New researcher WP 1.8

Mohit Bhola started his work as a PostDoc at Aalborg University May 2022. He will work within WP1.8 with topics related to energy efficient offshore hydraulic systems with focus on digital valve technology and AI. Prior to starting at AAU, Mohit did his PhD at Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad.

New researcher WP4.5

Savin Viswanathan is defending his PhD on May 11th and he is now starting in a new position at NTNU as a Post.doc in WP4.5. His work in WP4.5 will be Modeling and simulation of the motion of ships, cranes and drilling systems in waves. Before pursuing the PhD in WP4.1, Savin worked as a university lecturer in India and he holds a MSc degree in Ocean Technology & Management from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

New researcher WP7.1

Marius T. Kristiansen joined as a PhD research fellow in WP1.7 in September 2020, with Professor Tor Helge Aas (School of Business and Law, University of Agder) as the main supervisor and Jan Helge Viste (GCE Node) as the co-supervisor. The title of his project is: ”Digital Technologies enabling Business Model Innovation in Manufacturing”.

His education background is:
• Bachelor in Political Science, Economics, University of Oslo, 2005
• M.Sc., International marketing and management, Norwegian Business School BI, 2007

New researcher WP1.7

Thomas Farsakoglou joined as a PhD research fellow in WP1.7 in Januar 2021, with Professor Torben Andersen as the supervisor. The title of his project is: ”Energy Efficient Offshore Hydraulic Systems with focus on rotary Actuation”.

His education background is:
• B.Sc. from Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece in 2016.
• M.Sc. in Mechatronics at the University of Aalborg in 2019.

New Researcher WP3.9 / WP6.5

José Amendola started as PhD Research Fellow in WP3.9 since January, 17th, 2021, with Associate Professor Ajit Jha as main supervisor and Associate Professor Linga Reddy Cenkeramaddi as co-supervisor. The title of his project is: “Sensor Fusion For Perception, Collision Avoidance And Navigation Towards Autonomous Systems”. He has a MSc degree in Mechatronics Engineering from University of São Paulo, Brazil, 2020 and a BSc in Electrical Engineering also from University of São Paulo, Brazil, 2013, with a year of studies in Robotics field at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. His M.Sc. thesis aimed to develop automatic ship navigation in port channels under environmental forces using Reinforcement Learning and maritime simulator. He has also experience in software development, having worked for more than 4 years in a team responsible for a full immersion maritime simulator.

New Researcher WP1.6



Wei Zhao has worked as a PhD research fellow in WP1.6 since October 5th, 2020, with Associate Professor Morten Kjeld Ebbesen as the main supervisor and Associate Professor Damiano Padovani as the co-supervisor. The title of his project is: ”Development of Energy-Efficient Linear Actuation Systems for Offshore Use”.

His education background is:
• B.Sc. in Process Equipment and Control Engineering at China University of Petroleum (East China) in 2010.
• M.Sc. in Mechatronics at the University of Agder in 2019.

Before he started the PhD research fellowship, he has worked as a mechanical engineer in SINOPEC and as a technical support engineer for control systems in Cameron Sense AS.

New Researcher WP6.3

Kevin Roy is a new researcher in WP6.3 Design of soft-sensors based on novel context-aware data fusion techniques.

His background is
• B.Sc. in Physics from Kannur University (India) between 2013 to 2016 with Computer science and Mathematics as subsidiary subjects.
• M.Sc. in Physics was studied at Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (India) between 2016 to 2018. M.Sc. thesis was based on Computational Physics which involves the investigation of Thermoelectric properties of specific compounds within the Semiconductor range.
• Research Student at the University of Tokyo (Japan) between 2018 to 2019 with Japan International Corporation Agency Fellowship. The main tasks were based on Simulation and Data Acquisition System for the Nuclear Physics Experiments.

New Researcher WP5.6

Dr. Vignesh Shanbhag received his M.Tech in Manufacturing Engineering from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) in 2015, and a joint PhD degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Deakin University (Australia) and Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (India) in 2019. He currently holds Postdoc position at NORCE. His research interest include condition monitoring of machine parts, quantification of machine tool defects using optical profilometer, and nano surface finishing of nonferrous alloys.

New Researcher WP5.4

Mohamed Yusuf is a new researcher in WP5.4 Condition-based lifetime prediction as result of calculated component loads.

His background is:

  • B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Debrecen (Hungary) between 2013 to 2017 with a specialization in “Operation and Maintenance”.
  • Erasmus+ scholarship to study a European Joint Master Degree specialized in Tribology of Surfaces and Interfaces between 2017 and 2019.
  • M.Sc. was studied at the University of Leeds (UK), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Luleå University of Technology (Sweden) respectively. M.Sc. thesis written in cooperation with the Swedish Engineering company Sandvik AB.

    M.Sc thesis was aimed at creating a FEM-based Multiphysics model of a spiral groove bearing used by Sandvik in their cone crushers, in order to gain a deep understanding of how it operates and to suggest design improvements based on the model.

    Starting from October 2019, Mohamed has been employed as a research assistant in the Off-Highway branch of the MSE institute at RWTH Aachen University and is co-supervised by the head of the Off-Highway branch, Stephan Neumann.

  • New Researcher WP3.7

    Ronny Landsverk started working on WP3.7 in Q1-2019. The title of his work package is: “Coupled Dynamics between Vessel and Crane”. He has an MSc from UiA within Mechatronics. The main supervisor of this project is Professor Jing Zhou. This work-package was created with additional funding from UiA.