Giulia Finotello

Recently, assistant professor at the Power and Flow group Giulia Finotello joined the EIRES Management Team as one of the leaders of the newly defined focus area Greening the Process Industry. She is committed to help young researchers gain more visibility for their work, and actively advocates the support the institute can provide to scientists.

Since in high school Giulia Finotello had a passion for chemistry, she decided to study chemical engineering in the Polytechnic of Torino (Italy). ‘The fact that my dad was a chemistry teacher might also have played a role in that decision,’ she laughs, ‘since we always had a lot of chemistry books lying around in our house.’

During her master studies, she took her first turn toward sustainability, by choosing the track Chemical engineering for food processing and sustainability. It was also during her master’s that she decided to go abroad. ‘Since internships weren’t part of the course program back then, I decided to go for a collaborative master project with BASF, which enabled me to work in Germany for six months. Exploring the industrial landscape was a thrilling adventure, immersing me in a world which is much more regulated by commercial priorities than in academia.’

To notice for the first time that I was valued as an expert, was a truly rewarding experience

Diving deep
After her graduation, Finotello's pursuit of a PhD wasn't driven by a lifelong dream of becoming a scientist, but rather by her profound appreciation for the opportunity to delve deeply into a subject and undertake a long-term research project. ‘I decided to join the research group of Hans Kuipers at the Chemical Engineering and Chemistry Department of TU/e, working on multiphase flows. My prior industrial experience helped me a lot in managing the collaboration with the company Tetra Pak during my PhD.’ It was then and there that she realized her true calling: to become an academic, she states. ‘I really enjoyed going deep into a scientific subject and owning my own project as an independent researcher. To notice for the first time that I was valued as an expert, was a truly rewarding experience.’

Not content with merely unraveling scientific challenges, Finotello's curiosity led her to the world of education. She took up a short postdoc project at the same department where she designed and taught a new course, Practical Transport Phenomena, for the Bachelor program of Chemical Engineering. ‘Though careerwise perhaps that was not a conventional move – typically, having one or two international postdocs on your resume is advised – content wise, that project has proven to be a valuable asset in the next step of my career. My experience in education helped me gain my University Teaching Qualification within a year after becoming an assistant professor.’

Throughout her PhD project she had the privilege of working under the guidance of several supervisors, among whom Niels Deen played a pivotal role. Niels thought of her immediately when a vacancy emerged within his group at the Mechanical Engineering Department. ‘Niels also introduced me to EIRES, personally inviting me to step into the role of a focus area leader, upon his appointment as vice-dean for the Mechanical Engineering department.’

Lines of research
At the moment, Finotello is working on two main lines of research. Her first topic of interest is metal fuels, where she focusses on the recycling of the energy carrier. ‘In our recently awarded NWO OTP project CIRCL, we are conducting research into the fundamental hydrodynamics and reduction reaction in the fluidized bed reactor. But we are also conducting feasibility studies to develop the technology at the industrial scale. We aim to clarify various aspects such as understanding the interaction between oxidized iron particles and hydrogen within the bed, determining the rate of the reaction and strategies to enhance its speed, preventing particle agglomeration at elevated temperatures, and exploring the influence of the combustion process on iron oxide and its implications for our reduction process. In another very recently awarded NWO OTP project, PMP-to-MeCRE, my colleagues and I will investigate different iron-powder feedstocks and select the best candidate for circular use of renewable energy’.

In 3D printing of metals the main question is how we can introduce scrap metals into the supply chain. For metal powder bed based printing, the quality of the metal powder is essential. But what happens if, in the case of scrap metal, you do not know the exact origin and previous applications of the material? That requires a lot of work.

A second field of research Finotello is engaged in is related to the circular economy, and more specifically to 3D printing of metals. ‘There the main question is how we can introduce scrap metals into the supply chain. For metal powder bed based printing, the quality of the metal powder is essential. But what happens if, in the case of scrap metal, you do not know the exact origin and previous applications of the material? That requires a lot of work.’

Both in her research and in her extracurricular activities, Finotello likes to keep an open mind. ‘As a researcher, I am not a pure experientialist nor a pure numerical modeler. First and foremost, I am solution oriented and use whatever tools are available and most suitable to solve the problem. In EIRES, I truly value the effort of bringing people together from different departments to create new opportunities, especially for young researchers.’

Find support
From her own experience, she wants to stress how EIRES can be helpful in the daily research practice. ‘For example, when you need to build or consolidate a consortium, EIRES has a great network and can help establish connections with the right partners. But also, if you wish to organize a scientific gathering, do not hesitate to contact us. Some time ago, my colleagues and I wanted to organize a workshop on metal fuels. We turned to the EIRES office and they helped us transform our originally planned in person event into a hybrid meeting and advertised it in their extensive network. As a result, besides the 100 people attending in person, we had over 3000 participants joining online.’

Her personal ambition with EIRES is to help young researchers gain more visibility for their research. ‘My message to my fellow scientists is: reach out. If you are too focused on your own ongoing projects, you are missing out on chances to be supported and to create fruitful new connections. Sustainability is a very urgent topic. With EIRES, we are in the perfect position to work on topics that are relevant for society, and advocate that relevance to the outside world.’