About me

My decision towards university studies in chemical engineering was made during an internship in the former Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. Soon after the beginning of my studies in 2006, I chose to major in food process engineering. This way, I could expand my background in biology from school by food chemistry, nutritional science and sensory analysis.
During my student's thesis, I was involved in the development of measuring techniques in extrusion processing. In parallel, I worked as a research assistant in the emulsification group of the institute.
Finally, I concluded my studies in the third core area of the institute:
thermophysical food processing. This led to my diploma thesis on the influence of effervescent atomization on emulsions.

Scientific interests

The knowledge I gathered during my diploma studies piqued my interest in atomization technology and spray drying as a whole, with a focus on atomization of emulsions. For over three years now, I have been investigating the process of emulsification during atomization in my postgraduate studies. During this time, I have been involved in a project in a research program of the German Research Foundation (DFG) (http://lvt.blt.kit.edu/21_1208.php), which enabled me to get a insights into other aspects of atomization and spray drying as well as the simulation of the respective processes.

Professional tools

In order to study the atomization of emulsions, I utilize a modular atomization test rig, in which different types of atomizers (pressure atomizers and pneumatic atomizers) may be employed. This setup, enables online spray droplet size distribution measurement via laser diffraction (Malvern Spraytec) as well as offline oil droplet size distribution measurement (again via laser diffraction spectroscopy). Finally, two spray dryers are available in the institute, which allows to study the industrial applicability of the atomizers.