Meet the ESRs – Part 10

Tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Bengi Yagmurlu and I am from Turkey. I finished both BSc and MSc in Middle East Technical University´s Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. Currently I am doing my PhD in RWTH Aachen and working in MEAB. When I consider my hobbies, the most part is about music. I have been playing guitar for almost 15 years and it has become an inseparable part of my life. However, because I've moved to Aachen, I've left my band in Turkey. So I am eager and persistent to form a REDMUD Band with this project. Who knows, maybe we will become rockstars 🙂

How is your PhD going? What is your upcoming research about?

My research topic is about selective recovery of scandium in red mud. Scandium is one of the trending elements due to its usage in the aerospace industry. However, because the extraction is hard and it is not a widespread element like Fe or Al, the price to buy a kilogram is astronomic. On the other hand there are megatons of Red Mud around and it contains enough Sc to be counted as valuable source. So during this project, we will try to achieve the production of high purity Sc complexes in Red Mud and develop a feasible and applicable process for that purpose. If we are successful, Red Mud will become one of the most important sources for Sc production.

What or who motivates and inspires you? Any thoughts and life musings you’d like to share with us?

Getting rid of lots of toxic waste and producing tons of valuable staff... Taking part in a project which will “make the world a better place” is always one of the best motivations I think.

If a chicken had lips, could it whistle?

Definitely they could. If humans can do it, why not them?