S.S. Gamaniel (Shari)

I received both my Bachelor’s (2017) and Master’s (2020) education (cum laude) in Mechanical Engineering from Bilkent University in Ankara, Türkiye. My undergraduate thesis focused on optimizing the ice cream mix freezing process at the Unilever Algida pilot plant, Istanbul. During my Master’s studies, I developed a numerical algorithm to simulate the behaviour of viscoelastic fluids in lubricated contacts where cavitation was present. This research, carried out in collaboration with the Tribology Group at Imperial College London through a TÜBİTAK-funded project, was published in Tribology International and presented at the 25th International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ICTAM).

Following my Master’s, I obtained an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) in Maintenance at the University of Twente, where I worked on a tongue-equivalent tribological platform to assess the astringency caused by plant-based proteins. This work responded to the growing interest in sustainable food alternatives and the need to understand how polyphenols in plant proteins affect oral perception through tribological interactions.

I completed my PhD in 2025 at the University of Twente. My PhD research was focused on understanding the mechanisms of lubrication losses on wet epithelial tissues during sliding contact, as occurs on biological surfaces such as those of the eyes, mouth or lining of internal cavities. During my PhD, I spent a few months as a visiting researcher at the University of Sheffield, where I studied how mucous proteins interact with external factors, including soft materials, plant-derived proteins, particles, and polyphenolic compounds, and how these interactions affect lubrication on epithelial tissues. This included the breakdown of mucous boundary layers and the resulting mechanical damage to biological surfaces due to increased surface exposure and friction.

My research bridges tribology and biology, with implications for both food science and biomedical applications. My future work aims to refine biofidelic systems to better understand molecular adsorption, surface damage mechanisms, and the role of boundary lubrication in protecting biological tissues. Since 2021, I have also contribute to education by teaching Statics to first-year Bachelor’s students in Industrial Design Engineering at the University of Twente.

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University of Twente

Horst Complex (building no. 20), room N137
De Horst 2
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