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Mritunjay M. Hiremath

Andrea Heidel (AH): First of all welcome to the IMFAA team, Mritunjay! How old are you, where are you from and what did you study there?

Mritunjay M. Hiremath (MMH): I am 26 years old. I am from Goa, the smallest state in India. I graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from Goa Engineering College – Government of Goa and a Master’s degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Orrisa, India. Currently, I am pursuing my doctorate programme in the design stream of the Mechanical Engineering department at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India.

AH: What interested you in this course of studies and why did you pursue this direction?

MMH: Right from my childhood days, I was into deep studies and discovering things. As I reached my Bachelor’s studies, I made up my mind to be in a research field. And the field which interested me a lot was material science. If we want to dominate any stream of engineering, we need to have a deep understanding of all materials. This is what motivated me a lot to pursue studies in material science. Since then, I learned a lot of aspects related to various types of materials and hence pursued my masters in materials engineering. During my masters degree, I worked in the area of characterization of Fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Now at IIT Bombay, my research area is focused on the fatigue of these Fiber-reinforced polymer composites.

AH: What brought you to Aalen?

MMH: The property of any material hugely depends on the microstructural features of the material. And If I have to have a deeper knowledge of the microstructure then I would need to have good access to different types of microscopes. This is where I got selected for an Industrial fellowship and based on my research work Zeiss agreed to host me. Together with the collaboration of Zeiss and Aalen University the required research objectives would be accomplished.

AH: Why did you decide to work at IMFAA? How do you know the IMFAA at all?

MMH: Through LinkedIn, I got to know a lot about the research work which is being carried out at IMFAA. Here at IMFAA, I get to work with a team that specializes in materials microstructural characterization using Machine learning methods, and Dr. Timo Bernthaler has very good expertise in this specific area.

AH: What tasks will you have here in the future and what are you looking forward to the most?

MMH: The tasks in the future would be to completely characterize the damages which are being induced in the FRP composite using different microscopic techniques. And during my 6-month stay, I will assure that the knowledge which I will be gaining with these microscopic studies is disseminated to all the IMFAA team members. At the same time, I assure to help my team members wherever they face any difficulties and challenges.

AH: What else do you like to do in your free time?

MMH: In my free time, I would spend some time with my friends and explore the unexplored places so far.

AH: What is your impression of Germany so far and what would you like to do / see here?

MMH: As an Indian living here, I would say Germans are very warm and cultured people. Extremely disciplined and true to their commitment. They are very particular about manners in general, e.g. table manners and public behavior. Rules are followed strictly. I would like to enjoy the dance the night away in any club, go for a walk in the forest, enjoy the famous coffee and cake, visit castles and palaces, and drive on the autobahn.

AH: Thank you for your answers and I wish you will find the time to do all this during your stay!