iL-CURRENT
March 19, 2024
Irene Brunetti: Research scattered throughout Europe
Irene Brunetti is part of the HORATES doctoral program. She is a PhD student of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) for the HORATES project, researches and works in the iL premises. The HORATES project is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN). This project trains the next generation of R&D innovators in the field of hybrid and organic thermoelectrics and develops prototypes of energy harvesting systems based on actual market demand.
"Everyone has their own role within the project; my aim is to develop a prototype organic thermoelectric generator that uses large-scale processes," says Irene. The 15 young scientists meet every six months to discuss the current status and talk about the project and their own results. The last meeting took place in Milan in November.
Practical work
Born in Italy, she studied electrical engineering in Pisa for her Bachelor's and Master's degrees. She enjoys the applied work and loves spending time in the laboratory. "At school, I particularly liked physics, chemistry and all scientific subjects." In the end, Irene opted for electrical engineering. Together with the KIT research group, she uses the iL facilities, such as the Clean Room, to conduct her research.
At the moment, the organic components do not yet provide enough power for a specific application, but as the project is also a hybrid technology, Irene is currently also working with inorganic materials. "I'm not a materials scientist, so it's a bit difficult for me to develop suitable materials from scratch," she says, "but I'm getting better with time."
As she is the only one working on her project in the InnovationLab in Heidelberg, she cooperates with other research groups. Professor Uli Lemmer, the scientific director of the iL, has a thermoelectric doctoral group at KIT with which Irene is in contact. She also works with Professor Martijn Kemerink, who is the coordinator and spokesperson for HORATES.
In Milan and Barcelona
Some of the current iL visitors are doing research with Irene, others are busy writing their thesis. Irene has also visited other research sites of the project; she has been to Milan and Barcelona. In Milan, she was able to characterize the organic components she had produced in the InnovationLab's clean room, using advanced measuring instruments that the InnovationLab does not have. In Barcelona, she worked on the development of an electronic interface that can be used with inorganic components to increase the output voltage.
On the home straight
The EU-funded project is currently in its final stages. Irene's three-year project ends in May. She still has three months to complete her project. Unfortunately, she won't be able to complete it, she says. She hopes to be able to stay a little longer to write her dissertation and carry out some final research. "That also depends a bit on Uli Lemmer," says Irene, as he is responsible for her doctoral thesis as her supervisor. When the project began, it was Wolfgang Kowalsky, who has since retired.
And afterwards? Does Irene want to stay in research? "I don't think so, I like the idea of the research project with the collaboration of many different people and fields, but I think I will look for a company in Italy. But first I want to finish my doctoral thesis and some scientific articles," says Irene.
Text: Hannah Gieser, Communications Department
Joachim Klaehn
Head of Communications
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