Current PhD-projects
At Helix Lab, we are committed to advancing the boundaries of research and fostering collaboration between academia and industry. Our PhD program plays a key role in this mission by bringing together talented PhD students and local industries in Kalundborg to work on impactful, real-world projects.
The PhD students in our program are integral to Helix Lab's scientific community, contributing specialist expertise and ensuring the continuity of ongoing research projects. As part of the Helix Lab community, these PhD students engage in various collaborative activities, from regular PhD seminars and hybrid meetings to direct involvement with Helix Lab Fellows.
Below, we introduce each of our current PhD projects, highlighting the innovative research being conducted in collaboration with both universities and industry partners. These projects not only address pressing challenges in various scientific fields but also offer our PhD students invaluable hands-on experience, preparing them to be leaders in their respective industries.
PhD project 1
Valorization of the enzyme production side streams using mixed culture biorefinery and membrane technologies for zero-waste approach
Isabell Raahauge Eriksen.
Collaboration between Aalborg University and Novonesis A/S
PhD project with focus on sustainable manufacturing by adopting a bio refinery approach to valorize waste streams from enzyme production, aiming to reduce waste, minimize greenhouse gas emissions, and decrease natural resource depletion, utilizing mixed microbial cultures (MMC).
PhD project 2
Optimizing Microbial Fermentation with Deep Reinforcement Learning: Advancing Control in Complex Biochemical Systems
Gary Simethy
Collaboration between Aalborg University (Esbjerg) and Unibio
PhD project with focus on microbial fermentation control in mixed-culture systems at Unibio, through the application of Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) supervisory control system.
PhD project 3
Teaming up a quadruped robot with a drone for active inspections in large industrial settings
Alejandro Lorite Mora
Collaboration between IT University of Copenhagen (ITU) and Novo Nordisk A/S
PhD project with focus on developing the use of a quadruped robot and a drone, for inspections in large industrial settings and tanks, testing different positioning systems for the drone and finding robust controllers for manipulation tasks with deep learning and evolutionary algorithms.
PhD project 4
Digitalization of (high shear) granulation process by developing and applying digital twin technology
Oliver Robert Oscar Massaad
Collaboration between Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Novonesis
PhD project with focus on making a detailed mathematical model for high shear granulation processes in Novonesis Production sites. Such a model will combine computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and population balance models (PBM) and will be combined with detailed experimental data to allow proper model validation.