Diana in Aachen

Secondments are a fundamental part of the European projects because they give the opportunity to use complementary equipment of academic and industrial partners.

I had the pleasure to do my first secondment at RWTH Aachen University – Germany. I went there initially for the RTC1_Part2 about “Corrosion of Refractory Materials”, and after that I stayed a further two months (October – November 2018) for my secondment.

This first experience was very fruitful. Thanks to the help of ATHOR ESRs Ilona Kieliba, Vahid Tadaion, Efstathios Kyrilis, my secondment mentor Thorsten Tonnesen and the entire GHI department, I really enjoyed every single day of my stay. Sharing the house with Ilona and Klara, walking to the lab, having fun with colleagues and travelling/hiking on the weekends, it was amazing. I could not ask for a better start.

The main purpose of this period was to work with the hot wire technique in order to compare the results with the laser flash technique used at IRCER-Limoges. At the same time, I worked on microstructure analysis with the help of experienced technicians.

The secondment in Aachen was very productive and it allowed me to build nice working and personal relationships. Furthermore, I did not lose the opportunity to travel and enjoy the beauties of Germany like the Aachen Christmas market, the Lindt factory, furnace hall cinema and many many nice landscapes.

This project has received funding
from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant
agreement no.764987