Simon Brohm Works in Materials Development

What do graduates of Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) do for a living? In order to introduce students to different perspectives, Michaela Thiel and her team from the central alumni network "Uni Würzburg Community" regularly interview selected alumni.

This time the interviewee is Simon Brohm. He studied Functional Materials at JMU and works for ESN Deutsche Tischtennis Technologie GmbH in Hofheim, Lower Franconia. There he is involved in the development of materials for the rubbers of table tennis bats.

Mr Brohm, what is your job like?

My job is to determine the recipes and the production process for table tennis rubbers. I then assess the quality and decide whether further tests with the material are necessary or whether we can start upscaling to production scale.

I talk about recipes because we in the rubber industry often use baking as an analogy for our work. Instead of butter, water and flour, we mix polymers, plasticisers, fillers and cross-linking agents. This mix is then exposed to similar temperatures to a cake in the oven. The heat causes chemical reactions that cross-link the ingredients. The result is a rubbery material that returns to its original state after being moulded. As with baking a cake, the right ratio of ingredients and their quality are crucial for the end result when making gum paste.

What fascinates you about your work?

The complexity and unpredictability of rubber as a material. There are still many things about this material that we don't understand or that we can't describe exactly in physical or chemical terms. As a result, there are always unexpected effects when adapting recipes. However, we can often find out what causes them. We are constantly learning new things about the material.

I'm also fascinated by the sports aspect of my work, as I enjoy playing sports myself in my free time. Playing the rubbers with the formulations I have developed in the company's own table tennis room makes my work much more tangible for me.

Do you play table tennis yourself?

I played table tennis as a club sport until I was about 20 years old. When I started studying, however, I focussed on another sport. My past in table tennis made it much easier for me to start working, because I was able to familiarise myself with the different stroke conditions that exist in table tennis. Who knows, maybe I'll return to table tennis at some point. After all, it's a sport that's also very suitable for older people.

What advice would you give to students who want to work in materials development?

As a materials developer, my versatile training in the natural sciences helps me. I regularly need different aspects of physics, chemistry and maths for my work. That's why I recommend looking beyond the boundaries of your own specialism during your studies. Longer internships in industry are also very helpful. Without my internship at ESN during my Master's degree, it would have been difficult to gain such a deep insight into materials development.

What is your favourite memory of your time at university?

Above all, the time I spent together with my fellow students. Whether it was working on exercise sheets together or playing cards in the breaks between lectures. In my opinion, the exchange, the discussion and the independent examination of the topics by working on the worksheets together promoted scientific thinking even more than the lectures themselves.

Thank you very much for the interview!

You are not yet a member of the alumni network "Uni Würzburg Community" or Alumni & Friends e.V.? Then you are cordially invited to register! You can also find the previously published interviews with JMU alumni and alumnae on the Community website .