Name: Felicitas Pellengahr
Organization: B4Plastics/AMIBM Sustainability group
Areas of Expertise: Mechanical Engineering, Plastics processing, Life Cycle Assessment, Degradation of polyesters
Why is Biobased ValueCircle an interesting project for you?
We witness huge commitments and changes promised are all around the world. Both in the world of science and research people aim to save the planet and to sustainable-ize our lives. Circularity and bioeconomy are two of the key words often used in this context. But what does this really mean? How can we realize the integration of novel biobased material within the circular economy and ensure that this is more sustainable than fossil or linear counterparts? I think the Biobased ValueCircle project comes with the perfect timing for helping to answer these questions. Furthermore, I see a huge potential in the composition of young and experienced researchers with different backgrounds, of academia and industry, of scientific knowledge and economic ambitions.
Tell something about yourself which other Biobased ValueCircle people might not know yet?
As a young girl I wanted to become a mounted policewoman. It mainly came from my love for horses which runs in my family, so it seemed ideal to work with them all day. I do not recall when I dropped this dream of mine, but I am happy with how my career developed though I did not go to the police. However, I still share a strong passion for animals.
How did you become a researcher / scientist?
‘Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever’ As Gandhi says we need to keep learning and elaborating our believes every day. Endless story. And I do like that. My master thesis kicked off the dream of mine to continue my path as a researcher (thanks to my great supervisors). Especially in the fields of plastics and sustainability there is so much misinterpretation and misunderstanding. As a dedicated researcher want to contribute to a better understanding and communication also in non-scientific domains.
What do you like most in your current work?
First of all, I am very grateful for my colleagues both in the research group and at B4Plastics. They contributed immensely to an easy transition into a new chapter of my life. What helps as well is that I have the chance to turn my passion for sustainable plastics into a profession. My topics being bioplastics, compostability of plastics, their end-of-life, and overall sustainability are extremely present in the day-to-day life. Therefore, I get to share a lot of the insights I am exploring with not only my colleagues but family and friends as well (whether they actually wanted to know or not). Thus, I am looking to the time ahead with great excitement.