Amcel is a joint initiative of the Amsterdam electrochemistry community, striving to lay the foundation for the green and electrical energy based chemistry of the future. Through their high-quality education and research programs, Amcel members contribute to the advancement of scientific research and technical innovation in the field of electrochemistry and materials for energy. Each year, Amcel honours the best BSc and PhD thesis with an award that is presented during its annual symposium.

The 2022 Amcel BSc award is won by Alp Korkmaz who did his internship at the Inorganic Materials Chemistry research group of Dr Marta Costa Figueiredo at Eindhoven University of Technology. Alp worked on the electrosynthesis of urea from CO₂ and nitrates and showed exceptional skills in conducting research, analyzing data, and presenting this findings in a clear and concise manner. His thesis was selected from a pool of highly competitive submissions, and the judges were impressed by the quality of his work and the originality of his research. As the winner of the BSc Amcel award, sponsored by Avantium, Alp will present a poster during the Amcel annual symposium.

Read more about Alp on his website.

The winner of the 2022 PhD Amcel award is Dr Mariana Monteiro who obtained her PhD Cum Laude at the Catalysis and Surface Chemistry group of Prof. Marc Koper of Leiden University. Her outstanding achievements contributed to the understanding of the molecular-level factors that determine the electrochemical activation of CO₂, specifically the role of the electrolyte parameters. This led to 11 papers in highly reputed scientific journals, among which Nature Catalysis, Nature Communications, and the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Since January 2023, Dr Monteiro is leading the “Electrode-electrolyte Interfaces” Minerva Fast-Track group at the Interface Science Department of the Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin. The PhD Amcel award, sponsored by Elsevier, will be presented during the Amcel annual symposium, where Dr Monteiro will also give a lecture on her PhD research.

Read more about Mariana on the website of the Fritz Haber Institute.