M.B. Franke

Prof. M.B. Franke is a Professor of Process Design and Optimization at the Sustainable Process Technology (SPT) Group, part of the Faculty of Science and Technology (TNW) at the University of Twente. His academic career follows over 15 years of industry experience at Bayer and LANXESS in Germany and China, where he held roles such as process engineer, project manager, and global technology manager. He previously led Bayer's Process Modeling and Design group, contributing to digital transformation initiatives including Digital Twins for production plants.

Education:

• Bachelor's/Master's in Chemical Engineering, Technical University (TU) Dortmund, Germany (1996–2001)
• PhD in Fluid Separations, TU Dortmund, Germany

Research Interests: Advanced process design optimization, scheduling of chemical batch plants, mixed-integer optimization, and process modeling under uncertainties. His expertise spans distillation systems, discrete event simulation, and applications in biodiesel and agricultural biotechnology, including algae-based design.

Awards: None explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Advising & Grants: No student advisees or grant details listed. His industry roles focused on process innovation and project management, with academic work centered on digital transformation in chemical engineering.

Labs/Teams: Leading the Sustainable Process Technology (SPT) Group at the University of Twente, focusing on interdisciplinary approaches to process optimization and sustainable industrial practices.