Presentation of the Quadrant Award 2009

Quadrant conferred the coveted international «Quadrant Award» for the third time on Saturday, January 24, 2009. The international invitation to submit entries for the award was addressed to graduates who had written a doctoral thesis in the field of «Materials and processes related to engineering and high-performance plastics and composites» between November 1, 2006, and September 30, 2008. This scientific award with a first prize of EUR 15 000 was won by the US researcher Dr. Rodney Priestley, who wrote his thesis at Northwestern University, Evanston / Chicago, USA, and is now pursuing post-doctoral studies at the École Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris, France. In September 2009, Rodney Priestley will join the Department of Chemical Engineering at Princeton University, New Jersey, USA, as an assistant professor. The second prize of EUR 7 000 went to the Polish-American scientist Dr. Paul Podsiadlo, from University of Michigan, Detroit, USA. Dr. Paul Podsiadlo is currently a Willard Frank Libby post-doctoral Fellow at the Argonne National Laboratories’ in the Center for Nanoscale Materials, USA. The winner of the third prize of EUR 3 000 was Dr. Edwin P. Chan, USA, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA, who is now pursuing post-doctoral studies at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, USA. The event took place at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland.

The academic jury awarded the first prize to Rodney Priestley for his thesis entitled «Effects of nanoscale confinement and interfaces on the structural relaxation of amorphous polymers monitored at the molecular scale by fluorescence and dielectric spectroscopy», because he «presented important and innovative elements to answer the question “why confinement may lead to the development of polymer glasses that do not physically age”. His work is an exceptional combination of highly sophisticated experimental work and profound theoretical insight into the phenomena he observed. Dr. Priestley applied the fluorescence and dielectric techniques to thin films. By developing different stacking orders, he was able to distinguish between free surface and constraining layer effects. In this way, he decisively proved the nanoscale effect, and convincingly explained the origins of it. His work can be considered as a scientific breakthrough, and provides a sound theoretical basis for further innovations in polymer nano-engineering.».

The second prize was awarded for the thesis entitled «Layer-by-layer assembly of nanostructured composites: mechanics and applications» by Paul Podsiadlo, who impressed the jury «with a new challenge in the design of composite materials: How to enhance optical and mechanical properties through layer-by-layer assembly of polymers and nanostructures. His ultrastrong transparent clay nanocomposites are an excellent example of a new material combining the best of the polymer and the nanostructure worlds. His development of exponential layer-by-layer assembly further improves an important tool for scalable composite systems.».

Edwin P. Chan was awarded a prize for his thesis entitled «Adhesion of patterned polymer interfaces». The jury appreciated that «in his thesis work, Dr. Chan was inspired by organised roughness and adhesion of nature-created structures and materials. Dr. Chan’s thesis was stimulated by the goal not just to maximize or minimize interfacial strength, but to be able to “control adhesion”. This can be done by using patterned interfaces. First he developed methods to gain well-defined patterns. He demonstrated surface wrinkling through swelling experiments on thin films, which are generally applicable to a broad range of material systems. The strong combination of smart experiments and models was identified by the jury to give this award».

Our warmest congratulations to the award-winners and thanks to all applicants for their entries. You will find more information on the Quadrant Award 2009 in our press release. The next Quadrant Award is planned to be conferred in 2011.

The winners of the Quadrant Award 2009 (left to right): Dr. Paul Podsiadlo (2nd prize), University of Michigan, USA; Dr. Rodney Priestley (1st prize), Northwestern University, USA; Dr. Edwin P. Chan (3rd prize), University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA.