Researcher Highlight – Michael Schwarz from Project C
We hope to give a better insight to the program by introducing our PhD students. We ask them about their research and how they became a member of our IRTG. This time we would like to introduce you to Michael Schwarz who recently started his research in our Project C – Macroscale Continuum Modeling and FE Simulation of Electromechanical Coupling in Perovskite-Based Materials:
Where do you come from, and how did you become a part of the IRTG program?
I am from Neumarkt, a town about 60km from Erlangen, halfway between Regensburg and Nuremberg. After my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in Ingolstadt, I transferred to FAU for my master’s degree in summer 2019. At the end of my master thesis, I was made aware of the IRTG by my supervisor and now Principal Investigator Prof. Mergheim.
Why were you interested in this IRTG program? What are you looking forward to?
The IRTG was the perfect combination for me, as it combined a subject I already liked and had some experience in (mechanics) with a subject I wanted to expand my knowledge in (electricity resp. piezoelectricity). When I heard that the program also focuses on collaborating with people in Japan, I was even more excited and didn’t have to think twice about my decision to join the program.
Definitely I look forward to experience the Japanese culture and see how the daily life is different from here in Germany. I’m also very excited to see the Japanese architecture like pagodas in real life.
Tell us a little bit about your current research for the IRTG.
At the moment I am programming the code for a pyropiezoelectric finite element simulation. Andreas, my predecessor from the 1st PhD cohort, has already implemented an electromechanical simulation in his work. Following his example, I am now extending the code to take thermal influences into account.
What is one goal in your life?
Climbing a route in the 10th grade of the UIAA scale (or 8a in French grades). Since the hardest route I have climbed so far was in the 8th grade, I still have a lot of training ahead of me.