskeið.

Fyrir Heilbrigðstæknisetur myndi tækið skanna líkamshluta sjúklinga svo sé hægt að sér smíða hluti sem passa á líkama þeirra. Í dag þurfa einstaklingar að fara á sjúkrahús til að röntgengeisla líkamshluta, sem eykur álag á sjúkrahúsin og geislun sem sjúklingur verður fyrir.

Fyrir byggingartæknifræði væri skanninn notaður í burðarþolsrannssóknir með því að skanna inn bita sem þarf að brjóta í rauntíma með 3D myndbandi. Eining væri hægt að fara með skannann á byggingarsvæði til að nýta í eftirlit í nýbyggingum og viðbótum við byggð hús.

Grant amount: 3.000.000 Kr.

Grants in 2021

This is first time the Fund allocates grants. 13 grants were awarded. The total amount awarded is 23.160.162 ISK. 

The deadline for submitting applications was June 15, 2021 and the Fund received 17 applications. The total amount applied was 35.226.448 ISK. 

Computer Screens

Applicant: Hera Grímsdóttir

Department: Dept. of Applied Engineering

The new screens enable students to plug their computers in at RU when working on design assignments. 

Grant amount: 1.318.400 ISK

EMG and EEG for research and teaching in diagnosis and treatment in the central nervous system

Applicant: Þórður Helgason

Department: Dept. of Engineering

Co-proposers: Sveinn Þorgeisson, Dept. of Sport Science, and Baldur Þorgilsson, Dept. of Applied Engineering

The new equipment significantly changes the possibilities for teaching. Students can be taught network neuroscience, a methodology that has been gaining ground in recent years. The intention here is to go a step further and add muscle to the analysis as well. The planned use of the infrastructure is in both scientific research in biomedical engineering and sports science. The device also opens up possibilities of research in psychology. The equipment will also be used in teaching in several courses.

Grant amount: 4.310.000 ISK

Steam boiler

Applicant: María Sigríður Guðjónsdóttir

Department: Dept. of Engineering

Co-proposers: Guðrún Sævarsdóttir and Vijay Chauhan, Dept. of Engineering

The equipment will be of great importance for advances in energy research, e.g. regarding geothermal energy. These would include experiments on the flow of geothermal fluids, tests on geothermal equipment and verification of models that mimic and predict the behaviour of geothermal fluids and other flows where water and steam are involved.

Grant amount: 2.200.000 ISK

Drone for surveying

Applicant: Aldís Ingimarsdóttir

Department: Dept. of Applied Engineering

Co-proposers: Eyþór Rafn Þórhallsson, Dept. of Applied Engineering

The drone will be used to train students in making measurements with drones, linking those measurements to a map database with the aim of being able to use the map database in design, monitoring or quantification.

Grant amount: 400.000 ISK

Wind turbine simulator

Applicant: Guðmundur Kristjánsson

Department: Dept. of Applied Engineering

Co-proposers: Ragnar Kristjánsson, Dept. of Engineering

Wind turbines will most likely become part of electricity production in Iceland. This equipment would be used for teaching in technology and engineering as well as used in final projects and research.

Grant amount: 2.400.000 ISK

Large size product design lab – 3D printer

Applicant: Paolo Gargiulo

Department: Dept. of Engineering

Co-proposers: Yonatan Afework Tesfahunegn, Joseph Timothy Foley, and Guðrún Sævarsdóttir, Dept. of Engineering

The equipment will be used: 
1. to develop prototypes that can be used in testing and innovation in the geothermal and automotive industries for testing new and existing models.
2. to tailor make implants from images software for example 3shape.
3. to make molds and thermoforming tools, rapid manufacturing of grips, jigs, and fixtures.
4. to optimize currently existing solutions.
5. for educational purposes by showing students the possibilities opened by this technology.

Grant amount: 2.000.000 ISK

Optical Table

Applicant: Andrei Manolescu

Department: Dept. of Engineering
The Nanophysics Center conducts research on materials for electron emission, photovoltaics, photoconduction, and related topics. In a typical experimental setup light is sent to a sample of material, and often the beam must be very accurately oriented and focused. A correct alignment of the optical components of the setup, such as a laser or other light sources, lenses, beam splitter, etc., among themselves, and with the sample, is essential. For this reason, the setup is placed on a special surface, called optical table, which is a solid and heavy table made of steel, with a perfect surface and with an array of holes where the components are plugged and fixed with screws.

Grant amount: 1.850.000 ISK

Complete body composition measurement for public health and sports

Applicant: Sveinn Þorgeirsson

Department: Dept. of Sport Science

Co-proposers: Hjalti Rúnar Oddsson, Dept. of Sport Science

The device will provide us with practical use in class and research. For example, possible uses in class would include courses like performance measurements, physiology, public health, bio-mechanics, personal training. In research, Tanita would allow for more in depth analysis of the body composition of both athletes we are already testing and general public. We will have the possibility of providing body composition analysis of high caliber to athletes and general public.

Grant amount: 954.800 ISK

Internet of Things Laboratory

Applicant: Marcel Kyas

Department: Dept. of Computer Science

Co-proposers: Joseph Timothy Foley, Dept. of Engineering

Equip four workbenches with the switches for researchers and students to work on Ethernet-connected devices, especially those that are powered with PoE. Such devices include PLC, security cameras, and sensing devices. The switches will integrate into our existing network infrastructure and be maintained and supported by IT.

Grant amount: 910.400 ISK

Hyperspectral Camera

Applicant: Haraldur Auðunsson

Department: Dept. of Engineering

Co-proposers: Torfi Þórhallsson and Andrei Manolescu, Dept. of Engineering

A machine of this kind is a natural part of the school's modern equipment and will increase the diversity of project-driven studies, whether directly in teaching, in independent studies or master's projects, and also in research at RU.

Grant amount: 3.360.000 ISK

The use of virtual reality in teaching and research

Applicant: Berglind Sveinbjörnsdóttir

Department: Dept. of Psychology

Co-proposers: Hannes Högni Vilhjálmsson, Dept. of Computer Science, Linda Bára Lýðsdóttir and Kamilla Rún Jóhannsdóttir, Dept. of Psychology

VR headset to train psychology students in important skills, and utilise the vast knowledge that RU has already built up in the field of virtual reality training.

Grant amount: 265.337 ISK

Combined high-definition current-voltage source and current-voltage meter

Applicant: Halldór Guðfinnur Svavarsson

Department: Dept. of Engineering

Co-proposers: Haraldur Auðunsson, Ágúst Valfells og Slawomir Koziel, Dept. of Engineering

The device is intended to replace another comparable device owned by RU (was obtained with a grant from the Rannís Infrastructure Fund a few years ago) but suddenly broke down just a few days ago. It is unclear at this time if the device can be repaired. If it is possible, it is foreseen that it will take some time and repair costs will be high. The device that failed was not made for high voltage pulses, but it was such use that caused the failure. The new device applied for here has the advantage that it can withstand much higher voltages - up to 1100V.

Grant amount: 1.720.000 ISK

Towards a Robot Interaction Laboratory

Applicant: Torfi Þórhallsson

Department: Verkfræðideild / Dept. of Engineering

Evolutionary research suggests (Parker, 2003) that major advances in human intelligence followed the emergence of (1) vision and locomotion, (2) manipulation, and (3) language. It has been pointed out that success in artificial intelligence may follow the same path. The purpose of this application is to create a laboratory environment where answers to these questions can be explored, and applications developed. For these purposes, the laboratory will be developed over a period of time to include robots with locomotion, manipulation, and speech capabilities together with visual, tactile, and aural sensing and strong computation resources.

This application is a first step towards establishing such a facility, by acquiring a single compliant robot manipulator with a simple dextrous end-effector and tactile sensing. The robot manipulator will be used to teach advanced robotics at the graduate level (kinematics, path planning, collision avoidance, visual serving, tactile response). It is programmed using C++ and Python utilising the Robot Operating System (ROS) framework.

Grant amount: 1.471.225 ISK