Hi! I'm YESP member Monica Keszler. I previously worked as a PhD student at the Institute for Materials and Devices: Materials Synthesis and Processing (IMD-2) under the direction of Apl.- Prof. Martin Bram. There, I worked in utilizing field assisted sintering technology/spark plasma sintering (FAST/SPS) as a method of directly recycling hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B magnets and tool steel swarf. Currently, I work as a postdoc in the Institute for Fusion and Nuclear Research: Plasma Physics (IFN-1) developing oxidation resistant alloys for fusion or solar applications.

FAST/SPS is a special sintering technique that uses electrical current as a heating method to sinter materials. It is capable of heating rates of over 100 K/min, allowing for short sintering times. This can allow fine microstructures to be developed or controlled within materials, and it can trap particles into matrices to form composites. These special functions made FAST/SPS attractive to use as a recycling method, as it has the potential to keep special microstructures in-tact during particle consolidation, and it can form special, new materials from metal scrap contaminated with ceramic waste.

In my new position, I am now using FAST/SPS as a synthesis tool to develop new alloys with fine microstructures. It's possible that, one day, future fusion reactors will be lined with materials developed at FZJ.

In addition to my scientific work, I am also passionate about science communication. I have worked for several years in collaboration with Northeastern University to illustrate comics introducing students K-12 to chemical engineering, along with producing pedagogical comics for the journal of Chemical Engineering Education.