Name: Saeed Mardani
Job title/position and company's name: Lead Engineer, Borealis Polymers Oy
Education: Doctor of Science, Chemical engineering, Aalto University, Finland Master of Science, Chemical and process engineering, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland Bachelor’s degree, Chemical engineering, Azad University, Iran

1

What was your dream job as a child? What led you to your school of choice?

I grew up in Shiraz, Iran. It is a historical city with mild weather and a great agriculture. During the last century, by exploration of the oil in Iran, the city transformed to an industrial hub. Refineries and petrochemical plants were built around it and changed the appearance of the city. In my younger ages, I was looking at those plants, and I was hoping to understand what is happening in the massive vessels and equipment. So, I applied to the school of chemical engineering and it was the start of my career life as chemical engineer.
2

What does your company do/manufacture? What kind of innovations is your company working on?

Borealis is in petrochemicals business. The main products are polyolefins (publicly known as plastics), base chemicals, fertilizers, melamine and technical nitrogen products. We consider polyethylene and polypropylene as the main company products. In Borealis, we are committed at development of sustainable processes for manufacturing polyolefins. Some examples are continuous efforts for reduction of the carbon footprints in the polyolefin manufacturing processes, development of polyolefin recycling processes, and optimization of the manufacturing processes.
3

What are you most excited about at your job?

In Borealis, we are producing petrochemicals. Moreover, we develop the manufacturing processes. In my role in the company, it is very exciting to work as a part of a large research and development group to improve the manufacturing processes.

Saeed´s career on a timeline

Year 2002, age 15, high school student.
Year 2004, age 17, accepted for bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.
Year 2009, age 23, completed the bachelor’s degree with great hope for future.
Year 2010, age 24, I started my master’s degree in Lappeenranta, Finland. It was the first time that I was far from home. Lappeenranta was a calm place, with a nice environment for studying.
Year 2012, age 26, I started a master’s thesis related to life cycle assessment and carbon footprint calculations. The personal conclusion for myself was that all of us are involved in the future of our planet. So, all of us should move towards sustainable future.