Bringing science to industry within the biogas world.

My research focusses on controller development for biogas plants. We develop state observers and robust-adaptive control algorithms to facilitate a more flexible operation of biogas plants in two aspects: demand-oriented biogas and power production, as well as more flexible usage of substrates, with a strong focus on residues instead of purpose-grown crops.We perform lab and pilot-scale tests to assess the achieved controller performance.

I taught two classes during my master's degree at TUM: The first one was Control Systems. In sessions of 90 minutes, I reviewed the core concepts of the lecture content infront of groups of up to 40 students. During these sessions, the students were asked to compute brief introductory examples of the covered concepts. The second class was Thermal Process Technology. A group of up to 20 students was asked to calculate weekly exercise sheets to foster their theoretical knowledge by means of practical examples. My task as the tutor was to assist students in case of difficulties and explain the main concepts of the lecture. During the Covid pandemic, this course was taught online, so was the tutorial.

Two aspects were notable in this student job: First, I got to teach 90-minute, weekly classes infront of up to 30 students. The syllabus contained the theoretical foundations and calculation methods of engineering design. Second, I adviced students in their design projects. This included marking their submissions and providing constructive feedback as well.

Arensis was a tech startup which specialized on developing and operating gasifiers fueled with wood pellets. During my internship, I worked on installing a hammer mill for pellet production in LA. I also worked on a concept of a dryer for food samples. Additionally, I did research on development programs for renewable energy systems. During a 1-month stay in Liverpool (UK), I assisted in assembling new gasifiers and maintaining operational ones. Finally, I spent one month at their main engineering office based in Pfaffenhofen, Bavaria, Germany. Here I was introduced to welding and reading electrical circuit plans. Moreover, we conducted gasifier test runs using wood chips instead of pellets.