Guests of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at TU Darmstadt

My field of research is fascinating. The best way to explain it to non-specialists is…

My research interest focuses on flow-induced vibration of structures and their applications in energy harvesting. This topic is related to the swift development of sensors used to measure the structural health of buildings, bridges and aircraft. These sensors need very small power only (milliWatts or even micro-Watts). Instead of using batteries, which have short life time, this energy can also be extracted from environmental airflow for example, using energy harvesting technology. Yet the environmental adaptability and the output power are aspects which need to be improved. We have developed theoretical models dealing with these problems.

I became a researcher because…

I greatly enjoy understanding new phenomena and solving unsolved problems in engineering. I hope that we can contribute to the solution of significant problems of our world.

I’ve chosen the TU Darmstadt because of…

her high reputation in the world. Especially, my host, Prof. Peter Hagedorn, has performed outstanding research on the theory of the nonlinear dynamics of mechanical structures and systems. Prof. Hagedorn and his research group (Dynamics and Vibrations Group) have done a substantial amount of significant work on modelling and experimentally assessing of self-excitation mechanisms, stability and bifurcation analysis, and identification and evaluation of nonlinear systems. Therefore, cooperating with Prof. Hagedorn can not only deepen my knowledge in many topics regarding dynamics and vibrations but also widen the horizon of my studies.

What reputation does German research enjoy in your home country?

German research has quite a high reputation in China, and has made a lot of contributions to the world, especially in the field of mechanical engineering, manufacturing, material engineering and electronics.