Unilever Research Prize for Top Master student Machteld Kamminga

Top Master student Nanoscience Machteld Kamminga has been awarded the Unilever Research Prize. This EUR 2,500 prize is annually awarded to the most talented Master of Science students in het Netherlands. Kamminga recently graduated from the Top Master Programme Nanoscience with the highest distinction ‘cum laude’ and immersed herself in chemistry and biology, as is reflected by her research projects.

The Unilever Research Prize shows the appreciation for the outstanding work Machteld Kamminga has performed in the highly interdisciplinary setting of the Top Master Programme Nanoscience. This programme transcends in a multidisciplinary approach the traditional boundaries between physics and chemistry.

Interdisciplinary approach

After obtaining a bachelor degree in physics Kamminga immersed herself in chemistry and biology, as shown by her research projects ‘Revealing the influence of the organic part of Cu-based hybrids on its properties’ and ‘Single-molecule tools to study DNA-based processes’. Her creative and interdisciplinary approach in combination with her experimental skills made these projects a big success.

Prize for students’ academic research

With the annual Unilever Research Prize Unilever Vlaardingen aims to underline the importance of academic research for game changing technologies and innovation. All 13 Dutch Universities nominate their top graduates who conducted research in the fields of chemistry, biotechnology, mechanical engineering, biology, agricultural science and social sciences. This year chemistry students could be nominated. The 13 winners will receive their prize during the award ceremony on 27^th of November 2014 in the auditorium of Unilever R&D in Vlaardingen.

Career in science

Ms. Kamminga is continuing her scientific career at the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials as PhD student in the group ‘Solid-State Materials for Electronics’ under supervision of Prof.dr. T.T.M. Palstra. The PhD project of Ms. Kamminga is funded by the NWO Graduate Programme awarded to her earlier this year.