Latest news with #Kerber
Euronews
37 minutes ago
- Science
- Euronews
Paper-based devices offer a greener future for consumer electronics
Every year, millions of tonnes of electronic waste end up in landfills, largely because small devices are built from materials that are nearly impossible to separate and recycle efficiently. At just 24 years old, Austrian industrial designer Franziska Kerber is working to change that: She has developed PAPE, a sustainable, paper-based alternative to plastic and fibreglass used in the casings of small electronic devices. Thanks to her work on PAPE, Kerber has been recognised as one of the top ten winners – called Tomorrow Shapers – of the 2025 Young Inventors Prize, awarded by the European Patent Office. 'Electronic waste is the fastest-growing waste stream worldwide and most electronic products are not designed in a way for them to be recycled,' Kerber explained. 'So I was aiming to create a product that not only improves recyclability, but creates a full circular system around it.' Unlike conventional plastics, which often trap valuable materials inside a device, PAPE is designed to dissolve in a targeted process. This allows manufacturers to retrieve electronic components without the need for shredding or chemical separation. PAPE is made from unused paper fibres, is durable and biodegradable, and was designed from the ground up with material recovery in mind. Kerber's commitment to sustainable design was shaped by both family and education. Her father, a physicist and award-winning inventor, introduced her to dissolvable electronics at a young age. While studying industrial design at FH Joanneum, she became increasingly focused on circular systems and material reuse – realising that solving e-waste requires more than just one recyclable component. 'Even if researchers create dissolvable, recyclable circuit boards, it doesn't really change anything if the rest of the product just ends up as waste again. The whole design has to evolve – otherwise, we're just shifting the problem instead of solving it,' she said. To develop PAPE, Kerber experimented with compressed paper fibres, refining the product through iterations that tested heat resistance, airflow, and durability. PAPE was specifically created for small consumer electronics like WiFi routers and smoke detectors, which are widespread but rarely recycled properly. 'I hope that this invention reaches a point when people talk about which WiFi router they should buy next, they will think about PAPE because it's just the better sustainable option and I love the design,' Kerber added. She is now working with startups and companies developing recyclable PCBs to bring PAPE to the market, aiming to shift the consumer electronics industry toward truly circular solutions. Moreover, Kerber's work contributes directly to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) – highlighting how thoughtful design can reduce waste and help shape a more sustainable future. The European Space Agency (ESA) isn't ruling out programme cuts or freezes if proposed budget cuts to the American space agency NASA are passed by the US Congress later this year. NASA's 2026 technical budget request, which was released last week, details possible cuts to 19 European space research programmes and could impact key technologies that ESA supplies to American Moon missions. The bill still needs Congress' approval, likely to come this autumn. Josef Aschbacher, ESA's director general, told journalists on Thursday that the council is 'doing its homework' to analyse what the impacts of possible NASA budget cuts could be and how investments made by its member states could be 'used in the most efficient way,' to respond. Aschbacher assured that no cuts or cancellations were coming until the US "finalised" its position, but that no matter the decision made by Congress, ESA would be "ready" and "well-prepared" to react. Carole Mundell, ESA's director of science, said the agency had determined 19 research projects could be impacted by the proposed NASA budget cuts. Mundell said ESA and its international partners could mitigate the damage to all but three of them: the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), a space probe that measures gravitational waves, Envision, ESA's first mission to Venus to measure its different atmospheres, and NewAthena, the world's largest X-Ray observatory. LISA and Envision have already been approved by the ESA council for funding, and NewAthena will come before the council but is expected to pass in 2027. ESA also supplies NASA with certain key parts for the NASA-led Artemis missions that would see humans return to the surface of the Moon for the first time since the 1960s. The ESA builds European Space Modules (ESMs) that provide electricity and oxygen to Orion, the spacecraft picked by NASA for the Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. The ESA is also in charge of the Argonaut, Europe's lunar lander programme that would ultimately support these missions. It is also contributing three key elements for Gateway, the first international space station to be built around the Moon. The proposed NASA budget said that it will sustain funding for the Artemis II mission, scheduled for early 2026, and the Artemis III mission in 2027, but future missions would cancel the Gateway and retire Orion in the name of finding a more 'sustainable and cost-effective' lunar exploration strategy. Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA's director of human and robotic exploration, said the agency continues to fulfill its Gateway and ESM contracts with NASA. Even if cuts are approved, Argonaut and these European capabilities would still be used to support ESA missions, he added. Neuenschwander said ESA was now exploring with industry how some replacement technologies could be built in the EU. For example, the NASA cuts target the Rosalind Franklin ExoMars Rover mission, an ESA programme that drills down to the surface of the Red Planet to dig up organic material for further scientific study. NASA supplies three parts of the rover's technology, including the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA), an astrobiology instrument that does the sample extraction, and an americium radioisotope heater unit (RHU) to power the vehicle. Both technologies are not currently available to be produced in Europe, Neuenschwander said, but that engagement is starting to build them. The RHU in particular can also be used for future ESA lunar surface exploration missions, he added. Neuenschwander said ESA could rely on other partners, like the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), in the short term to supply technologies like the MOMA or RHU, but ultimately the goal is to build the necessary technology in Europe.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Shortage of lawyers concerns local jurists
Mar. 30—LIMA — "Justice delayed isn't justice at all," said Dennis Kerber, magistrate in the domestic relations division of Allen County Common Pleas Court and president of the Allen County Bar Association, when asked about a statewide shortage of attorneys that is becoming increasingly noticeable locally. According to a recent statement from the Ohio Bar Association, rural communities face a growing crisis as legal needs are going unmet due to a statewide attorney shortage. The legal needs of many residents are going unhandled in areas that include child custody, real estate disputes, consumer fraud or defending against criminal charges, according to the state bar. Mary Amos Augsburger, chief executive officer of the Ohio Bar, testified in early March before the Ohio House Finance Committee to urge continued state funding for programs that help fill this gap. The group is advocating for the expansion of the Rural Practice Incentive Program, which provides loan repayment assistance to attorneys who practice in underserved areas, and continued funding and expanded eligibility to attract more lawyers to these communities. The need is real Auglaize County Common Pleas Court Judge Frederick Pepple answered with an emphatic "yes" when asked if a shortage of attorneys is affecting courtrooms in that county. "Just look at the size of our bar," Pepple said of the shrinking number of local attorneys. "The practice of law has become less attractive in recent years, and fewer people are going to law school. Those who do graduate are increasingly choosing to live in larger metropolitan areas." The Ohio Bar says a ratio of one lawyer for every 700 residents is ideal for rural counties. Using that formula, Auglaize County would need nearly 65 practicing attorneys to keep pace. Pepple said state lawmakers could ease the current shortage by changing one key state mandate. "The General Assembly statutes don't allow a deputy public defender from one county to help out other counties when a conflict of interest arises. That needs to change," Pepple said. According to Kerber, who became a magistrate in the local court in 1998, membership in the Allen County Bar Association currently stands at around 175 and is on the decline. Some members are willing to take court-appointed assignments, but many are not. "Back in the 90s we had maybe 40 attorneys that were willing and eager to take court-appointed work. Now there might be a half-dozen. And their workload is increasing greatly due to the smaller pool of attorneys we can pick from," Kerber said. "The numbers of attorneys are definitely declining, and the reasons are varied," he said. "Becoming a lawyer is an expensive undertaking, and attending law school is a stressful time. In our bar, we are seeing members that are getting a little older and taking on less work. All of the courts in the county are flexible in working with the available attorneys and trying to accommodate their schedules." Cost-prohibitive? Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Terri Kohlrieser agreed that the current economic climate nationwide may be making a law degree less attractive than it once was. "What I'm seeing is that the current educational crisis, especially when it comes to student loans, is having an effect on the number of attorneys out there. It's expensive to get a law degree — like $25,000 to $30,000 annually. And that's just tuition. And it's not as easy to get student loans as it once was," the judge said. Kohlrieser is an adjunct professor at Ohio Northern University. When walking the halls of the law school, she sees class photos of graduating classes through the years. "My class had about 82 graduates," she said. "Now class sizes are down to about 25. Small towns and rural areas across the state are seeing a crisis. Private practice in a small town is hard work. You end up taking all kinds of cases just to make ends meet, and it can get overwhelming." Kohlrieser agreed the pool of attorneys willing to take court-appointed assignments is dwindling significantly. "I have maybe three attorneys I can reach out to ... then I have to go searching," she said. Why come here? Lima Municipal Court Judge John Payne came to Lima from Youngstown, and he's glad he did. But Payne is uncertain how many new attorneys will follow that path. "I've been blessed to be in Lima, but unless you're from Lima, why would you come here?" Payne said. "I think a lot of new graduates are heading to the larger metropolitan areas. They can probably make more money, but I'm not sure they're taking into account the high cost of living." In the mean time, the pool of local attorneys is contracting due to retirements and deaths. "I've got about six people who are willing to take court appointments," Payne said. "And even those take a lot of urging." Payne was happy to report that the poorest of Allen County residents are suffering the least, even as local attorney numbers decline. "I think we have the best public defender representation we've ever had. The full-time county public defenders office is representing indigent clients very adequately. I think it's the best it's ever been," Payne said. In that vein, Kohlrieser gave a shout out to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who she said has "really tried to make indigent defense a priority." But without enough lawyers, people will still struggle to navigate the legal system, according to the state bar association. "This shortage doesn't just inconvenience Ohioans — it denies them their legal rights," Augsburger said. Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former tennis player Kerber is pregnant again
The former tennis player Angelique Kerber is pregnant again, the German said on Instagram on Thursday. Kerber will welcome her second child after giving birth to daughter Liana in February 2023. "Counting down the days for someone special to arrive in our family," she wrote under a picture with Liana. Her management team confirmed the pregnancy to dpa. Kerber took a break from tennis following her first pregnancy and returned to the courts around a year after giving birth to Liana. She participated in the Paris Olympics last summer and reached the quarter-finals, losing to eventual gold medal winner Zheng Qinwen of China. After the Games, she ended her professional career. The former world number one has three Grand Slam titles from wins at the Australian Open, the US Open and Wimbledon.
