Ina Vollmer and Matteo Monai both received NWO’s prestigious 2020 Veni grant. Ina’s research will focus on putting polymers under strain for more recycling gain while Matteo will work on designing robust nickel catalysts for cleaner hydrogen production. We congratulate Ina and Matteo on their wonderful achievements!
Matteo Monai wins the ‘RK Grasselli 2020’ Award
This yearly award (at its first edition) is presented to Italian researchers under the age of 37 who have made exceptional contribution to gas phase catalysis. The award consists of a plate, a prize of 2000 euros and an invited lecture at the University of Bologna. On September 24th 2020, Matteo received the award from Prof.
Water in Zeolite Pores: Modelling of Water-Active Site Interactions
PhD defense of Katarina Stanciakova Katarina Stanciakova has successfully defended her PhD thesis. Her supervisor was Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. Congratulations on this achievement!
Walter Benjamin Fellowship awarded to Nina Genz
Nina S. Genz received a Walter Benjamin Fellowship from DFG (German research foundation) for the research project “Insights into CO2 Hydrogenation: Tuning the Selectivity towards Alcohols by Investigating Ni-Fe Bimetallic Catalysts”. Nina will be funded for 24 months and perform her research project within the group of Bert Weckhuysen. She will study these bimetallic catalysts for unravelling
Florian Meirer promoted to Associate Professor
As of September 2020 Dr. Florian Meirer was promoted to Associate Professor (UHD) in the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group. He is very much looking forward to continue his work at Utrecht University. Congratulations on this great achievement! Source: website Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis
Anne-Eva Nieuwelink defends PhD in first MCEC Joint Doctorate degree with University of Twente
On 16 September Anne-Eva Nieuwelink defended her PhD at both Utrecht University and the University of Twente (UT). Her counterpart Jeroen Vollenbroek, who mainly did his research at the UT, already defended his PhD in January, but Nieuwelink’s defence had to be rescheduled due to the pandemic. The two researchers form the first MCEC Joint
Aromatization of Oxygenates over Zeolite Catalysts
PhD defense of Beatriz Luna Murillo Beatriz Luna Murillo has successfully defended her PhD thesis. Her supervisors were Prof. Bert Weckhuysen and Prof. Pieter Bruijnincx. Congratulations on this achievement!
Best Student Presentation Award for Sophie van Vreeswijk
PhD student Sophie van Vreeswijk received the Best Student Presentation Award at the virtual 2020 Oak Ridge National Laboratory CNMS User Meeting. She used atom probe tomography to image in 3-D the chemical composition of zeolites. Congratulations to the award!
Breaking Molecular Traffic Jams with Finned Nanoporous Materials
New Porous Catalyst with Ultra-small Fins Facilitates Molecular Transport Thousands of chemical processes used by the energy industry and for other applications rely on the high speed of catalytic reactions, but molecules frequently are hindered by molecular traffic jams that slow them down. Now an entirely new class of porous catalysts has been invented, using
Waarom kan je het onderste puntje van je ijshoorntje beter niet opeten?
Kijk jij ook altijd zo uit naar dat onderste chocoladepuntje van je Cornetto? Scheikundige Bert Weckhuysen (Universiteit Utrecht) niet, en hij vertelt in geuren en kleuren waarom. Source: gezondheid.be
“It took me an eternity to understand that I had to move on”
The PhD defense of Charlotte Vogt would take place on 18 March 2020. She had looked forward to that day for over a decade. After four years of hard work this would be the big day. The day she would be awarded her doctorate degree. But with 1 day to spare before her defense, everything
Metal-Organic Frameworks: Defects, Spectroscopy and Catalysis
PhD defense of Miguel Rivera Torrente Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) materials consist of metal ions or clusters (usually transition metal ions in alkaline earth ions) bound to multidentate organic ligands that regularly create 3-D networks with micro (or meso) porous cavities. This means that they are often crystalline, although very recently disordered in amorphous MOF materials