Researcher Highlight – Silmi Kaffah from Project A
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 Ms Silmi Kaffah who recently started her research in our Project A – Electronic Circuits for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensor Array Systems:
Where do you come from, and how did you become a part of the IRTG program?
Jakarta, Indonesia, was my home base for so many years before I moved to Germany. A few months ago, I started searching for a PhD opportunity and I came across the IRTG program while browsing the internet. I read about it excitedly and finally decided to apply. Not long after, I got invited to an online interview where I virtually met my current PI and colleagues at FAU. I was delighted when I got the offer to join the second cohort. So here I am now as part of project A!
Why were you interested in this IRTG program?
I’ve been involved in several projects during my studies and I enjoyed collaborating in research so much, that I knew I was going to continue on this path after obtaining my master’s degree. I want to pursue an academic career, hence getting a doctoral degree is next on my to-do list.
Personally, I think that a good researcher needs more than just expertise in the specific field. In addition to the interesting topic of energy conversion systems, this IRTG program particularly grabbed my attention because of how well the program is structured.
Tell us a little bit about your current research for the IRTG.
Here in project A, we work towards designing an array system for piezoelectric energy harvesting and sensing. Niharika from the first cohort has laid the ground stone on the electronic circuits, so I’ll be doing some optimizations here and there while collaborating with peers from the other projects. Hopefully we’ll see improvements in terms of energy harvesting and sensor arrays over the next few years.
What are you looking forward to most during your research stay in Japan?
Of course, I wish to grow professionally and learn a lot at NITech. But aside from that, I look forward to boost my Japanese language skills! I’ve always been fond of the country, its people and its culture. So hopefully I can make new friends and good memories during my future stay in Japan.
What is one goal in your life?
Set foot on all seven continents! I still got three more to visit…