Profile

Melanie Zimmer
Hi everyone! :) Looking forward to your questions!
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About Me:
29-year-old PhD student who enjoys problem solving but also reading a non-work related book to relax (and who is sometimes affectionately called “Ze German”)
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I’m German, butĀ I have been living in London for 3 years now. I really can’t cook, but I love baking. I love travelling, but I haven’t been to Iceland yet. I like learning new languages, but I am fluent in a very few only. I like watching Disney movies, but notĀ horror and romance movies. I don’t like spiders, but if I want to continue playing Zelda: Twilight Princess on the GameCube I have to overcome this fear.Ā I like dogs, but Iām currently thinking about getting either mini hedgehogs or tortoises. I like going to the theatre, but musicals are okay too. I like listening to rock music, but I sometimes listen to pop music as well.
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I used to work for the āData Analytics and Resource Efficiencyā team for a research institute with the very catchy name āthe High Speed Sustainable Manufacturing Instituteā (HSSMI) until recently. Ā My last main project was called āOpen dynamic Manufacturing Operating System for Smart Plug-and- Produce Automation Componentsā (or in short: openMOS), which is a European project. This project looks into plug-and-produce systems, i.e. systems like a production line that would quickly reconfigure themselves without the need for an expert once machines have been changed or removed. For this, agents are used. An agent is considered anything (hardware, software,ā¦) that can perceive its environment throughĀ sensors and which can act upon that through actuators.
I am now back to being a full-time student here at Loughborough University, more precisely at the Intelligent Automation lab. For my PhD I want to focus (as of now)Ā on data analytics. The data comes from the machines on a production line and will (hopefully) help to make the production more energy efficient.
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My Typical Day:
⦠starts with breakfast (most of the time porridge with honey, raisins and cinnamon).
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On a typical day, I read a lot, I write a lot, and I talk a lot āĀ I read a lot of papers other people have written on topics like machine learning and manufacturing, I write a lot of code and reports, and I talk a lot with my fellow PhD students about ideas (and lunch).
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Education:
Burg-Gymnasium, Schorndorf Germany (ā99-ā08; Abitur (comparable to A-levels)); University of Stuttgart Germany (ā08-ā09, started maths but didnāt enjoy it there); University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart (ā09-ā13, BSc in maths); University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart (ā13-ā15, MSc in Software Technology) with a semester abroad at SUPSI/ USI in Lugano Switzerland (ā14); Loughborough University (since September ā15; PhD).
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Qualifications:
Bachelor of Science in Maths, Master of Science in Software Technology, German A-levels (Abitur)
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Work History:
Iām currently part-time employed by the Digital Engineering and Test Centre (DETC). In August 2014, I joined HSSMI where I started to work on a project in augmented reality. During my Bachelorās degree, I did an internship at Vector Informatik in Germany where I developed software for communication in cars.
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Current Job:
PhD Student (and Part-time Engineer at DETC)
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
amateur-baker, Disney-fan, spider-detesting
What did you want to be after you left school?
Transportation interior designer
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