with Dr Nima Eslami, Dennis Lauterbach and Dr Alexander Harms
from Volkswagen
How can cars be designed so that they can not only be driven but also fully recycled?
At the ‘Meet the Scientist’ event at phaeno, researchers from Volkswagen Group Innovation will provide insights into current approaches to sustainable mobility and the circular economy.
Visitors will learn how materials are recovered from vehicles, components reused and production processes reimagined.
Through direct interaction with the scientists, it becomes clear what role research plays in conserving resources and transforming the automotive industry in the long term.
The traditional use of cars usually follows a linear model: produce, use, dispose of. This model is increasingly reaching its ecological and economic limits.
This is precisely where the circular economy comes in. The aim is to keep materials in circulation for as long as possible, to avoid waste, and to design products in such a way that they can be repaired, reused or recycled. For the automotive industry, this means a fundamental shift in design, production and recycling.
Dr Nima Eslami, Dennis Lauterbach and Dr Alexander Harms are working on technologies and concepts that will make this transformation possible.
The participating scientists work at Volkswagen Group Innovation and deal with current issues in research and development.
At ‘Meet the Scientist’, they will provide insights into topics currently being discussed and developed within the industrial sector. Attendees can ask questions directly on the spot about the approaches being pursued, the challenges faced and how innovations come about.
‘Meet the Scientist’ is a programme at phaeno that offers a behind-the-scenes look at research. Visitors get to meet researchers in person, ask questions and learn more about the background, challenges and goals of scientific work.
Experience science up close.
Meet the Scientist is a collaboration with the Volkswagen Group.
Dr Nima Eslami is 34 years old and comes from Göttingen. After completing his mechanical engineering degree with a specialisation in ‘Materials Engineering and Design’ at the University of Kassel, he began working as a PhD student at the former Volkswagen Group Research in 2016. There, he conducted research into innovative joining technologies and completed his PhD in 2020 on the topic of ‘Friction stir welding of aluminium-copper hybrid joints for electromobility’.
He now works as a research associate at Volkswagen Group Innovation in the field of sustainability solutions. His focus is on the development and evaluation of efficient technologies for vehicle recycling to strengthen the circular economy in the automotive sector. The aim of his work is to unlock sustainability potential for various brands within the Volkswagen Group, thereby contributing to the company’s strategic objectives.
Dr Alexander Harms initially studied metallurgy and materials engineering at RWTH Aachen University, specialising in foundry and forming technology. Whilst studying, he worked as a student assistant at the Institute for Welding and Joining Technology (ISF). After completing his diploma, he went on to complete his PhD at the ISF in the field of welding technology, focusing on ‘conductively assisted stir friction welding’.
Through his committee work during his time as a research assistant at the Research Association for Steel Applications and the German Association for Welding and Related Processes, an opportunity arose after his PhD to join Volkswagen’s corporate research department, now known as Group Innovation. True to the motto “New ideas need friends”, Group Innovation offers every opportunity to provide scientific support for innovations and to get to the bottom of them.
Dennis Lauterbach is a research engineer and works at Volkswagen Group Innovation. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Braunschweig. After graduating, he began working as a PhD student at Volkswagen Group Innovation, focusing his research on friction welding processes for aluminium. Since November 2021, Mr Lauterbach has been working as a research engineer in the ‘Sustainability Solutions’ department at Volkswagen Group Innovation.
His responsibilities include translating research findings into industrial applications, leading cross-brand projects and participating in internal and external expert committees.
Through numerous studies and several publications, he has helped to improve the applicability of a still-new welding process and is continuously working to bring further innovations to industrial series production. For several years now, the focus of his work has shifted to the topic of the circular economy. In this context, product concepts for sustainable material use and the reusability of components and raw materials are at the heart of his work.
