Young Polymer Scientists tackle industry challenges

02.07.2018
Which ideas emerge when talented young polymer scientists tackle research challenges from the chemical industry? In order to find out, Evonik Industries and the DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials invited 24 Ph.D. students from Germany, Belgium and Switzerland to Aachen.

“We are excited about the Leibniz Young Polymer Scientist Forum. This year we are presenting precise research challenges and hope that the Ph.D. students’ unbiased views will provide us new impulses”, says  Dr. Patrick Glöckner from Evonik Industries, who is also a member of the DWI’s scientific advisory board.
The participants possessed widely varying scientific backgrounds, as their Ph. D. projects ranged from bioprinting or nanoreactors to nanoparticles for drug delivery and the protein corona of such particles. Evonik’s challenges are as diverse as the backgrounds.  For example, the demand for nutraceuticals is rising and consumers pay more and more attention to sustainability. How could a “green pill” be designed, which can release several supplements specifically? Another challenge came from the area of ship construction. In this field the unwanted settlement of microorganisms on the ship’s hull is a big problem. Currently used biocides  are too harmful  for the environment. How could a “smart” polymer be developed, which can prevent biofouling in an environmentally friendly manner?

During the two days the students spent at the DWI, teamwork was of crucial importance. Further input was given by Evonik’s employees, who coached the teams. In addition, Prof. Dr. Matthias Wessling (DWI) held a workshop on “Presenting science”. His take-home-message: Take your time to prepare your data in a comprehensive and appealing way.
That the participants were skilled at presenting scientific results became clear during the highlight of the event: Each team gave a talk in front of the jury which consisted of representatives from Evonik and the DWI. Most successful was the talk on “Deligel”, a nutraceutical, which releases several supplements specifically. This system could be an option for people with swallowing difficulties.

The members of the winning team, Karolina Walker and Michael Unbehauen from the Freie Universität Berlin, Claudia Weber and Solveig Bartelt from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer research in Mainz and Benjamin Breitenbach from the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, are looking forward to an exciting day at Evonik Industries, where they will meet young employees and recruiters.

For Dr. Patrick Glöckner, the event was a full success: „We appreciate the cooperation with research institutions and the early contact with motivated young talents a lot and we are enthusiastic about the creative and innovative approaches which were developed. We will examine if these impulses can be further tested in our laboratories”.