Mouna Sellami as a guest at TUBAF and at the Falling Walls Summit in Berlin
Since September 2025, Dr Mouna Sellami has been conducting research at the Chair of General and Applied Mineralogy as a guest researcher funded by the TWAS-DFG cooperation programme. Her research project at TUBAF focuses on the structural, physical and chemical properties of functional geopolymers. These materials are recognised for their potential as durable, environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional materials used in a variety of applications. The goal of Dr Mouna Sellami is to integrate this material into future applications such as photoluminescence by improving its optical properties.
Mineralogy at TUBAF was therefore the Tunisian researcher's first choice when it came to finding a host university: "TUBAF's research strategy, which is strongly focussed on the sustainable use of resources, fits very well with my scientific interest in clay and clay mineral raw materials."
Professor Gerhard Heide, holder of the professorship, explains: "Clay minerals are an extremely important and complex mineral group with considerable economic significance, especially in Saxony with its strong stone and earth industry. Understanding the relationship between crystal structure, geological formation conditions and properties is the key to successful synthesis. The mineralogical laboratory specialises in the structural characterisation of bulk raw materials and their industrial products and Ms Sellami is very welcome to bring her questions and samples.
Mouna Sellami completed her doctorate at the University of Sfax. Her stay at TUBAF gives her the opportunity to collaborate with German scientists on an international level for the first time. At the Falling Walls Summit in Berlin in November, she was invited by the DFG to present her research to an audience from the worlds of science, politics and business. She is one of 29 researchers who are being funded by the DFG this year in the "TWAS-DFG Cooperation Visits Programme".
