News
Successful Doctoral Thesis Defense of Frances Lenahan
(November 17, 2023) Congratulations to Frances D. Lenahan for her successful doctoral thesis defense today! Frances presented her work entitled “Diffusion in Liquids with Dissolved Gases by Dynamic Light Scattering Experiments, Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Simulations, and Prediction Models”. We thank her for all her contributions to the AOT-TP team and wish her all the best for her future!
AOT-TP at Schnupper-Uni
(November 03, 2023) AOT-TP was present at the Schnupperuni on October 31, 2023 where pupils had the chance to attend their first lectures and get an idea on research at universities. For AOT-TP, Bara’a Al-khateeb, Francisco Bioucas and Thomas M. Koller showed our DLS setup for the measurement of viscosity via particle scattering and tried to explain the phenomenon of viscosity to the interested pupils.
AOT-TP Team Presenting at the Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2023
(October 24, 2023) On the occasion of the Nacht der Wissenschaften 2023, the team of AOT-TP has shown live experiments to answer the question why whisky lubricates the throat better than pure water or pure alcohol. Capillary viscometry and dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiments realized and used at AOT-TP were employed to measure the viscosity of mixtures of water and alcohol. More than 750 visitors used the opportunity to get an insight into thermophyiscal property research at AOT-TP and learn about the interesting behaviour of water-alcohol-mixtures. Do you know what is special about them in terms of viscosity?
AOT-TP Seminar Program for the Winter Term 2023/2024 Available
(October 12, 2023) The AOT-TP seminar program for the winter term 2023/2024 is available. It includes talks from students summarizing their theses, from doctoral candidates presenting their latest research results as well as from further academic guests.
Hiking Tour in October 2023
(October 12, 2023) With lovely sunny weather and corresponding mood, members of AOT-TP went for a hiking tour in the beautiful wineyards around Volkach on October 02, 2023. The tour included several stops at viewpoints, sights, for a wine tasting, a ferry ride over the Main river, and a lot of sun and fun.
AOT-TP at the Thermodynamik-Kolloquium 2023
(October 12, 2023) The AOT-TP team contributed with several talks and posters to the Thermodynamik-Kolloquium held in September 2023 in Hannover. The presenters and titles of these contributions are given in the following:
- Francisco E. Berger Bioucas: Measurement and Prediction of the Effective Thermal Conductivity of Dispersions with a Continuous Liquid Phase
- Thomas M. Koller: Surface Light Scattering for the Analysis of Molecular Surface Orientation Effects
- Patrick S. Schmidt: Determination of Mutual Diffusivities by the Shadowgraph Method
- Julius H. Jander: Optical Methology for the Characterization of Fluids Relevant for Hydrogen Storage and Transport
- Tobias Klein: Influence of the Molecular Structure of the Solvent on Diffusive Mass Transport in Binary Electrolyte Systems by Dynamic Light Scattering and Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Running Team in Action – Always up to Date
(October 06, 2023) A big team of AOT-TP joined the “Lauf gegen den Krebs 2023” in the Schlossgarten of Erlangen. Frances Lenahan, Chathura Kankanamge, Saad Idrees, Thomas Koller, Tobias Klein and Michael Rausch contributed with in total almost 60 rounds (about 50 km) to donations related to this benefit run.
(October 03, 2023) Frances Lenahan, Saad Idrees and Tobias Klein finished successfully the 10 km run of the Nürnberg City Run 2023.
(September 29, 2023) Frances Lenahan finished in 3rd place of the women’s 7 km Karpfenweiherlauf (carp pond run) 2023 in Möhrendorf – Congratulations! Saad Idrees, Tobias Klein and Michael Rausch were not that successful, but enjoyed the beautiful 11 km run through forest trails and between carp ponds.
(September 16, 2023) The AOT-TP team took part in the “Lauf in die Mönau” 2023. While Pranay Kumar Chittem started in the 5 km run, Frances Lenahan, Saad Idrees, Tobias Klein and Michael Rausch did the 10 km event.
(April 05, 2023) Frances Lenahan, Johanna Hofmann, Julius Kühl and Tobias Klein took part in the Winterwaldlauf 2023 as the AOT-TP team and finished in 6th place of the team event of the 10 km run.
(March 14, 2023) Several members of AOT-TP took part in the Colon Cancer Run 2023 in the Schlossgarten of Erlangen. This run is meant to set an example for bowel cancer prevention within the framework of the Bowel Cancer Month March. Thus, the run is part of the prevention project “Bowel Cancer Month March” with the aim to draw attention to the important bowel cancer prevention.
ECTP-Netzsch Young Scientist Award 2023 for Thomas M. Koller
(September 14, 2023) The renowned ECTP-Netzsch Young Scientist Award 2023 was granted to Thomas M. Koller on September 12, 2023 during the 22nd European Conference on Thermophysical Properties (ECTP) in Venice, Italy. The award recognizes Thomas’ exceptional scientific achievements in the thermophysical properties research. Congratulations for this outstanding honor! Some impressions of the award ceremony are given below.
SAOT Student Award 2023 for Julius H. Jander
(August 16, 2023) The SAOT Student Award 2023 in the topic Optical Metrology was transferred upon Julius H. Jander within the Rethinking Photonics event on March 30, 2023. The award acknowledges Julius’s first authorship of the high-ranked publication “Determination of hydrogen loading in the carrier system diphenylmethane/dicyclohexylmethane by depolarized Raman spectroscopy” in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. The paper is co-authored by Manuel Kerscher, Shao Li, Michael H. Rausch, Peter Wasserscheid and Andreas P. Fröba.
Audience Award for Excellent Teaching to Thomas M. Koller
(July 06, 2023) Congratulations to Thomas M. Koller for receiving the 6. Audience Award for Excellent Teaching from the Student Representative Initiative CBI LSE CEN EnTe (FSI CBI) on the occasion of the initiative’s summer party. With this award, the students acknowledge the high quality of the lecture courses in Engineering Thermodynamics and Thermo-fluid Dynamics in Biotechnology given by Dr. Koller.
Particle-Diffusion Paper on Journal Front Cover
(May 19, 2023) We are happy to announce that our paper “Diffusion of gold nanoparticles in porous silica monoliths determined by dynamic light scattering” originating from a collaboration within the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centre 1411 “Design of Particulate Systems” has been selected to serve for the design of the front cover of volume 644 of the renowned Journal of Colloid and Interface Science.
Hiking Tour in April 2023
(April 27, 2023) Members of AOT-TP went for a hiking tour from Erlangen to the Antoniuskapelle Lauberberg on April 23. After a relaxed coffee, the hike started towards the halftime break in Weisendorf.
On the way, we sent a music wish to BR Schlager, which was kindly granted with a wonderful introduction from the radio host Michael Philipp Strassmann. Enjoy this introduction produced and provided by courtesy of BR Schlager by clicking here.
After a sunny refreshment in Weisendorf, the final stage through the beautiful carp-pond landscape brought us to the final destination of this tour.
Exercise Given by AOT-TP Members in Top Ranking auf FAU Evaluation
(January 20, 2023) The exercise “Engineering Thermodynamics II for ET and CE” (category ÜP20) given by Tobias Klein and Maximilian Piszko is included in the top ranking of the FAU teaching evaluation for the summer term 2022.
AOT-TP at Schnupper-Uni
(November 03, 2022) AOT-TP was present at the Schnupperuni on October 31, 2022 where pupils had the chance to attend their first lectures and get an idea on research at universities. For AOT-TP, Frances Lenahan, Francisco Bioucas and Thomas M. Koller showed our capillary viscometers for the measurement of viscosity and tried to explain the underlying phenomenon to the interested pupils.
ATPC 2022 Best Presentation Award for Tobias Klein
(October 14, 2022) Tobias Klein was awarded with the Best Presentation Award of the Asian Thermophysical Properties Conference 2022. Tobias presented the contribution “Viscosity and Interfacial Tension of Long Linear or Branched Alkanes, Alcohols, and their Mixtures with Dissolved Gases” co-authored by Frances D. Lenahan, Manuel Kerscher, Ziwen Zhai, Thomas M. Koller, Michael H. Rausch, and Andreas P. Fröba.
Successful Doctoral Thesis Defense of Matthias Knoll
(October 07, 2022) Congratulations to Matthias S. G. Knoll for his successfully defended doctoral thesis entitled “Characterization of Heterogeneous Systems via the Determination of the Translational Diffusion Coefficient by Dynamic Light Scattering” today! We thank him for all his contributions to the AOT-TP team and wish him all the best for his future!
AOT-TP Team Presenting at the Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2022
(May 30, 2022) On the occasion of the Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2022, the team of AOT-TP explained by means of viscosity measurements based on dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiments why whisky lubricates the throat better than pure water or pure alcohol.
Successful Doctoral Thesis Defense of Tobias Klein
(January 28, 2022) Congratulations to Tobias Klein who successfully defended his doctoral thesis entitled “Thermophysical Properties of Liquids with Dissolved Gases as Working Fluids in Chemical and Energy Engineering” today! We are happy that he will further contribute to the mission of AOT-TP as post-doc! The picture below shows Tobias with the doctoral hat prepared by his colleagues.
WATT Studienpreis 2021 for Julius H. Jander
(September 29, 2021) The WATT Studienpreis 2021 for excellent student theses in the field of engineering thermodynamics was awarded to Julius H. Jander in connection with his Master thesis entitled “Solubility and density measurements as well as the calibration of Raman spectroscopy for liquid organic hydrogen carrier/hydrogen systems”. The screenshot given below was taken during the award ceremony on September 27, 2021 within the Thermodynamik-Kolloquium 2021. Within this online event, the two award winners were announced by the head of WATT e.V. (Wissenschaftlicher Arbeitskreis Technische Thermodynamik e.V., Scientific Working Party for Engineering Thermodynamics), Burak Atakan.
SAOT Student Award 2021 for Maximilian Piszko
(July 15, 2021) The SAOT Student Award 2021 in the topic Optical Metrology was transferred upon Maximilian Piszko within the online award ceremony held on July 15, 2021. The award acknowledges Max’s first authorship of the high-ranked publication “Dynamic light scattering for studying mutual diffusion coefficients in electrolyte systems comprised entirely of ions” in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society. The paper is co-authored by Chathura J. Kankanamge, Michael H. Rausch, Tobias Klein and Andreas P. Fröba.
AOT-TP Presenting at the 21st Symposium on Thermophysical Properties
(May 25, 2021) AOT-TP will contribute with 12 talks from recent research to the 21st Symposium on Thermophysical Properties held on June 20 to 25, 2021. This year, this major international conference in this field usually taking place in Boulder, CO, USA is organized as an online conference. An overview of the topics and the corresponding presenters is given in the figure below.
Successful Doctoral Thesis Defense of Ubaya A. Higgoda
(September 24, 2020) Congratulations to Ubaya A. Higgoda for passing his doctoral thesis defense successfully on September 22, 2020! His talk given via video conference from his home country, Sri Lanka, covered the topic “”Improvement of the predictive power of molecular dynamics simulations for the determination of transport properties demonstrated for selected fluid systems” and was attended, in addition to the examination committee, by his colleagues, family members and friends online. For AOT-TP, this dissertation is a special one because Ubaya A. Higgoda is the first doctoral candidate who performed his complete research contributing to his thesis at the still young institute. The photographs given below show the happy candidate celebrating with his family (with nonalcoholic drinks) after the announcement of the result as well as the doctoral hat prepared by his colleagues at AOT-TP and presented within an entertaining speech.
SAOT Student Award 2020 for Matthias S. G. Knoll
(July 16, 2020) The SAOT Student Award 2020 in the topic Optical Metrology was transferred upon Matthias S. G. Knoll within the online award ceremony held on July 16, 2020. The award acknowledges Matthias’ first authorship of the high-ranked publication “Simultaneous study of molecular and micelle diffusion in a technical microemulsion system by dynamic light scattering” in the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science which is co-authored by Cédric Giraudet, Christian J. Hahn, Michael H. Rausch and Andreas P. Fröba.
AOT-TP Members in New Editorial Board of the International Journal of Thermophysics
(Januar 08, 2020) AOT-TP is represented well in the reformed Editorial Board of the International Journal of Thermophysics. While Andreas P. Fröba still serves as a Senior Editor, Michael H. Rausch has been appointed an Associate Editor and Thomas M. Koller contributes in the Advisory Editorial Board.
AOT-TP Team Presenting at the Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2019
(October 23, 2019) On the occasion of the Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2019, the team of AOT-TP explained by means of viscosity measurements based on capillary viscometry and dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiments why whisky lubricates the throat better than pure water or pure alcohol. During the event, we were happy to be a station for the VIP tour including the President of FAU and the Bavarian Secretary of the Interior Joachim Herrmann.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas P. Fröba Appointed to Executive Committee of IATP
(September 23, 2019) The head of AOT-TP, Andreas P. Fröba, has been voted by the current Executive to join the Executive Committee of the International Association of Transport Properties.
Best Poster Award at the Diffusion Fundamentals VIII Conference for Frances D. Lenahan
(September 05, 2019) The Second Best Poster Award within the international conference Diffusion Fundamentals VIII held in Erlangen was transferred upon Frances D. Lenahan. She presented the contribution “Improvement of a transferable force field for the prediction of self-diffusivity, viscosity, surface tension, and density of long-chained linear and branched alkanes and alcohols up to 573 K by molecular dynamics simulations” co-authored by Tobias Klein, Thomas M. Koller and Andreas P. Fröba. The participants of the conference were asked to consider the quality of the poster pitch, the personal discussion at the poster, the quality of the scientific work and the style of the poster.
ETI Grant for Dr.-Ing. Thomas M. Koller
(July 01, 2019) Thomas M. Koller has been granted support for the project “Properties of the gas-liquid interface of surface-enhanced SILP systems” from the Emerging Talents Initiative of FAU. With this initiative, FAU aims to identify and promote outstanding projects and talents at an early stage. It is designed to support excellent postdoctoral researchers by providing them with an opportunity to develop scientific independence and establish themselves in their field of research.
AOT-TP at the International Conference on Advanced Optical Technologies in March 2019
(March 20, 2019) The doctoral candidates of AOT-TP contributed with seven talks to the International Conference on Advanced Optical Technologies International Conference on Advanced Optical Technologies held in Erlangen from March 13 to 15, 2019. In addition, Thomas M. Koller and Cédric Giraudet chaired in total four sessions on Optical Metrology. As one of the social events within the conference, a dinner took place where also the contributing members of AOT-TP enjoyed the evening.
AOT-TP at the Day of the Faculty of Engineering
(December 17, 2018) Cédric Giraudet and Thomas M. Koller presented some pieces of AOT-TP research on occasion of the Day of the Faculty of Engineering on November 16, 2018.
AOT-TP at Schnupper-Uni
(December 17, 2018) AOT-TP was present at the Schnupperuni on October 31, 2018 where pupils had the chance to attend their first lectures and get an idea on research at universities. For AOT-TP, Maximilian Piszko and Thomas M. Koller showed our DLS setup for the measurement of viscosity via particle scattering and tried to explain the phenomenon of viscosity to the interested pupils.
Lecture and Exercise Given by AOT-TP Members in Top Ranking auf FAU Evaluation
(October 05, 2018) The lecture “Engineering Thermodynamics II for ET and CE” given by Andreas P. Fröba (category VP5) as well as the corresponding exercises given by Tobias Klein and Maximilian Piszko (category ÜP5) are both included in the top ranking of the FAU teaching evaluation.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Andreas P. Fröba Awarded as a High-End Foreign Talent of Shanxi Province
(September 17, 2018) Andreas P. Fröba has been awarded as a High-End Foreign Talent of Shanxi Province, China, which can also be regarded as a guest professorship at the Taiyuan University of Technology. This honor originates from an ongoing cooperation with Dr. Guanjia Zhao from Taiyuan University, who has been visiting our institute twice for several months as a guest scientist. The corresponding certificate was conferred by Mr. Luo Huining, Secretary of the CPC Shanxi Provincial Committee, during the “Symposium über Wirtschaft, Handel, akademischen Austausch und unternehmerische Aktivitäten mit der chinesischen Province Shanxi in Deutschland” (Symposium on Economy, Trade, Academic Exchange, and Entrepreneurial Activities with the Chinese Province Shanxi in Germany) in Berlin on September 5, 2018.
2018 SPIE-FAU Best Thesis Award for Maximilian Piszko
(July 04, 2018) Maximilian Piszko received the 2018 SPIE-FAU Best Thesis Award from the SPIE Student Chapter at FAU for his Master thesis entitled “Mass Diffusion Coefficients of Mixtures Related to Fuels with Biogenic Components by Dynamic Light Scattering” performed at AOT-TP. We are happy that Max continues his successful work as a doctoral candidate at AOT-TP.
AOT-TP Research Team at Symposium on Thermophysical Properties
(June 29, 2018) The research team of AOT-TP has successfully contributed to the 18th Meeting of the International Association of Transport Properties and the 20th Symposium on Thermophysical Properties held in Boulder, Colorado from June 24 to 29, 2018. In total, 12 talks have been given by AOT-TP members. Another highlight of the conference was the ceremony where the 2018 Yeram S. Touloukian Award has been conferred upon Prof. Alfred Leipertz. Some impressions from the conference are given below.
Dr.-Ing. Thomas M. Koller and Dr. Cédric Giraudet Elected as Members of IATP
(June 29, 2018) The group leaders of AOT-TP, Cédric Giraudet and Thomas M. Koller, have been elected as members of the International Association of Transport Properties on the occasion of its 18th Meeting in Boulder, CO on June 24, 2018. Together with Andreas P. Fröba and Michael H. Rausch, AOT-TP is now represented with four members within this well-recognized committee.
AOT-TP at Markttage des Wissens in Nürnberg
(June 29, 2018) After the events in Erlangen and Fürth, AOT-TP has also contributed to the “Markttag des Wissens” (Market Day of Knowledge) held on the Hauptmarkt of Nuremberg on June 9, 2018. Some impressions are given below.
AOT-TP at Markttage des Wissens in Fürth
(May 29, 2018) Following up the event in Erlangen, AOT-TP has also contributed to the “Markttag des Wissens” (Market Day of Knowledge) held on the station square in Fürth on May 26, 2018. Some impressions are given below.
AOT-TP at Markttage des Wissens in Erlangen
(May 11, 2018) AOT-TP has contributed to the first “Markttag des Wissens” (Market Day of Knowledge) on the occasion of the 275th birthday of FAU held on the market place in Erlangen on May 5, 2018. Besides giving general information on the research performed at the institute, live demonstrations on what viscosity is and how it can measured with conventional and optical methods have been offered to the interested visitors. In particular, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) experiments were employed to answer the question why whisky lubricates the throat better than pure water or pure alcolohol. AOT-TP will also be present at the further “Markttage des Wissens” on the Bahnhofsplatz of Fürth on May 26 and on the Hauptmarkt of Nürnberg on June 9. Some impressions from the event in Erlangen are given below. Further impressions also from our activities can be found in, e.g., the television contribution broadcasted by Frankenfernsehen TV and the online articles and photo galleries published on the Marktspiegel or the FAU websites.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Andreas P. Fröba Elected as a Member of FPS
(December 18, 2017) The Interdisciplinary Center for Functional Particle Systems (FPS) of FAU has elected Andreas P. Fröba as a new member. Aim of FPS is to develop innovative methods and processes to generate, formulate, and apply particles (building blocks) with tailored size, shape, and structure as well as customized surface properties. Based on the cross-sectional topic of particles, FPS brings together chemical engineering, materials science, chemistry, physics, and medicine.
2018 Yeram S. Touloukian Award for Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Alfred Leipertz
(December 07, 2017) The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) announced that the 2018 Yeram S. Touloukian Award will be transferred upon Alfred Leipertz “for internationally recognized leadership in developing optical methods, particularly advanced dynamic light scattering, that have been adopted by laboratories worldwide as reliable tools for measuring a large variety of thermophysical properties.” He will receive the related bronze medal and a certificate during the Twentieth Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, June 24-29, 2018, in Boulder, Colorado. With his support also of the activities of Andreas P. Fröba during the past two decades, Alfred Leipertz paved the way for the development of the dynamic light scattering techniques which are now a major backbone of the research activities at AOT-TP.
Award of the “Freundeskreis der Technischen Fakultät” for Dr.-Ing. Thomas M. Koller
(November 20, 2017) Thomas M. Koller was awarded with the “Promotionspreis des Freundeskreises der Technischen Fakultät” for his doctoral thesis titled “Experimental Investigation and Modeling of Thermophysical Properties of Ionic Liquids in Chemical and Energy Engineering”. He received the award consisting of a certificate and a prize money within the “Day of the School of Engineering of FAU” on November 16, 2017.
MegaWATT Award 2017 for Dr.-Ing. Thomas M. Koller
(September 27, 2017) Thomas M. Koller received the yearly MegaWATT Award of the “Wissenschaftlicher Arbeitskreis Technische Thermodynamik e.V. (WATT)” (Scientific Working Committee Engineering Thermodynamics) for the most outstanding doctoral thesis in Germany in the field of Engineering Thermodynamics. With this award, Dr. Koller’s achievements summarized in his thesis “Experimental Investigation and Modeling of Thermophysical Properties of Ionic Liquids in Chemical and Energy Engineering” were honored. He received the award comprising a certificate and a prize money within the opening ceremony of the Thermodynamik-Kolloquium (Thermodynamics Colloquium) 2017 in Dresden.
Best Poster Award at the Diffusion Fundamentals VII Conference for AOT-TP Co-author Team
(July 7, 2017) The Best Poster Award within the international conference “Diffusion Fundamentals VII” held in Moscow, Russia, was transferred upon the AOT-TP co-author team Cédric Giraudet, Tobias Klein, Michael H. Rausch, Thomas M. Koller, and Andreas P. Fröba for the contribution titled “Mass Diffusivities of Binary Mixtures of Normal Alkanes with Dissolved Gases” (download poster) presented at the conference by Thomas M. Koller.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Andreas P. Fröba Promoted to a Senior Editor of the International Journal of Thermophysics
(June 18, 2017) Andreas P. Fröba has been promoted to a Senior Editor of the International Journal of Thermophysics, where the Editor-in-Chief Andreas Mandelis stated that “this is a token in recognition of your excellent services to, and hard work for, our journal through the years, and the pains you always successfully undertook to keep the quality of published articles high and the time to publication minimal”.