Muhannad did his PhD on the development of lignin-based carbon fibers in a lab-scale by tuning the fine structure of the polymeric precursor fibers in 2020 with the predicate “summa cum laude” under the supervision of Prof. Gert Heinrich. His thesis was awarded with the WAK-Röchling-Award for outstanding research work on new hybrid materials, systems and process technologies based on plastics. In 2021, he shifted to the industry as a project leader, where he was responsible for the conceptualization and procurement of a lab-scale carbonization line for carbon fibers based on renewable polymeric materials.

In 2022, he joined our chair where he plans to pursue the further development of renewable material systems for various environmental applications (e.g. energy-harvesting, interactive material systems, and functional carbons).