11/8/2024 Jackson Brunner
Written by Jackson Brunner
Laura Klusendorf, a senior undergraduate student in The Grainger College of Engineering’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, began her journey to an overseas research opportunity through a connection. She was taking part in the 2023 Materials Science and Technology exhibition event in Columbus, Ohio, when she ran into Robert Maass, director of the Federal Institute of Materials Research and Testing (BAM) in Berlin, Germany, and an adjunct assistant professor in the Illinois Grainger Engineering materials wing.
“We hit it off and so I got to know about his research and learn about him. Then a few months later, I realized I could work with him,” Klusendorf said.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s materials department had offered to send multiple students to BAM in the summer of 2024 as part of a chance to grow their knowledge base in materials research. Each student would receive a $2,000 scholarship from the materials department and a 3,000 Euro payment from BAM for travel and living costs.
Two students from Illinois would be making the 2024 trip. Klusendorf would be joined by Shivansh Agarwal, who had his own reasons for wanting to conduct research overseas.
“My parents actually live in France,” said Agarwal. “So I was thinking that if I went to Germany, I would be pretty close to them and I could visit often.”
Finding comfort
Both students knew before boarding their flight to Germany that stepping out of their comfort zones would mean some tough adjustments. When moving to a completely new area and culture, becoming acclimated is always a challenge. Agarwal arrived first and ran into some initial difficulties meeting people, but he soon found help navigating the massive scope of Berlin through a familiar face.
“Once Laura came, she actually stayed in a place that had people her age,” he said. “She introduced me to them, and I made friends with them. Another way I made friends was by playing soccer. Some people from my research group took me to play, and it was a weekly thing.”
Both students seemed to hit it off with their colleagues -- a helpful step for gaining footing in a new situation. They each quickly became engrossed in materials projects at the BAM facility, which only further helped them grow comfortable.
Agarwal’s group studied grain boundary dynamics of multicomponent alloys. To help meet research goals, Agarwal applied his minor earned through the Grainger Engineering Siebel School of Computing and Data Science. He wrote code assisting with digital modeling of grain boundaries and helped his professor optimize their work.
“Toward the end I created a program that could help him (my supervisor) with a five-component system, something that he hadn’t done earlier, that I just made better for him,” he said.
At the same time, Klusendorf dove into the study of liquid metal embrittlement, which examined the conditions in which steel can fail through tensile testing and heat treatments.
“This project was one they’ve been wanting to complete for a while and so they gave it to me,” said Klusendorf. “I set up and conducted the experiments, analyzed the data, figured out all of the next steps and put it into a nice presentation for a post-doctorate researcher (to continue after me).”
Klusendorf was able to pick up on new research quickly after taking part in multiple other hands-on opportunities in her undergraduate years at Illinois. Her experiences involved research projects on the Illinois campus and at Argonne National Laboratory, where she worked as an intern in the summer of 2023.
“I would compare my Berlin experience as closest to what I worked on at Argonne, because it’s like a national lab setting and actually had a lot of hands-on work,” she said.
Enjoying the sights
While both Illinois students cherished the journey through their laboratory projects, they also had the chance to go on completely different types of adventures outside of the office. They each wanted to sightsee in their spare time and took advantage of available resources.
“I got a Eurail pass. It was $800, which is expensive, but I went to a new city every single weekend,” said Klusendorf.
Her trips took her to a wealth of different locations. Stops included Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Dresden. She even explored Wartburg Castle – the famed location where Martin Luther translated the original Greek New Testament of the Bible to German. She sometimes traveled across the nation with her neighbors, who she became friends with.
Agarwal had similar experiences, although he sometimes also moved across national borders. Trains were able to take him to France to see his family, along with the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
There was fun to be had close to their German homes as well. The students happened to be in Germany while the UEFA EURO 2024 soccer championship tournament was underway. They witnessed packed bars and restaurants full of sports fans, as well as massive public match viewings full of loud crowds.
“I couldn’t name many things in the United States on such a large scale that are also free,” Klusendorf said. “Especially in Chicago, I feel like there’s always at least some amount of money you have to pay for entertainment.”
“Just living in that atmosphere for a solid month was really, really nice,” said Agarwal.
Advice for others
Both students were able to make the most of their European odyssey. They each offered advice for other students who might consider getting involved in something similar.
Their first piece of guidance echoed earlier sentiments about the joy of travel. To get the most out of time spent in a new place, Klusendorf said spending money to enhance an experience is well worth it. Agarwal agreed with this and added it’s essential to make sure a great place to live is locked up.
“They should probably look for accommodation before they get there and look for a good place based on their location,” he said. “I was 45 minutes away because that was the cheapest place I could find, even after deliberate research.”
The positives far outweighed the negatives for both students. They each felt their time at BAM influenced their plans for life after their Grainger Engineering education is completed.
“Earlier my plan was to finish my undergraduate work, get a job and then get a master’s degree after that. That plan remains, but the difference is it’s not restricted to only the United States,” Agarwal said with a smile. “I like Berlin quite a bit, so that is something that has changed. I don’t mind moving out of the states again.”
“It was just such a wonderful experience,” added Klusendorf. “This just solidified that I want to bounce between industry, research and academia -- and definitely R&D type roles.”
Grainger Engineering Affiliations
Robert Maass is an Illinois Grainger Engineering adjunct assistant professor of materials science and engineering.