The new year is off to a good start for the largest research institute at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. On 23 January 2016, Mr. Kittan was invited to the graduation ceremony of the Ilmenau University of Technology (TU) as a research associate at the Institute of Process Engineering, Process Automation and Measurement Technology (IPM). He was presented with his doctoral certificate at this event.

From January 2011 to December 2013, Mr. Kittan worked on a project funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology on the topic of "Modelling/simulation of the dynamics of deposition and penetration processes in particle-laden coolant flows". The aim of the project was to create dynamic models for the transport and deposition process of insulation material. The methods of multi-agent models and cellular automata were used for the modeling. This approach was novel in relation to the thematic background of nuclear safety research. As a result, Mr. Kittan was able to increase the diversity of available models and improve the quality of the simulation results, particularly with regard to the dynamic consideration of fibrous filter cakes.

As the project was funded as part of the "Maintaining Competence in Nuclear Technology" initiative, it was possible to complete a doctorate while working on the project. The doctoral procedure was carried out in cooperation with the TU Ilmenau. The topic was supervised by Prof. Kästner from the IPM. Prof. Ament took over the supervision for the TU Ilmenau. In addition, the doctoral procedure with Prof. Prasser from ETH Zurich as reviewer also met with international approval. After completing the technical work and writing the dissertation (submitted in October 2014), Mr. Kittan successfully passed the viva voce examination on 17 September 2015 and defended his thesis with the grade magna cum laude. With the publication of the dissertation in November 2015, the doctoral procedure was officially

This continued the IPM's long-standing tradition of offering young academic staff the opportunity to complete a doctorate as part of project work. Since 1993, 17 cooperative doctoral procedures have been successfully completed in this way. This is also a contribution to enhancing the reputation of Zittau/Görlitz as a university location and strengthening the attractiveness of engineering education and training.

However, it should be noted that Mr. Kittan's troubles are not yet completely over, as the traditional "moist, cheerful" post-defense in the critical circle of colleagues and friends is still pending. Here, too, we wish Mr. Kittan every success and perseverance.