News of March 18, 2026

Spectroscopy for Sustainable Raw Material Use

HIF Scientist Dr. Richard Gloaguen appointed Honorary Professor at TU Bergakademie Freiberg

Starting in March 2026, the curriculum of the Faculty of Chemistry, Physics, and Life Sciences at TU Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF) will be expanded to include the subject area “Applied Spectroscopy and Data Analysis.” This new honorary professorship will be led by Dr. Richard Gloaguen. He has been at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf since 2013, where he heads the Exploration Department at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource technology (HIF).

Exploring materials - whether hidden underground or visible on a conveyor belt - is the French researcher’s passion. Using various spectroscopic measuring instruments, Gloaguen and his team attempt to determine the composition of materials in order to derive further steps. At the HIF, they have set up a test facility for this purpose in collaboration with TUBAF, known as the Helios Lab. Here, shredded parts from old electrical appliances or vehicles move along a conveyor belt. Sensors and lasers scan the materials and characterize their composition in real time. This requires new methods of machine learning and computer vision. This enables better sorting and processing, which significantly improves the recycling process. His expertise lies at the intersection of spectroscopy, remote sensing, geodesy, and data science and can also contribute to the responsible sourcing of critical metals - from exploration and extraction to the restoration of mining sites.

Gloaguen now shares his knowledge and diverse experience in a course and during field trips, such as to the Helios Lab: “It is an enrichment for TUBAF students to now be introduced to the latest developments in the field of spectroscopic material analysis and to be able to try them out using practical examples. At the same time, we are attracting young researchers to the HIF through their theses.” This is because the course will also be open to students in the SINReM program. In this master’s program, students at three universities (Ghent University in Belgium, TU Bergakademie Freiberg in Germany, and Uppsala University in Sweden) take courses covering the entire natural resource value chain and receive the joint degree International Master of Science in Sustainable and Innovative Natural Resource Management.