Understanding life a little better

Flying is the most beautiful thing in the world, Alexander thinks. At least, that's what he thought when he was still at school. He now finds the dynamics of liquids and gases to be the most beautiful thing there is. "Almost everything revolves around the movement and structure of water and air, and how we can manipulate them. The only reason we humans can fly at all is because turbulence exists and we have figured out how to use it."

Breathing

Alexander: "All day long, you are exposed to different kinds of liquid and gas movements: the water that flows out of the tap when you brush your teeth, the water you heat up to brew a boiling hot coffee; even if you do nothing but breathe, there is a constant movement of air. It is the foundation of all."

Dynamics

"You never really think about it, but today's life is also determined by the movement of water and air," he continues. "Even if it's just because these dynamics create good or bad weather. But we still don't know everything about how that happens. Printing turbulent flow in 3D - yes, that's possible - helps us to better understand exactly what is happening. And that leads us to new ideas and interesting discussions."

Pilot

Alexander Blass grew up in Germany and dreamed of becoming a pilot. He studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Darmstadt, because he also liked the technical aspects of flying. "I still think it's fantastic. But things turned out differently when I also became fascinated by fluid dynamics during my Master’s degree. I won't become a pilot, but I am very happy to be doing what I am doing now: helping a little to understand life better."