Achieving ambitious targets for energy efficiency, increasing the share of renewable energy and accelerating the transition to a climate-neutral society faces a number of technical, environmental and social barriers. Challenges include the difficulty of siting energy facilities, balancing public benefits, bottlenecks in energy infrastructure, fluctuations in the energy market and …
The rapid advancements in Machine Learning (ML) and Black-Box Optimization (BBO) have led to an increased reliance on benchmarking data for evaluating and comparing algorithms across diverse domain tasks. However, the effective exploitation of this data is hindered by challenges such as syntactic variability, semantic ambiguity, and lack of standardization. …
This dissertation aimed to explore the potential of Sr isotope ratio analysis, combined with multi-elemental profiling, as a tool for geographic discrimination, focusing on two projects: tracing the provenance of cheese/milk from Naxos, Greece (Project 1), and wood in the Eastern Carpathians, Romania (Project 2). The goal was to understand …
One of commonly used analytical technique for direct elemental analysis of solid samples is Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Although widely used for the analysis of various samples, obtaining accurate quantitative results remains a major challenge as matrix-matched standards are required. The aim of this thesis was …
This dissertation examines two main topics. The first topic is focused on the potential of strontium (Sr) isotope analysis to characterise milk and truffles as selected food commodities, traditionally important for Slovenia. The 87Sr/86Sr ratio for determining the provenance of bovine milk and truffles originating from different regions of Slovenia …
This thesis focuses on the development and optimisation of zirconium conversion coatings (ZrCCs) on cold-rolled steel (CRS), zinc (Zn), and aluminium alloy AA5754 substrates through a multidimensional approach. The utilization of statistical tools, specifically response surface methodology (RSM), enabled the assessment of the individual and mutual effects of various parameters …
In this thesis, we introduce novel methods for equation discovery (ED), based on the use of probabilistic grammars. ED and symbolic regression address the task of finding a symbolic mathematical model that best describes observed data. Models can be as simple as an algebraic equation or as complex as a …
This dissertation combines academic research and the application of its results to a real benchmark process. With the emerging electro-energetic systems that have a large share of renewable sources, hydrogen is becoming an important energy carrier that contributes to the storage and usage of surplus green energy and thus reduces …
Rising demands for food, instigated by population growth and urbanization, are calling for advanced agricultural approaches to increase crop yields. However, the expansion of food production should not come with an unmanageable environmental cost. Plant science is therefore challenged to provide sustainable innovations for combating the detrimental effects of unfavourable …
A paradigm shift is occurring in the assessment of exposure to urban environmental stressors. Improved accuracy of personal monitors has enabled researchers to study exposure at the individual level. Monitoring stations are the primary reference point for air quality in urban environments, although there is a need to assess exposure …