The 9th International Conference on Novel Materials Fundamentals and Applications 2025

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Vladimír Zeleňák (ed.)

Proceedings of Abstracts of the Student Scientific Conference of the Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice

A characteristic feature of education at high-quality universities — among which the Faculty of Science at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (UPJŠ) in Košice proudly belongs — is the close connection between education and scientific research. Students gain knowledge in their field of study not only through theoretical coursework in individual disciplines, but also through active involvement in solving specific scientific tasks as part of research teams. This can occur during the development of final theses or through participation in the Student Research Assistant Program (ŠPVS), which was revitalized at the faculty in 2015.

The Student Scientific Conference (ŠVK) is one of the faculty’s traditional events, organized during the Faculty’s Science Days as part of Sciencefest. By its very nature, it fits seamlessly into the aforementioned framework of combining education with research, and it has long enjoyed great popularity and student interest. In 2016, the conference featured presentations by 125 students of the Faculty of Science at UPJŠ in Košice, across 16 thematic sections. This collection of abstracts provides an overview of the focus and goals of the student projects. We believe it will serve as inspiration for other potential participants of future conferences and will also be of interest to the broader public, offering additional insight into the faculty's activities.

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Valéria Skřivánková - Martina Hančová

The publication is focused on discrete random processes, primarily on Markov chains, which have wide application in the field of economics and finance.

The textbook is divided into five chapters, the first of which serves as an introduction to random processes and provides definition, properties and classification of random processes in general. The second chapter discusses Markov chains with discrete time, including valuation of transitions between states and their optimal management. The third chapter focuses on special Markov chains with continuous time and emphasizes construction and solution to the system of Kolmogorov differential equations, which describe the dynamics of the process development. The last two chapters illustrate applications of Markov chains using examples of queuing system modeling and renewal theory.

Besides the explanation of basic terms, definitions and theorems with proofs, this textbook also provides number of solved examples to illustrate the discussed theory. Problem assignments are placed at the end of each chapter, so that readers can test their understanding of the content as they progress through the book. Solutions to all the problems and the list of references are provided at the end of the publication.

This textbook is primarily intented for students majoring in Economics and Financial Mathematics at the Faculty of Science of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, and it covers content of the course “Random Proceses 1“ thought there. It might however serve also students from other schools in similar progams or professionals interested in this topic.

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Mária Kožurková

These university textbooks are intended for first-year master's degree students at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of UPJŠ in Košice. The scope and content of the works included in these scripts are primarily based on time and spatial constraints, taking into account the material demands of the tasks.

The aim of these scripts is to teach students basic microbiological techniques and to show them the importance of microorganisms in everyday life and their crucial role in nature. The exercises are designed to enhance students' technical skills and teach them to work according to safety principles.

The text is divided into 13 parts. Each part begins with an introduction to the theory related to the practice topic. The appendix includes a proposal for the preparation of protocols for individual exercises.

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Martin Bačkor - Silvia Mihaličová (eds.)

Proceedings of the 11th Conference of Doctoral Students in Experimental Plant Biology and the 13th Conference on Experimental Plant Biology, Košice, September 9–13, 2013

13th Conference of Experimental Plant Biology (Sections)

1. Cell Biology and Cytology: Michal Martinka
2. Developmental Biology and Morphogenesis: Alexander Lux
3. “Omics” – Genomics, Transcriptomics, and Proteomics: Boris Vyskot
4. Hormonal Regulation of Plant Growth and Development: Jana Albrechtová
5. Photosynthesis, Assimilate Production, and Transport: Jiří Šantrůček
6. GMOs and Plant Biotechnology: Eva Čellárová
7. Biophysical Signals and Optical Properties of Plants: Jan Nauš Stress
8. Physiology: Ľudmila Slováková
9. Plant Interactions with Organisms: Martin Bačkor
10. Water and Mineral Nutrition of Plants: Miroslav Repčák
11. Productive Biology of Plants and Agriculture: Václav Hejnák
12. Ecological Plant Biology and Global Climate Change: Michal Marek

11th Days of Doctoral Students in Experimental Plant Biology (Sections)

1. Molecular & Cell Genetics: Viktor Žárský
2. Developmental Biology: Alexander Lux
3. Biochemistry & Physiology: Jiří Šantrůček
4. Systematics & Evolution: Jana Albrechtová
5. Ecophysiology: Jana Albrechtová

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Daniela Kladeková

This university text is intended for students of chemical and ecological sciences at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the P. J. Šafárik University in Košice and is intended to serve as a tool for experimental exercises in colloid chemistry. Colloid chemistry is an important part of the theoretical basis of the chemical sciences and belongs to the newer interdisciplinary fields of natural sciences.

It combines knowledge from physical chemistry, physics and biology, while also drawing on a solid knowledge of mathematics and other scientific disciplines. Experiments are often essential in understanding the problems of colloid chemistry, modelling ideas about the phenomena and laws involved in the discipline. This is why active participation in experimental exercises is so important and essential to mastering the material in colloid chemistry.

In selecting the tasks for these scripts, it was also necessary to respect the considerable limitations imposed by the possibilities of the laboratory instrumentation and material equipment of our department. Despite this limitation, however, they can illustrate to students the basic theoretical physicochemical principles of colloid dispersion systems and, importantly, their understanding can contribute to the understanding of some of the more important peculiarities of colloidal phenomena.

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Michal Hnatič - Tomáš Lučivjanský

This textbook is primarily intended for first-year master's degree students at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, especially those in the nuclear physics, subnuclear physics, and theoretical physics programs. For many years, these lectures were taught by one of the authors at this university, and naturally, over time, there arose an effort to provide these lectures to students in printed form.

In this textbook, we will focus mainly on classical field theory, its quantization based on the operator approach, and the introduction of interactions. Descriptions based on functional integration, Feynman diagram techniques, and more advanced parts will be covered in a subsequent volume of the textbook. In this context, we want to emphasize that in many modern quantum field theory textbooks, the operator approach is used to a lesser extent and is replaced by the approach using (functional) path integrals.

This is probably due to time considerations, as the functional approach leads much faster to practical calculations. On the other hand, we believe that the operator approach is better from a pedagogical point of view. It is much closer to the traditional quantum mechanics course, which is often based on the Schrödinger or Heisenberg formalism. Therefore, students can much more easily follow the flow of ideas that led to the construction of quantum field theory and its fundamental concepts.

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Peter Kollár

The textbook Semiconductor Elements was developed gradually over the past years as an aid for second-year master's students in condensed matter physics. It is intended to support students’ understanding of lectures, considering that important texts, mathematical relationships, and illustrations are provided in advance in the form they will be presented during the lecture.

This allows students to supplement individual pages with their own notes during the lecture, either electronically or in printed form. In this way, a study aid is created for the student, which I believe will help with the final review of knowledge gained throughout the semester in preparation for the exam. This textbook is not meant to serve as standalone literature but is designed to assist orientation in the literature, which is abundant in English but mostly written for scientists, researchers, and students for whom this topic is central and not just one of many parts of their education. Therefore, it is not allocated a larger scope in the study program.

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E-publication

Denisa Maceková-Monika Václavková-Marek Kvet-Ivana Sotáková

The publication Digiform: A Supporting Application to Digilib – User Guide, Part B presents the Digiform web application as a tool that extends the functionality of the Digilib digital library of formative assessment tools. The application enables the creation and editing of formative assessment tool templates, which can be adapted to the specificities of individual subjects and levels of education and subsequently imported into the Digilib environment for use in the teaching process. The guide provides a detailed description of how to work with the Digiform application, from creating new templates, editing and personalising them, through to their export and implementation in the main Digilib application. Attention is also given to the interconnection with the Digilib Images application, which enables the integration of visual elements into the assessment tools, thereby enhancing their didactic effectiveness and visual appeal. The guide is intended for teachers at all levels of education, student teachers, school administrators, and digital coordinators who are interested in the systematic use of the Digilib digital library to support the implementation of formative assessment, enhance the quality of the educational process, and foster the development of students’ self-assessment and reflective competences.

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Mária Ganajová

The current teaching of chemistry has its specific problems. On one hand, due to the shift of the focus of chemistry curriculum towards theoretical content, the difficulty of chemistry material has increased, and in connection with this, students' interest in chemistry has decreased.

The lack of student interest in chemistry is mostly supported by the opinion that it is precisely chemistry that significantly contributes to the deterioration of environmental quality. On the other hand, we live in an era where we encounter chemical products practically everywhere. It is necessary to learn the basics of chemistry as well as possible, which makes the question of increasing interest in chemistry education and improving its effectiveness very relevant. State educational programs have been introduced into Slovak schools as a foundation for the creation of school educational programs. These emphasize not only acquiring a certain amount of knowledge but also the development and enhancement of key and specific competencies of students, preparing them for lifelong learning and their application in life.

Therefore, increasing attention is being paid to one of the fundamental didactic tools for raising student activity in teaching, and thus improving the effectiveness of chemistry education – learning tasks. From both theory and practice of chemistry teaching, we know that learning tasks, questions, examples, exercises, etc., are among the important components of every teaching lesson. Learning tasks are applied in all phases of teaching – in the motivational phase, the phase of acquiring knowledge, the phase of consolidating knowledge, and the phase of checking the acquired knowledge. It is therefore clear that every teacher will sooner or later find themselves in a situation where they will have to select learning tasks from textbooks, workbooks, collections of problems and examples, or create them themselves.

This scientific monograph is intended for educational specialists and chemistry teachers, aiming to familiarize them with examples of various types and forms of learning tasks and the basics of their creation in chemistry. It can also be helpful for them in preparing certification works focused on test creation and their statistical evaluation.

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Vladimír Komanický

The aim of this textbook is to acquaint students in physics, chemistry and material science on both undergraduate and graduate level, with the techniques used to prepare micro-electromechanical devices, nanoobjects and nanostructures using the so called top down methodologies. The is no requirement for this course to pass any prior courses. The introduction part of the text defines the forces that affect nanoobjects and the interactions between them. Reader can understand in detail why properties of nanomaterials and nanostructures are so different when comprared to their macroscopic counterparts. Text gives also an overview of thin film preparation technologies as precursors for the preparation of nanostructures. The main emphasis in Volume I is on conventional lithographic technologies for the preparation and shaping of nanostructures, methods for characterization of thin films, nanoparticles and nanomaterials. Unconventional lithographic methods will also be discussed in the prepared upcoming Volume II. Student will also get acquainted with the applications of nanostructures in research focused on nanophysics, nanocatalysis and nanoelectronics. The textbook is used as a study material for the course ÚFV / MPN / 14 - Methods of preparation and characterization of nanostructures. Part of the course is also a laboratory exercise in which the student gets acquainted with the techiques used for the preparation and characterization of thin films and top-down technologies used for the preparation of nanostructures.

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Miroslav Almáši(ed.)

The proceedings of the conference 60 YEARS OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATION IN THE FIELD OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY IN EASTERN SLOVAKIA comprise a collection of scholarly and scientific contributions presented on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. The conference focused on reviewing the scientific, research, and educational activities in the field of inorganic chemistry in eastern Slovakia and highlighting significant achievements accomplished over the sixty-year history of the department. The abstracts included in the proceedings cover a broad range of topics that reflect current trends and directions in inorganic chemistry. The proceedings are thematically divided into four main areas, encompassing contributions dedicated to inorganic, coordination, bioinorganic, and materials chemistry. This collection offers a valuable overview of the current state of research in inorganic chemistry, as well as its teaching and historical development in eastern Slovakia..

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Vasyl Cherlinka - Michal Gallay - Yuryi Dmytruk

The textbook is a practical guide to predictive mapping of soil types and properties in R. It bridges digital soil mapping theory with hands-on practice, covering the full workflow from data acquisition and preprocessing to validation and uncertainty quantification. Early chapters introduce the tidyverse ecosystem and the sf and terra packages for spatial data handling. Subsequent parts address modelling of categorical variables (soil types/WRB) and continuous variables (soil organic carbon) using Random Forest, Cubist, and Quantile Regression Forests. Step-by-step code examples show training/testing, feature selection, accuracy metrics, and model interpretation. Reproducibility and cartographic best practice are emphasised. A Slovakia case study demonstrates real-world application while outlining limits and generalisability. The book targets bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD students in geography, geoinformatics, environmental and agricultural sciences, as well as practitioners. Written in English, it fits international courses and mobility programmes.

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Katarína Cechlárová (ed.)

This year, the Student Scientific Conference was held on April 24, 2019, across 17 sections in disciplines such as biology and ecology, chemistry, physics, geography, mathematics, informatics, and their didactics. Bachelor’s and master’s students presented a total of 124 contributions. The most successful participants advanced to national or traditional Czech-Slovak student scientific showcases in fields like physics, chemistry, mathematics, informatics, and mathematics didactics.

In addition to faculty students, 10 high school students participated outside the competition. They were invited based on their achievements in subject-specific Olympiads or because they were already engaged with the faculty under the guidance of dedicated teachers in laboratory work as part of their preparation for future studies. The day also featured a programming competition with 23 participants, an IHRA contest involving 16 teams of high school students and 15 teams from elementary schools, and a new Puzzle section where 72 high school students from the region competed.

The abstracts from the Student Scientific Conference demonstrate that our faculty's students not only absorb theoretical knowledge delivered in lectures but also actively engage in solving partial scientific problems that align with research objectives at the institutes of PF UPJŠ. This collection serves as both a record of scientific activity at the faculty and a dignified presentation for the broader public.

Prof. RNDr. Katarína Cechlárová, DrSc.

Vice-Dean for Education

Doc. RNDr. Gabriel Semanišin, PhD.

Dean of the Faculty

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Mária Vilková - Monika Garberová - Michal Goga

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is currently a widely used analytical tool that finds application in many fields of science and technology. The broadening of its practical use brings with it the necessity to create educational texts appropriate to the given scientific discipline.

This university textbook is intended for students of biology and serves as a supplement to the study materials for the advanced master's course "Biology of Lichens." At the same time, it represents a useful resource for master's and doctoral students involved in research, helping them interpret NMR spectra and present basic theoretical concepts.

The textbook briefly describes the important aspects of each NMR spectroscopic technique without delving excessively into the physical principles of individual methods or complex mathematical analyses. In this edition, the structures of lichen metabolites have been included, which students will isolate, purify, and identify using various analytical methods during practical exercises. An entire chapter is dedicated to a detailed description of solving the NMR spectra of isolated metabolites, with each step in elucidating the structures of both known and unknown metabolites explained in detail. The solved tasks are followed by numerous unsolved examples, including high-resolution 1D and 2D NMR spectra of metabolites, intended to further develop the acquired knowledge and skills of students and doctoral candidates in structure elucidation using NMR spectroscopy.

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Vladimír Zeleňák(ed.)

The proceedings contain abstracts of contributions from participants of the Student Scientific Conference of the Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, which took place on April 22, 2015.

The Student Scientific Conference (SSC) enjoys long-term popularity among the faculty's students and teachers, and we are pleased that this was no different this year, with 128 contributions submitted to the SSC.

The contributions were organized into 19 sections, additionally complemented by an open programming competition and the final of the IHRA contest. For many students, presenting at the SSC is one of the first opportunities to gain experience in presenting their results before a professional audience. Considering the number of submitted contributions, along with the members of the expert juries from the faculty's teaching staff and the audience who came to support their classmates' presentations, the SSC is an event where a large part of the student and academic community of the faculty meets at one place and time. Many abstracts presented in this proceedings were developed as part of students' work on partial tasks that are components of research projects at the departments of the Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University.

The abstracts represent, in a way, an overview of research topics at the individual workplaces of the faculty. The SSC proceedings thus serve as a useful tool that students and faculty teachers can use to present the faculty externally to partners, employers, and potential collaborators. Partners from practice have shown interest in cooperating in organizing the SSC for a long time. Since 2005, the association of IT companies has awarded a Prize for the Most Original Work and a Prize for the Work with the Best Prospects for Practical Application.

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Andrej Mock

The structure of the animal body is extremely varied. Each species has its distinctive morphological features, which bears as a testimony to long-term development and belonging to the developmental lineage. At the same time, the body has been tested for a long time by natural conditions, resulting in unique adaptations to the environment and life strategy. Despite this admirable variety - which includes both recent and fossil animals and which we have far from mapped – a comparison of body parts brings knowledge we can generalize: the main building principles, and boundaries within which phenotypic diversity is realized.

Comparative animal morphology today uses the latest methodological material and knowledge from other disciplines, from genetics, molecular biology and experimental embryology, through progressive imaging methods (e.g. electron microscopy, computer micro-tomography) and the possibilities of subsequent software processing of image material (measurement, staining, etc.) to the view of physics, chemistry, statics and geometry on the structures (to nanostructures) of the living body. Detailed knowledge of historical and contemporary conditions on Earth is an important interpretative context in the study of animal morphology. Surprisingly, the knowledge accumulated after centuries of research is now rapidly supplemented by new knowledge, and often the traditional knowledge is subsequently reinterpreted. Finally, and no less important, in studying animal (and human) morphology, we learn surprising knowledge about ourselves.

The author of the presented textbook had the ambition in a simplified form to introduce the reader, especially the student of biological studies, into a dynamic and fascinating scientific discipline, as the current comparative animal morphology is.

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