Monthly Archives: Marzo 2025

Vera Peiss earned a Bachelor’s degree in Energy and Environmental Technology from the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf and a Master’s degree in Data Science from IU International University. She joined VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut (BFI), Duesseldorf, Germany. Her main working areas are the development and application of dynamic models for primary and secondary steelmaking processes, and the characterization and optimal use of steel scrap.

Andreas Wolff studied Control Engineering at the University of Duisburg / Essen and the University of York. He received his PhD from TU Aachen. He is a senior expert and group leader in advanced control, control theory, operation research, AI-based control, and implementing automation systems in the industrial environment. He has more than 20 years of experience in several European and national research projects and bilateral projects at BFI. He is a co-author of more than 70 publications in journals, proceedings of international congresses, and scientific reports.

Bernd Kleimt studied Electrical Engineering and Automation at University Wuppertal. He joined BFI in 1989, and since 2000 he leads the department “Measurement and Automation Steelmaking”. His research interests comprise modelling and simulation of metallurgical processes, as well as application of process models and measurement techniques for monitoring and control of liquid steelmaking processes. He is author and co-author of more than 70 scientific publications. He is member of the RFCS expert group in TGA1 – Iron and Steelmaking and an active member of the European Steel Technology Platform in the Focus Group “Circular Economy”.

Kersten Marx studied Mechanical Engineering at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. He has 40 years of experience in research in different fields of iron and steelmaking, on fluid mechanics, physical model trials and numerical simulation in several European and national research projects as well as about 150 bilateral projects at BFI. He is co-/author of more than 30 publications in journals, proceedings of international congresses and scientific reports.

Emanuel Kashi Thienpont studied Materials Science at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg. He has 17 years of research experience in structural and fluid numerical simulation and over 11 years of experience in the field of combustion and furnace technology, including laboratory tests and operational measurements in steel plants In recent years, the focus of his research has been on the field of data analysis. He has participated in several national and European research projects as well as in several bilateral projects at BFI. He is also an external PhD student at RWTH Aachen University. He is co-/author of more than 15 publications in journals, proceedings of international congresses and scientific reports.

Maximilian Bernds studied Mechanical Engineering at University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf. He joined BFI as a student in the year 2020 and has been working there as a researcher since 2023. In the project, he will be involved in creating the digital twins and working on the ICT tool. He is also responsible for project coordination within the BFI.

Thorsten Hauck holds a PhD in chemical engineering and has 25 years of experience in applied research in iron and steelmaking with main focus on the exploitation of digitalisation for optimisation of processes and process control. In the last 10 years, the decarbonisation of steel production plays a dominant role, covering not only technical aspects but also the stress fields with aspects of economy and policy. He is head of the department “Process optimisation iron and steelmaking” at BFI.