Awarding of the "Kalkhof-Rose Polymer Science Awards"
Ceremony in the Hermann-Staudinger lecture hall
At this year's Poster Day at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, the "Kalkhof-Rose Polymer Science Awards" were presented in honor of the Institute's long-time patron, Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose. These awards are given to scientists at the institute who have achieved outstanding research results.
The life motto of Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose, who began supporting the institute together with her husband back in the 1970s, was: "You always get back more than you give." Mrs. Kalkhof-Rose financed the institute for decades through generous donations. In recognition of her significant support, four scientists have now once again been honored with the "Kalkhof-Rose Polymer Science Award".
Lucia di Virgilio's work from Mischa Bonn's department was awarded a prize. Her research focuses on innovative materials, in particular the behavior of charge carriers, which may be suitable for applications such as solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes or other electronic components.
Oskar Sachnik from Paul Blom's department received a further award. He is researching the physics in organic light-emitting diodes. The aim here is to reduce losses and design them to be as energy-efficient as possible.
Another prize was awarded to Seunghyeon Kim from Katharina Landfester's department for his work on photocatalysts. He is investigating porous nanoparticles that can serve as photocatalysts and improving their energy efficiency in chemical reactions.
The fourth certificate was awarded to Kübra Kaygisiz from Tanja Weil's working group. In her work, she investigated over 150 different peptide sequences that could improve the binding of a virus to a cell. The application here is so-called gene therapy, in which genetic material is introduced into cells.
About Walter and Sybille Kalkhof-Rose
Walter and Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose were long-standing supporters of the institute. In 2018, Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose personally opened the "Kalkhof-Rose-Diamant Laboratory", which was named after the couple. "Funding this excellent research is something wonderful and special. It also keeps alive the memory of my husband, who was always strongly committed to science in Mainz," said Kalkhof-Rose.
Walter and Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose were strong supporters of a polymer science institute in Mainz even before the institute was founded in the 1980s. The next generation of scientists was also extremely important to them. After the death of her husband, the Mainz industrialist Dr. Walter Kalkhof-Rose, Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose successfully continued his commitment and worked to promote both research and young scientists.
