The Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) celebrates the scientific achievements of its young researchers. In autumn 2025, seven doctoral students completed their doctoral theses with outstanding results. Their work reflects the thematic diversity and high research quality of our institute – from sustainable animal husbandry and the optimisation of post-harvest technologies to the development of innovative processes for the bioeconomy. We warmly congratulate all graduates on this significant milestone in their scientific careers.

Latifa Ouatahar

Latifa Ouatahar kicked off the successful defences in the second half of the year in September at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Freie Universität Berlin. In her dissertation entitled ‘Modelling the downstream impact of diet and manure management on whole farm greenhouse gas and nitrogen emissions in cattle farming systems’, she developed models to better understand the complex relationships between feeding, manure management and emissions in cattle farming. Her work makes an important contribution to the development of more climate-friendly agricultural systems and was carried out in close collaboration with the Sensors and Modelling Department at ATB.

Linda Schroedter

In October, Linda Schroedter defended her doctoral thesis at the Technical University of Berlin and was awarded magna cum laude for her outstanding achievement. Her research on ‘L-lactic acid production from lignocellulose – Prospects for the work with Heyndrickxia coagulans’ is a prime example of the advanced bioeconomy research at the ATB. Schroedter investigated how the platform chemical lactic acid can be obtained from waste materials such as straw or waste wood, identifying a particularly promising fermentation process in the process. Her findings, which were developed in the Bioprocess Engineering Department, have already been published in several specialist journals.

Yogesh Kalnar

Shortly afterwards, Yogesh Kalnar successfully completed his doctoral thesis at the Technical University of Berlin. His work on ‘Model-based electronic control device for storage and transport of fresh produce under modified O₂ and CO₂ atmosphere’ addresses the pressing problem of food loss. His efficiency is particularly noteworthy: he completed his doctoral thesis in just three years, published four scientific articles and was fully funded by an ICAR scholarship. We are delighted that Mr Kalnar will be contributing his expertise as a scientist at CIPHET in Ludhiana (India) in the future.

Hyunjin Park

Hyunjin Park rounded off a successful October at Humboldt University in Berlin. Her dissertation is entitled ‘Reorganisation of Bio-Based Innovations Towards Inclusion: Insights Into Responses, Constraints, and Governance Challenges’. In her work, which was carried out in the Technology Assessment Department at ATB, she provides important insights into how innovation systems in the bioeconomy can be made more inclusive and sustainable. She has already received awards for the best presentation and the best paper at international conferences for her excellent research. Ms Park plans to continue her research on inclusive innovation in her home country of South Korea.

Aleksandra Atanasova

At the beginning of November, Aleksandra Atanasova defended her dissertation at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Freie Universität Berlin. Her thesis on ‘Dynamics of Antibiotic-Resistant Escherichia coli and Resistance Genes During Mesophilic Anaerobic Digestion of Chicken Manure’ was written in the Department of Sensors and Modelling. She investigated the spread of antibiotic resistance during the processing of chicken manure in biogas plants – a highly topical issue at the interface of agriculture and public health. Her important findings have already been published in two specialist articles.

Tuany Gabriela Hoffmann

Just a few days later, Tuany Gabriela Hoffmann completed her doctoral thesis at Humboldt University in Berlin. She achieved this outstanding feat in just three years, during which she wrote four research articles and one review article. Her doctoral thesis, ‘Heat Transfer Dynamics in Apple Postharvest Cold Storage: From Individual Fruit to Industrial Scale Applications,’ provides fundamental insights into optimising the cold storage of apples. In addition to her research, she showed great commitment as a doctoral student representative and in the Young Professionals Network AgEng. We are delighted that Tuany Hoffmann will remain at the ATB and continue to contribute her expertise to the Packaging and Storage working group as part of the Fruity-Twin project.

Jörg Schemminger

Also in November, Jörg Schemminger celebrated the successful completion of his doctoral thesis at Humboldt University in Berlin. In his doctoral thesis entitled ‘Mapping variability in food drying and storage using hybrid physics-based modelling and digital twins,’ he focused on the development of digital models to control and optimise food processing processes more precisely. Although Jörg Schemminger, as an external doctoral researcher, conducted his research mainly at the Swiss research institute Empa, he was closely supervised by our Scientific Director, Prof. Dr. Barbara Sturm, as his primary supervisor.

These seven successful doctoral theses underscore the high quality of research and promotion of early career researchers/scientists at ATB. We wish all graduates all the best and every success for their professional and personal futures, whether at our institute or at new places of work around the world.

Special thanks also go to the dedicated supervisors at ATB and the cooperating universities, whose excellent scientific support made this success possible in the first place.