Principal Investigator

Ruth Cardinaels

Associate Professor @ Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology (KU Leuven)

Associate Professor @ Processing and Performance of Materials (TU Eindhoven)

Postdoctoral Researchers

Xiangmeng Li

2022/03-…@ Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology (KU Leuven)

Supervised together with: \

Project: 3D printing of polymeric composite metamaterial microstructures for electromagnetic interference shielding

Dr. Xiangmeng Li received his diploma in 2009 from Xi’an Jiaotong University, and PhD in 2016 from NanoMan Group, State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China. He is currently doing research as a visiting postdoc (funded by China Scholarship Council) in the division of Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology, KU Leuven. Currently, Dr. Li is also an associate professor in North University of China, China. His recent research interests are fabrication and application of functional polymeric microstructures.

Frederik Van Loock

2021/06-…@ Processing and Performance of Materials (TU Eindhoven)

Supervised together with: Prof. Anderson

Project: Design of 3D-structured nanocomposite EMI shields via finite element analysis

My research interests are in the field of mechanics and processing of polymer-based materials, with a special interest in the development of lightweight and multi-functional/smart material concepts.

I obtained an MSc degree in Aerospace Engineering at the TU Delft (NL) and a PhD degree in Engineering at the University of Cambridge (UK).

Google scholar page: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=ZICTEcYAAAAJ

PhD Students

Swaraj Deodhar

2023/01-…@ Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology (KU Leuven)

Supervised together with: Prof. Madivala (IIT Madras) and Dr. Reddy (IMEC)

Project: High- High-throughput low-cost production of polymer fibers for delivery of vitamins

Swaraj Deodhar did his M.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. During his master’s thesis he worked on synthesis of copper nanowires and fabrication of transparent conducting films. After completing his M.Tech he worked in the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India for one year. Later he worked in the Polymer Engineering and Colloids Science Lab, IIT Madras, India as a Project officer. He received a PhD scholarship for researchers from the south and joined the group as a PhD student in October 2022.  He enjoys doing long distance cycling, running and hiking in his spare time.

Stijn Desmedt

2021/09-…@ Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology (KU Leuven)

Supervised together with: \

Project: 3D printing of metamaterials for electromagnetic interference shielding

I graduated from the university of Leuven as a chemical engineer with a specialization in product engineering. For my masters thesis, I investigated the tribology of oil lubricated steel-polymer contacts. Currently, I am working on an ERC (https://erc.europa.eu/about-erc/mission) project in collaboration with TU Eindhoven to develop novel materials for electromagnetic shielding. In my free time, I enjoy playing the saxophone, listening to music, cooking and reading books.

 

Benedetta Attaianese

2021/09-…@ Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology (KU Leuven)

Supervised together with: \

Project: Understanding the relations between interfacial properties and dynamics of nanosheet-covered droplets

I completed my bachelor’s and master’s degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Naples Federico II. During my master, I worked as an intern in the R&D section of Procter&Gamble Belgium. This experience, together with my master thesis project on surfactant dissolution, lighted up my interest in interfacial properties of complex multi-phase systems. Outside of the lab, I love experimenting in the kitchen, in-door bouldering and traveling.

Thijs Egelmeers

2021/03-…@ Processing and Performance of Materials (TU Eindhoven)

Supervised together with: Dr. Jaensson and Prof. Anderson

Project: Engineering the rheology and processing induced structural anisotropy of polymer composites with non-Brownian fibrous particles

Thijs obtained his master degree in mechanical engineering at the TU Eindhoven. After working at Canon for 3 years he decided to come back to academia for a PhD. In his PhD, he studies fiber orientation during processing for fiber filled polymer composites. His spare time mainly consists out of exercising: Soccer, mountain biking, running, hitting the gym and he enjoys a nice walk in nature.

Coen van der Gracht

2021/01-…@ Processing and Performance of Materials (TU Eindhoven)

Supervised together with: Dr. Jaensson

Project: Contactless sensing of complex fluids

Due to his interest in 3D printing Coen was drawn to the processing & performance group. During his masters he mainly focused on additive manufacturing processes such as the development of a bioprinter and a detailed graduation project on raft design for fused filament fabrication. Currently during his PhD he is developing a new type of machine that will be able to extract material properties from complex liquids in a contactless matter.

Hamid Ahmadi

2019/10-…@ Processing and Performance of Materials (TU Eindhoven)

Supervised together with: Prof. Anderson

Project: Stereocomplexation in PLA-based materials

Hamid received his MSc in Polymer Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic). His master’s thesis focused on the effect of nanoparticle partitioning on the rheological and electrical properties of immiscible polymer blends. In his Ph.D. study, he is developing a green method to enhance the rheological, mechanical, and thermal properties of PLA-based materials. He enjoys cooking, traveling, playing tennis, and remixing songs.

Tess De Maeseneer

2019/09-…@ Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology (KU Leuven)

Supervised together with: Prof. Moldenaers

Project: Characterizing smart biomaterials towards minimally invasive breast reconstruction

During my master in Chemical Engineering at KU Leuven, I had the opportunity to characterize novel healthier yogurt alternatives in collaboration with multiple companies including DSM, PepsiCo, Valio, Döhler and Glucanova. This project sparked my interest in combining engineering with health science which directed me to the field of tissue engineering. In my spare time, I like to do sports, meet with friends and travel to the world’s most famous surf spots.

An-Sofie Huysecom

2017/09-…@ Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology (KU Leuven)

Supervised together with: Prof. Moldenaers

Project: Unravelling the associative behavior and transient network elasticity and dynamics of hydrophobically associating multiblock copolymers in aqueous solutions

An-Sofie graduated as a chemical engineer from KU Leuven in 2017, with a major in product engineering and a master thesis focusing on conductive polymer blends using carbon nanotube fillers. She joined the group as a PhD student in September 2017 and received a FWO PhD fellowship for her fundamental research on multidynamic single and double polymer networks. She enjoys travelling, doing sports and trying out all kinds of creative projects in her spare time.