Giorgos Kafkopoulos, now a PhD researcher at the Materials Science and Technology of Polymers research group, wins a Unilever Research Prize 2018.
Unilever hands out their research prizes for innovative research focused on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In his Thesis Mr. Kafkopoulos tackles the scientific basis and technological realization of novel cellular (foamable) materials, which can either be utilized as lightweight advanced, recyclable structural materials with a reduced environmental fingerprint, or as thermal insulation materials. This choice of topics should make relevant contributions in several areas to tackle the Global Goals: (a) by reducing the amount of materials needed to achieve high performance (“more with less”); (b) by developing cellular materials to significantly reduce heat loss in building infrastructure and other areas, and (c) by using such high performance materials to achieve the objectives of the “climate action”. This work is culminated in a very well written Master thesis report and a graduation with cum laude honours.
