Early stage researchers (ESRs) / PhD Students (m/f/d)

Gülce is currently working as a PhD student within the MSCA-ITN-EID FlotSim project. Her focus is contributing to a better understanding of flotation through particle-bubble attachment and detachment as one of the vital microprocesses to flotation.

Gülce, as a woman mining engineer, deeply believes that mining and mineral processing lie at the heart of the societies and in constant advancement to keep up with the global economic growth via effective use of resources and care for the planet.

During her master’s studies at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany, she worked as a student assistant with Processing Department of Helmholtz Institute Freiberg. She found great interest in separation of valuable minerals by flotation, and she had the opportunity to work on bench-scale batch flotation of copper sulfides with a biotechnological approach during her master’s thesis. She is looking forward to figuring out more about complex aspects of flotation with her colleagues in FlotSim project.

Gülce is passionate about learning and scientific discussions. She enjoys public speaking and scientific conferences. She is a curious person and loves being outdoors for a good old adventure with mother nature. 

Benedikt studied Mechanical Engineering with a strong background in computational fluid dynamics. In 2021 he graduated from Imperial College London with a master’s degree in Advanced Mechanical Engineering. In his Master thesis with the title “aero-engine performance with inlet distortion” he performed numerical investigations of an aircraft engine test case under different inlet conditions as part of the NIFTI project under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Before his master’s Benedikt studied for four years mechanical engineering with a focus on production technologies at the University of Applied Sciences Hamburg (Germany). His undergraduate degree was in cooperation with Airbus. During this time, he did several internships in different departments at Airbus, most notably in the design office for environmental control systems in Hamburg (Germany) as well as in the setup and implementation of a new production facility in Filton (UK). During his undergraduate studies, Benedikt also spent a semester abroad at the University of Pittsburgh (USA). Besides study and work, Benedikt is an active member in his local church, for example by volunteering in leading youth groups and being a member of the church council. 

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Hifsa has her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from UAE University in collaboration with University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada. Her internship at Schlumberger and summer research in the biochemistry department inspired her to pursue her master’s degree in Molecular Bioengineering at TU Dresden where she could study processes at a molecular level to design sustainable solutions. For her master thesis, Hifsa studied the 2D permeability of carbon fiber preforms as lightweight construction material at the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research, Dresden. She also gained experience in optics and microscopy while working part-time in the Light Microscopy Facility at the Max Planck Institute (CBG) Dresden.

Besides academics, Hifsa is passionate about women working in STEM fields and has been an active member of the Lise-Meitner-Gesellschaft in Dresden, Germany. There she helped organized meetups and local conferences to encourage open dialog and cultural exchange. She sees FlotSim as a great opportunity to appreciate the synergy of academia and industry and is excited for this new endeavor. In her free time, Hifsa enjoys cooking and baking foods from various regions. She also plays squash and goes for runs to explore new trails and meet people along the way. 

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Vikrant is graduated with a master's degree from Aalborg University in Denmark, with a specialization in Thermal Energy and Process Engineering. He has completed his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from University of Mumbai, India. His expertise lies in the field of fluid dynamics which includes development of Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) codes and optimization techniques for the constant improvement of machines. He has also worked before with the FLSmidth group, in the Airtech department as an Intern and Master thesis student. His topic of research was to develop an experimental method to determine the wear on the surface of fabric used in the Fabric Filters and validate it through CFD analysis.

Furthermore, Vikrant will be pursuing his PhD under the project title called as FlotSim, a Marie-Curie fellowship program, and jointly hosted by FLSmidth and TU Dresden. The primary focus of his research will be based on the topic “Prediction of turbulent flow properties,” where he will be developing certain techniques to have a deeper understanding of the turbulence phenomenon caused in the flotation cells. He is also an active participant of Danish Society for Industrial Fluid Dynamics (DANSIS) and alumni of Mechanical Engineering Student Association (MESA). Apart from work, Vikrant also likes to swim, play football, and update his social networking.  

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Following graduation, he worked at the Université de Liège for 1 year where he helped organize “Minerals in the Loop” Conference (MITL 2020) and restructured a course, before starting as a research engineer to work on Li-ion battery recycling with a particular focus on characterization, mechanical processing, and electrodynamic fragmentation. Additionally, Ali is also an active alumni member, serving mandate as the president of EIT RawMaterials Alumni and a board member of EIT Alumni for a period of 2 years (2020-2022). Outside work, he loves playing cricket, cooking, socializing & networking, BBQs, and getting lost in nature.

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