In a short time of five years hybrid perovskite solar cells have reached astonishing power conversion efficiency (PCE) beyond 22% leveling off with the established photovoltaic (PV) inorganic thin films technologies. The meteoric ramping up of this nascent technology has electrified the PV research interest aiming to make it a viable commercial solution for low-cost energy production. Despite this enormous research effort, it is truly surprising that the understanding of the main photophysical processes behind the high efficiency of these devices is still poor and hotly debated. In addition, an anomalous hysteresis behavior in the current-voltage characteristics is often reported in perovskite solar cells possibly related to ion migration and imbalanced extraction of charges. In this talk we present femtosecond optical spectroscopy to address imbalanced electron and hole injection process and our findings shed new light on the high-efficiency and hysteresis-free performance of the device. Also present various deposition methods for perovskite absorbing layer, and the synthesis and characterization of novel hole transporting materials.

Halophiles are microorganisms that adapt to moderate and high salt concentrations. They are found in marine regions in all three domains of life: Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya. Halophilic bacteria grow over an extended range of salt concentrations (3-15% NaCl, w/v and above) unlike the truly halophilic archaea whose growth is restricted to high saline environments. Microorganisms are potential sources of high value products. Based on his lifetime research experience, Louis Pasteur had rightly framed an everlasting doctrine: ‘the role of the infinitely small in nature is infinitely great’. Halophilic bacteria usually accumulate osmoregulatory compatible solutes like quaternary amines such as glycine betaine and ectoine. In addition to their stabilizing effects, these solutes are used as salt antagonists, stress protective agents, cosmetic actives and therapeutics, thus having a high commercial value. Halophilic bacteria are potential sources of industrial enzymes like halostable proteases, cellulases and hemicellulases (xylanases). Halophilic enzymes are usually polyextremophilic in nature, exhibiting stability at higher ranges of temperature and pH; and have applications in food and beverages, pulp and paper, textiles and animal feed. Halophilic microbes (and their products like bio-surfactants and enzymes) also find applications in the bioremediation of marine environments which are highly prone to pollution by petroleum and oil spills. These studies have been less investigated in the Brunei region. Brunei, being a coastal country has vast stretches of saline reserves. Brunei is also an oil-based economy. Research on the fate of petroleum in marine environments is significant to evaluate environmental threat and to develop biotechnology to mitigate ecosystem damage. Halophilic microbes, surviving with a ‘pinch of salt’ offer high-value products for biotechnology and bioremediation.

Dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a promising alternative form of energy, for its low cose, environtmental safety and sustainability. Over the years outstanding research with record braking efficiencies have been forwarded based on continuous optimization. Current power conversion efficency (PCE)standings are 13.0% and 20.1% for conventional DSSC and perovskite based solar cell. The major aspect considered prior to these record braking PCEs lies in the difficult task to tune the band gap energy at the light absorbing layers in the cells. However, the main drawbacks in cell efficency is due to recombination of photo generated electrons with holes at the heterojunction interfaces of the sensitizers and n-type transporting semiconductor material. This key factor is centered on the energetics of the conduction bans of the n-type semi-conductor or metal oxide layer and on the charge equilibrium dynamics ai its interface with the immediate environtment (electrolyte). We have doped TiO₂ with a series of metal ions to effect band gap changes. In this presentation, we pay special focus on the use of zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) in a core -shell nanoparticle structure as photoanode for DSSC. We employ Cadminum (Cd) and Magnesium (Mg)as dopants in core and shell, respectively in order to modulate the conduction band edges. This can provide efficient energy gradient for effective electron transport and appropriate barrier potential to curb recombination at the heterojunction interface. Cd doped ZnO and Mg doped TiO₂ as core and shell, respectively, gave the highest cell performance and electron injection efficiency. This is possibly due to a step down of conduction band edge as observed in flat band potential and diffuse reflectance measurements. Bare ZnO and TiO₂ used either as core or shell layer showed poor performance due to similar conduction band edges. To show the typical differences, SEM, XRD, FTIR, XPS, and EIS are also presented.

1. The International School on Foraminifera Urbino 4-22 June 2015 Since its inception in 2006, the International School on Foraminifera in Urbino has been the world’s leading training school devoted to the study of foraminifera. The three-week training course is held at the newly-refurbished Collegio Internazionale at the University of Urbino. The school boasts an international teaching faculty who are among the world’s leading experts in their respective research fields. The full course consists of approximately 50 hours of lectures and 60 hours of practical work. The course consists of four modules: Introduction to the Foraminifera, smaller benthic foraminifera, larger benthic foraminifera, and planktonic foraminifera. Course participants have the option of registering for one or more mod-ules, or participating in the entire course. The course includes a one-day field trip to visit the classic micropaleonto-logical localities near Gubbio, Italy. The course is primarily intended for young researchers at the PhD or MSc stages of their careers and industrial staff working with Foraminifera, Meiofauna, Micropalaeontology, Paleoceanography, Paleoecology, and Climate History. For industrial staff, additional training modules or individual tutorials may be arranged upon request after the course.

2. Mesophotic foraminifera from Okinawa: 10-18 July 2015 at tropical biosphere research center university of the Ryukyus, Japan Symbiont-bearing Larger Benthic Foraminifera (LBF) are marine mixotrophic protists that partly depend on the pho-tosynthetic energy generated by their symbiotic microalgae. They are therefore restricted to photic tropic and warm temperate marine environments, where they are important carbonate producers. Due to their long geological history, starting in the Late Paleozoic, and their complex morphology they are extensively used for biostratigraphic purposes as well as for precise palaeoenvironmental analyses as their species specific distribution depends on tem-perature, water energy, light intensity, substrate, calcium carbonate and nutrients availability. During this leave, growth-patterns and -strategies of these protists have been investigated to gain information on their evolutionary development and on growth deviations they may undergo under different environmental scenarios.

Peripheral insulin resistance increases the flow of free fatty acids (FFAs) to the liver and causes hepatic steatosis which is an initial distinct phase of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We have ob-served that inhibition of de novo sphingolipid synthesis inhibits hepatic triglyceride accumulation and improves insulin response. Mechanistic study suggests that these could be due to the alteration in cellu-lar metabolism upon inhibiting biosynthesis of certain sphingolipid species. Currently, we are investigat-ing the pharmacological properties of several phytochemicals in inhibitingde novo sphingolipid synthesis and their efficacy in hindering hepatic steatosis.

The phosphorite deposits of Morocco play a very important role in the country’s economy, moreover large part of the world’s phosphorite reserve can be found here. Besides this economic highlight, the phosphorite layers are exceptionally rich in marine and, in lesser content, terrestrial vertebrate fossils. Based on the abundant selachian fauna three biostratigraphically distinct periods – Maastrichtian, Danian-Thanetian and Ypresian – can be recognized. These periods largely correspond to sequence stratigraphic units of three, first-order transgres-sive-regressive cycles. Other biostratigraphic methods could not provide better age estimates for these beds, mainly because of preservation bias. In order to obtain an improved age resolution, a number of comprehensive geochemical studies have been carried out during the last years on bulk sediments and marine fossils. Stable isotope data across the phosphate series derived from carbon isotope composition of bulk organic matter in the sediments, plus carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of selachian teeth could be correlated with global isotope sig-nals and events. The most important outcomes based on comparison with the International Geologic Time Scale are: (a) there is no major phosphate accumulation during the Lutetian; (b) the third megasequence (C) was partly deposited during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (Lower-Middle Ypresian); (c) there was a depositional gap during the Late Thanetian and most possibly during the Paleocene-Eocene Ther-mal Maximum (i.e., gap between megasequences B and C); (d) In the second megasequence (B) the Early Late Paleocene Event is recog-nized supporting sedimentation during the Selandian. Study on rare earth element (REE) content of the fossils revealed time-wise variation that has an additional potential as a local stratigraphical tool.