This year's candidates included 5 candidates who either speak Italian or have studied Italian, which is why the Italian consul in Koper, Mr. Giovanni Coviello, also attended the award ceremony.

A total of 18 candidates were therefore promoted at the two ceremonies: 

• dr. Silvija Komočar,
• dr. Arianna Carta,
• dr. Metka Malčić,
• dr. Maria Rosaria Graziano,
• dr. Rok Kobal,
• dr. Annalisa Brichese,
• dr. Vesna Vojvoda Gorjan,
• dr. Mirjana Kontestabile Rovis,
• dr. Nuwan Tharanga Attygalle,
• dr. Elham Motamedi Mohammadabadi,
• dr. Žiga Peljko,
• dr. Sanja Dolenec,
• dr. Kaja Kastelic,
• dr. Mariem Zouari,
• dr. Nevena Pivač in
• dr. Nina Krohne.

In an (excused) absence graduated: dr. Ivan Smiljanić and dr. Cuauhtli Campos Mijangos.

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At UP FAMNIT in UP IAM six new Doctors of Science:

Nuwan Tharanga Attygalle, who defended his doctoral dissertation at the UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies entitled »Improving interaction with radar-based gesture recognition when sensing through materials« under the mentorship of izr. prof. dr. Klen Čopič Pucihar and co-mentorship of izr. prof. dr. Matjaž Kljun.

 

Doctoral dissertation summary

 

»Improving interaction with radar-based gesture recognition when sensing through materials«

Gesture recognition with miniaturized millimeter-wave radar sensors has gained attention due to affordable radar chips and advances in deep learning. However, challenges remain, particularly in detecting gestures through materials. This thesis addresses these issues by identifying material properties affecting radar signals and developing a robust gesture classifier that works across various materials. Key contributions include optimizing the training process, minimizing the number of required materials, and demonstrating high-accuracy gesture detection on tangible objects.

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Elham Motamedi Mohammadabadi, who defended her doctoral dissertation at the UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies entitled  »User and Item Modelling Using Eudaimonic and Hedonic Characteristics for Personalised Recommender Systems« under the mentorship of izr. prof. dr. Marko Tkalčič and co-mentorship of izr. prof. dr. Mehdi Elahi.

 

Doctoral dissertation summary

»User and Item Modelling Using Eudaimonic and Hedonic Characteristics for Personalised Recommender Systems«

In this PhD work, the impact of integrating psychology-informed features, particularly eudaimonic and hedonic experiences, into recommendation systems was explored. The potential for incorporating these qualities into state-of-the-art algorithms to enhance personalised recommendations has been demonstrated. Additionally, automatic models were developed to predict these characteristics for both users and items. The work provides a foundation for future efforts to use these insights in creating more explainable and interpretable recommendations.

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Cuauhtli Campos Mijangos, who defended his doctoral dissertation at the UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies entitled »Designing Interactive Paper Displays by Interlacing Physical and Digital Content Using Horizontal Touchscreens« under the mentorship of izr. prof. dr. Klen Čopič Pucihar and co-mentorship of izr. prof. dr. Matjaž Kljun.

 

Doctoral dissertation summary

»Designing Interactive Paper Displays By Interlacing Physical And Digital Content Using Horizontal Touchscreens«

This thesis investigates methods for seamlessly integrating paper with digital content by addressing the limitations of existing systems, particularly the lack of tools and hardware that facilitate interactions between physical and digital realms. In this context, this work introduces several innovative paper display technologies: Dynamic Pinhole Paper, which enhances the resolution of digital content on a paper screen; LightMeUp, a technology that allows for multi-stable visuals on printed content using pre-printed designs; Hybrid Stylus, a novel tool designed to support interaction with both paper and tablet interfaces.

These contributions aim to enhance the interactivity and display quality of interactive paper systems, ultimately bridging the gap between paper and digital media.

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Mariem Zouari, who defended her doctoral dissertation at the UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies entitled »Biocarbon-based waterborne functional coating for integrated adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of indoor volatile organic compounds« under the mentorship of izr. prof. dr. David DeVallance and co-mentorship of znan. sod. dr. Laetitie Marrot,

Doctoral dissertation summary

»Biocarbon-based waterborne functional coating for integrated adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of indoor volatile organic compounds«

The doctoral dissertation aimed to optimize the preparation of porous photocatalytic biocarbon for application in functional depolluting coatings to improve indoor air quality. The research focused on preparing biocarbon with tailored properties for optimal adsorption of formaldehyde, a common indoor air pollutant. Then, different methodologies were employed to develop and characterize an efficient adsorbent-photocatalyst system, specifically biocarbon-MnO2 hybrid particles. The photocatalytic biocarbon particles were successfully used to develop a functional coating for wood protection and indoor air remediation.

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Nevena Pivač, who defended her doctoral dissertation at the UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies entitled  »Structure and algorithms for graph classes: new results on minimal separators and independent sets« under the mentorship of prof. dr. Martin Milanič.

 

Doctoral dissertation summary

»Structure and algorithms for graph classes: new results on minimal separators and independent sets«

 

 

The first part of the doctoral dissertation examines minimal separators in a graph, which are sets of vertices whose removal disconnects two predetermined vertices and are minimal under inclusion. Classes of graphs having small number of minimal separators are characterized, along with significant impact on algorithm development in these graph classes. Structural and algorithmic properties are provided for graph classes where every minimal separator is a union of two sets of pairwise adjacent vertices, generalizing known results on chordal graphs. In the second part of the dissertation the results concerning algorithmic problems related to finding the maximum independent set in a graph are presented.

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Nina Krohne, who defended her doctoral dissertation at the UP Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies entitled »Suicidal Behavior in Women: the Role of Intimate Partner Violence and Resilience to Suicidality« under the mentorship of prof. dr. Vita Poštuvan and co-mentorship of prof. dr. Diego De Leo.

 

Doctoral dissertation summary

»Suicidal Behavior in Women: The Role of Intimate Partner Violence and Resilience to Suicidality«

 

 

The doctoral candidate explored the fundamental mechanisms of suicidal behavior in intimate partner violence survivors, with a particular focus on previously under-researched risk factors and resilience. This cross-sectional study includes a representative sample of 1,016 adult women from Slovenia. Employing robust statistical methods, including network and cluster analysis, the candidate highlighted the protective role of social support and developed a matrix model that serves as a theoretical foundation for interventions aimed at enhancing the mental health of women exposed to intimate partner violence.

We sincerely congratulate all the newly promoted doctors of science!