Where are our SuCat students? #2

For the 2nd year students, this spring semester is the last one of their SuCat journey ! Doing the following profiles is a great way for them to reflect on their path as SuCat students and laying eyes on what’s next. We are presenting 4

Karen Nassif 🇱🇧🇪🇺

Current Master’s Thesis in : CPE Lyon 🇫🇷

As I approach the final milestone of my Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree, I find myself reflecting on an incredible journey filled with learning, challenges, and personal growth.

Originally from Lebanon, I hold a diploma in Chemical Engineering, and two years ago, I embarked on this transformative experience through the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree Scholarship. I chose to specialize in Heterogeneous Catalysis, studying at the University of Poitiers, France, and am currently completing my master’s thesis at CPE Lyon. My research focuses on the polymerization of ethylene using monometallic and bimetallic Ziegler-Natta catalysts in gas and slurry phases—an exciting and challenging field that deepened my expertise in catalysis.

This program has been far more than an academic endeavor. It has:

✅ Enhanced my technical skills in catalysis, reaction engineering, and polymerization processes.
✅ Equipped me with analytical and problem-solving abilities through extensive lab work and research.
✅ Refined my adaptability and intercultural communication, thanks to the privilege of studying in different countries and collaborating with peers from diverse backgrounds.
✅ Expanded my global network, allowing me to build friendships and professional connections from all around the world.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities, experiences, and friendships this program has offered me. Erasmus Mundus is not just a scholarship it is a – life – changing experience that shapes both your career and perspective on the world.

See other SuCat profiles HERE

Gnana Pratheek KOTHAMASU 🇮🇳🇪🇺

Current Master’s Thesis in : Aarhus University, Denmark 🇩🇰

Hello to the one reading. My name is Gnana Pratheek Kothamasu, and I am from a beautiful city called Hyderabad in India.

I completed my bachelor’s degree there in Chemistry from the University of Hyderabad. Soon after, I joined EMJMD Sucat. I found myself moving abroad for the first time, and Poitiers, being the first destination, taught me a great deal about catalysis and sustainability […].

After gaining a great deal of insights from the professors and the coursework, I realized that Enzymes, on their own, are highly complex molecules and remarkably efficient at catalyzing their reactions. I call enzymes as nature’s magicians, as they can sometimes even catalyze reactions that can be impossible by chemical catalytic methods. For instance, in my master’s thesis, I am working on a project titled “Improving Capacity of CYP153 Enzymes for Terminal Functionalization through Protein and Reaction Engineering,” under the supervision of Dr. Bekir Engin Eser in the Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering at Aarhus University in Denmark. These CYP153 enzymes, a subfamily of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases, can catalyze the terminal hydroxylation of alkanes by introducing a hydroxyl (-OH) group at the terminal carbon, a task that is challenging to perform chemically. In this project, the aim is to engineer and optimize enzymes for the efficient oxy-functionalization of short- to medium-chain alkanes, generating diols and diacids that can be used as building blocks for the synthesis of ester-based plastics. Thus, the alkanes we want to functionalize enzymatically are to be sourced from the degradation of plastics by chemical means. This helps create a closed-loop life-cycle of plastics, incorporating upcycling and making it more sustainable.

My goal for this thesis is to perform mutations and understand their effectiveness, as well as the underlying reasons. I am excited to see the progress and have fun in the final few months of my master’s program. It has been a journey of four semesters that I will truly cherish forever, making me more excited for the future and never more ready than now.

See the full SuCat profiles HERE

Aranza Denisse Vital 🇲🇽🇪🇺

Current Master’s Thesis in: Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Spain 🇪🇸

Many things have happened since I am about to finish my master’s.
First, I was able to successfully finalize my heterogeneous catalysis internship in SINTEF, Norway. During this internship I fulfilled my objectives, so I was able to electrocatalytically depolymerize lignin to produce monomers with chemical value. I learned many things, such as electrodeposition, cyclic voltammetry and how hard is to analyze lignin products. So, I also realized during this semester that when you work with lignin either you love it, or you hate it. Me, I loved it.

After finishing my internship, I started my classes in homogeneous catalysis in the Universitat Rovira I Virgili in Tarragona. These were tough times, as my background is in engineering and the classes are full chemistry and some organic (this was my biggest fear), but thanks to my friends and a lot of study hours I was able to conquer (also having the beach so close helped)! Right now, I am more focused in my master thesis, I am working in Casadevall lab, that studies artificial photosynthesis. More specifically in my thesis I am studying the photo(electro)catalytic CO2 reduction with porphyrin based complex. During my time in Tarragona, I have embraced some customs such as going out for a piscolabis and calçotada.

By going out of my comfort zone and specializing in homogeneous I have found that sometimes doing scary things can take you to very satisfactory places. I will continue with my journey, and I am excited for what is to come.