Leon Smook and Nienke van Dongen, both PhD candidates in the Molecules Centre, went home with two prestigious prizes from the KNCV Avond van de Chemie —the Evening of Chemistry by the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society.
Leon Smook received the Golden Master Award —a certificate and a €1,000 prize— for his MSc thesis “A Sense of the Future: How Polymer Brushes can Contribute to the Next Generation of Artificial Olfaction Technology”. His project led to the publication of three papers and showcased in an Eye-openers video.
Nienke van Dongen won the Spotlight Prijs —a working spotlight and a €500 prize— for her pitches about her research on cancer diagnosis in urine. Her video pitch was selected for the finale at the Avond van de Chemie, where she pitched her research in 3 minutes ~ 300 people in the Leidse Schouwburg. By public voting, her pitch was selected to be the winner of this prize.
