The Justus-Liebig University of Giessen (JLU), in Germany covers a complete spectrum of subjects including all-natural sciences, social sciences, law, and medicine. The university has about 28 000 students. In the field of space physics, JLU cooperates intensively with its partner institution, the University of Applied Sciences in Giessen (THM), by providing joint BSc/MSc study programs “Physics and Technology of Space Applications” and in joint research projects in the framework of the Research Campus of Central Hesse.
The university actively involves PhD students in the process of implementation of the projects. Konstantin Keil is one of those PhD students who is actively involved in the project implementation. His task is to develop simulation models for grid erosion of the thruster. Konstantin attends consortium’s weekly meetings, presents his work at international conferences and of course, supports the planning of tests and works on his primary task – modelling of grid erosion.
PhD student participation in the project is a win-win-win situation for all – the future professional, the consortium that implements the project as well as the industry that will be able to benefit later from the expertise of the young professional. The GIESEPP MP team highly appreciates Konstantin’s dedication and involvement in the project. Konstantin is a great team member who is very precise, professional and organized.
PhD student participation in the GIESEPP MP project
Since his involvement in the project, Konstantin Keil has already attended several international conferences and has given his presentation on “Modeling of erosion processes in gridded ion engines in combination with a global model for radio-frequency ion thrusters”. One of these international conferences was the IEPC 2022 that took place in Boston and Cambridge, USA from 19th to 23rd of June, 2022. Learn more about the IEPC 2022.
Konstantin is actively involved in the preparation for thruster tests, which are scheduled to take place in November. These will be carried out in Giessen in the Jumbo vacuum facility.
Among other things, his job will be to operate the vacuum system and ensure that everything runs smoothly.
The GIESEPP MP teams believe that student involvement in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects is a very positive thing no matter if it is a very simple task or it is a complex task that requires a student to become a part of the project team. This experience provides students with a lot of new practical skills that will be very useful after the end of the studies.
If you are a student and you want to be involved in international projects, do not hesitate to demonstrate your initiative and ask for opportunities at your university! It is possible that EU funded projects are implemented at your university.
