Fostering academic collaboration between Greece and Germany
Fotis Tsiolis receives DAAD scholarship for bi-national PhD
Fotis Tsiolis has been awarded a prestigious scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), enabling him to pursue a bi-national PhD at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and the German Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials (MPI-SusMat). As part of this opportunity, he joined the Theory and Simulation Group at MPI-SusMat in January 2025. There he will develop computational frameworks to better understand how thermomechanical processing influences the mechanical properties of non-heat-treatable aluminum alloys.

“I am deeply honoured to be the first Greek doctoral student to receive this scholarship,” says Tsiolis. “I’m excited to contribute to academic collaboration between Greece and Germany and realize one of my biggest research goals—joining the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials.”
Aluminium is vital across industries due to its unique properties. Its alloys offer high strength-to-weight ratios, making them indispensable e.g. in the transportation and packaging sectors. Tsiolis mainly focuses on modelling hot rolling, a production stage where aluminum slabs are rolled thin at temperatures roughly ranging from 300°C to 500°C. By developing a through-process simulation model, he seeks to improve the sustainability of non-heat-treatable aluminium alloys. “Non-heat-treatable aluminium alloys are everywhere,” Tsiolis explains. “From beverage cans and food containers to architectural panels and heat exchangers, such alloys are part of our daily lives. By coupling the multi-physics crystal plasticity simulation software DAMASK, developed at MPI-SusMat, with a full-field Cellular Automata recrystallization model, I aim to understand better how hot tandem rolling affects crystallographic texture evolution. Essentially, how does the thermomechanical history of the process impact the anisotropy of key properties like formability? Answering these questions will not only improve established industrial practices but also help optimize alloys with increased recycled content, while maintaining control over their mechanical properties.
Tsiolis earned his Master’s degree in Mining and Metallurgical Engineering with summa cum laude honours from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). He has industrial and research experience in aluminium hot rolling, process metallurgy of non-ferrous alloys, and CALPHAD-based alloy development. The DAAD scholarship supports bi-national doctorates where German and home universities collaborate on a joint research project, fostering international cooperation and innovation. Under the DAAD’s motto “Change by Exchange” this program not only strengthens international understanding, but also drives scientific innovation to address global challenges.