Chemist Andries Meijerink will receive the KNAW Gilles Holst Medal this year. Meijerink has been awarded the medal for modelling, making and characterising new luminous materials that improve the efficiency of lighting and solar cells.

Andries Meijerink, Professor of Solid State Chemistry at the Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science and MCEC member at Utrecht University, is an internationally renowned expert in the design, composition and understanding of materials that emit light. His research is crucial for the transition to a sustainable society in which efficient lighting and the conversion of sunlight into electricity will play a pivotal role.

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11 October 2019

Dear MCEC Member,

Please have a look at the brand new MCEC PowerPoint Template. Let us know what you think of the new design. In our latest MCEC Newsletter you can read about:

• Upcoming Events
• MCEC Lecture series
• Update: MCEC Demonstrator Videos
• Dr. Stijn Hinterding (UU) successfully defended his thesis
• Freddy Rabouw (UU) receives VIDI-grant
• New MCEC PowerPoint Template Design
• MCEC Publications

Get in touch with us on LinkedIn!

Read more

David Fernández Rivas has been awarded the ERC Starting Grant. The MCEC member from University of Twente received the maximum amount of € 1.5 million for his project focused on the development of needle-free injections, or: ‘bubble gun’, as the technology is based on ‘pushing’ liquid into the skin using laser-made bubbles.

David Fernández is a great advocate of societal benefit of scientific research. He’s ensuring its deployment into society on three topics: cavitation, renewable energy, and process intensification through microfluidics. Since 2014 he has focused on biomedical projects.

What is it exactly that fascinates you about the biomedical implementation?
It’s all about the challenge. First you have the technical factor: A lot of researchers before me have tried to study this difficult topic. The big question is, can I make it work? Then there’s the human factor. Successful implementation will only be possible if we can deal with all the variables of the human body. In contradiction to the work we do in a lab, the circumstances can change instantly and unpredictably.

A €1.5 million ERC Starting grant, what will you do with it?
Such a grant can be spend in many ways. Depending on the type of research you do, your location, whether or not you do a lot of experimental work. You have to factor in the salary of people who are working on the project, the equipment and the experiments.
For this specific project we will be looking to work with three PhD students and one PD. The aim is to assemble a multi-disciplinary team that covers the fields of micro-fluidics, physics and bio-engineering. For me, it is a great opportunity to learn to work on a longer running project. Now I can apply all the experiences that I’ve gained during my time as PD and assistant professor with other professors.

What would be your biggest take-away for any aspiring MCEC PD or PhD that may think of taking a next step in academia?
My advice would be: Do not stop when you’re afraid that your research idea is not good enough. With time your idea will become better. How? By pitching your idea to many colleagues. Your ideas will improve, your research will become more focused. Peer reviewers will get familiar with your work . It’s not a miracle. Of course, luck plays a part. But it’s also about putting in the hard work and continuously improving your ideas.

Read more about the ‘Bubble Gun’-project, the ERC Starting Grant and see the vacancies of the project.

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6 September 2019

At the end of August, from 24 – 27, a large number of MCEC’s researchers had the opportunity to dive into the world of catalysis during Catalysis Connected. 16 engaging lectures divided over 4 days were given in the beautiful venue Museum Speelklok in Utrecht. There was a lot of interaction between the lecturers and the audience and enough time left for exploring the city. MCEC organised this event as a post-conference of Europacat 2019, together with Viran, Dutch Catalysis Society and ARC CBBC. We are happy to have given our researchers the chance to intensify their knowledge and meet established academics in the field of catalysis.

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27 August 2019

Utrecht University is getting a new transmission electron microscope, which will be one of the most comprehensive electron microscopes for materials studies in the Netherlands, and one of the best in the world. Researchers will be able to use the microscope to study materials, nanoparticles, and 2D materials such as graphene with a resolution of a single atom. MCEC researcher Marijn van Huis explains more about this new addition on the website of Utrecht University: “With the new microscope, we can not only look at atoms, but also at the electrons surrounding them. That way, we can also see if the atoms carry an electric charge, and whether they are in an excited state. That’s important for the study of catalysts, for example, in which the atom’s charge determines whether it is catalytically active. With this technology, we can see where the catalytically active atoms are located in the material, and we can study how to activate them.”

Read more in English or in Dutch.

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19 June 2019

Together with 54 other ERC grant holders, Prof. Detlef Lohse and Prof. Bert Weckhuysen received top-up funding from the European Research Council (ERC) via its Proof of Concept Grants (PoC), to explore the commercial or societal potential of their ERC-funded frontier research results. The awarded projects cover the following topics:

• Prof. Detlef Lohse – Nanoextraction, separation and detection of micropollutants in one single and simple step
• Prof. Bert Weckhuysen – Greenhouse gases to valuable liquid chemicals: High-flux zeolite membrane-based reactor for the efficient conversion of CH4 and CO2

Proof of Concept grants, worth €150,000 each, can be used for example to explore business opportunities, prepare patent applications or verify the practical viability of scientific concepts. The new grants were awarded to researchers working in 15 countries.

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3 May 2019

On April 18, Dr. Aditya Sengar received his PhD degree (cum laude) making him one of the youngest PhDs (at age 25) to do so from TU/e. Dr. Sengar’s work in mesoscale modeling has been able to connect reactions from a chemistry perspective(nanoscale) to a chemical reactor engineers perspective (microscale-macroscale). Here you can read the full text of the PhD thesis and here you’ll find the public summary. Congratulations Dr. Aditya Sengar!

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18 April 2019

On Tuesday April 16, Anne-Eva Nieuwelink and Robin Geitenbeek gave a presentation on luminescence thermometry for visitors of the U-Talent Conference.

U-Talent is a collaboration between Utrecht University, Hogeschool Utrecht and more than 40 partner schools from the Utrecht region. The goal of U-Talent is to strengthen regional science education in secondary education and in the bachelor phase of higher education. To improve the connection between secondary education and higher education the U-talent Conference invites teachers with different backgrounds. During their presentation, Anne-Eva and Robin also gave an insight into the process collaborating with other PhD scientists with different backgrounds.

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16 April 2019

This month, Chemical Engineering Science truly has a lot in store for you. The journal features a special section on ‘Multiscale Energy Conversion from Catalytic Event to Reactor’, in which you’ll find articles from MCEC researchers and other experts who were invited to contribute. 

This special ‘MCEC issue’ is an initiative of Niels Deen (TU/e), who proposed the idea to the MCEC Management Team and the editorial board of Chemical Engineering Science where it was met with much enthusiasm. The result is a 186-page section that features research articles from i.e. Robin Geitenbeek (UU), Jiangtao Lu (TU/e), Beatriz Luna-Murillo (UU), Anne-Eva Nieuwelink (UU),  Aditya Sengar (TU/e), and Evgeny Uslamin (TU/e).

The special section offers a lot of insights on MCEC (related) topics, and showcases the scientific knowledge, talent and multidisciplinary approach MCEC has been developing and nourishing ever since its start. Please take note, new MCEC PhDs and community members, as it is a perfect starting point for reading up on catalysis and multiscale energy conversion.

To everyone involved in this issue: congratulations!

** April 1 2019