Gulzhan Khamitova is the second researcher of the University of Camerino to have achieved the Ph.D. in chemical and pharmaceutical science within the activities promoted by the Research and Innovation Coffee Hub (RICH), an international platform for coffee research, the result of the collaboration between Simonelli Group and the University. During the three years of the Ph. D. course, she conducted analytical research and advanced experimentation on the optimization process of espresso coffee extraction, using a specialized type of coffee machine used by bars and restaurants.
Already graduated in chemistry with honors at the Kazaka national university of Al-farabi KazNU, and in Chemical Engineering with Design at the Manchester University (UK), before the three-year Ph.D. course in Camerino, Gulzhan Khamitova worked for five years in the instrumental chemical laboratory of the Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakistan.
Following her passion and curiosity, she arrived in Italy to study the preparation of an espresso coffee, a complicated procedure characterized by different chemical and physical phenomena that aren’t easy to control and optimize, even with the most advanced machines on the market. Furthermore, the optimization of the extraction process represents an exciting test field for scientists and many operators involved in the world of coffee, including the final consumer.
It is a research argument that Simonelli Group has been advancing for many years, and in 2016 the company decided to develop into a real research hub in collaboration with the University of Camerino.
The collaboration between the technicians of the company and the university professors, with the help of researchers and students, brought to light new and remarkable results. One of these studies of particular relevance was the research Gulzhan Khamitova dedicated herself to. It offered a significant contribution to comprehending the different variables (temperature, water pressure, ground coffee particle size) and how they can influence the brewed drink at the end of the extraction process. The research defined the best combination of different variables and analyzed parameters to transfer the results in the industrial segment, applying them to the coffee machines’ manufacturing process.
The experimental part of the research was conducted at the Chemical Department of Aveiro University (Portugal). Here, Gulzhan had the opportunity to spend six months of research, thanks to the exchange system between the University of Camerino and Aveiro.