Best UG Engineering Thesis 2022 for Chongnan Ye

Every year the Groningen Engineering Center gives an award to the most outstanding engineering thesis at the University of Groningen; the Best Engineering Thesis Award. The decision is made by a jury evaluating the thesis based on scientific quality and impact; long term societal impact and interdisciplinary connections.

We are delighted to announce that last year's best thesis award goes to Dr Chongnan Ye from the Zernike Institute of Advanced Materials (ZIAM). Chongnan thesis supervisor is Prof. Katja Loos and the thesis is titled: "Design of sustainable polymer networks for advanced applications based on dynamic covalent bonds".

The award committee found, that the thesis showcased high scientific quality through the design, synthesis, and meticulous characterization of polymeric materials. It was also published in top peer-reviewed journals, gaining recognition within the scientific community.

Chongnan’s research focused on environmentally sustainable materials. By designing and synthesizing materials from base chemicals, he explored applications such as sensors, membranes, and energy-harvesting materials. These materials demonstrated properties like stretchability, transparency, recyclability, and self-healing capabilities. His work embraced an interdisciplinary approach, combining synthetic organic chemistry, polymer design, synthesis, materials engineering, and application testing. The thesis's comprehensive scope, from molecular design to advanced applications, showcased effective interdisciplinary collaboration.

Chongnan conducted his research within the Hybrid research group Biopolymer and Recycling Innovations (HyBRIt) formed by the University of Groningen and the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences. He defended his thesis May 17, 2022 as the first PhD student of the University of the North.

We congratulate Dr. Ye on this award and are looking forward to seeing more of his work. Dr. Ye will receive 1.000 EU to spent on scientific conference of visit of choice.