39 / 56
WHAT IS THE
SiManTi-GROUP?
The SiManTi-group is the research student group of the professors working with high-temperature processes within
silicon, manganese and titanium, but it also includes the students working on other materials like aluminium, chro-
mium and carbon. These are the students of Leiv Kolbeinsen, Ragnhild Aune, Gabriella Tranell, Jafar Safarian and
Merete Tangstad. The student group was first founded in 2006, and has continuously been operating since. This group
has several objectives, but the main objective is for the members to be a part of a group with similar challenges as
themselves. Doing a PhD can be quite a lonely process, both metallurgically and socially, so it is important to be part
of a bigger picture, and it is especially important to belong to a group of your peers, not just your professors and indus-
trial seniors. The second motivation for this group is to develop yourself as a person, outside of a narrow project-view.
The group is hence dedicated to presentation-technique, ethics in research, statistics, and effectiveness in writing and
similar issues. The practical operation of the group are done through weekly meetings and yearly SiMnTi seminars.
The social activities change over time, except for the yearly barbeque in June, and the baking of gingerbread models
of famous buildings and structures in December.
The SiManTi (Al) group with three of their supervisors.
39