The International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries (RRB 2025) took place in Turku/Åbo, Finland from 2–4 June 2025. Green Chemistry, Reaction Chemistry & Engineering and RSC Sustainability were delighted to provide best PhD talk prize awards at the event and we would like to congratulate our winners!
Photos of the prizes being awarded at RRB 2025 to Wolfgang Laudensack (left), Sibylle Schwartman (middle) and Adam Olszewski (right).
Learn more about our best PhD talk prize awardees below:
Green Chemistry Best PhD Talk Prize Sibylle Schwartman (Utrecht University, The Netherlands) Sibylle Schwartmann is a fourth-year PhD candidate working under the guidance of Prof. Bert Weckhuysen and Dr. Bettina Baumgartner. She joined the Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry of Utrecht University in 2021, following her master’s in physics at the RWTH Aachen (Germany). Her research focuses on the electro-oxidative valorization of lignin, to access new resources for aromatic base chemicals that act simultaneously as storage for renewable energies. Using in-situ infrared spectroscopy and novel cell designs, she explores lignin depolymerization pathways through the use of model compounds.
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Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Best PhD Talk Prize Adam Olszewski (Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland) Adam Olszewski is a PhD in Materials Science and he currently works as a researcher at the Faculty of Chemistry at Gdańsk University of Technology. His work focuses on the synthesis and application of bio-based polyols derived from biomass liquefaction, which are utilised in sustainable polyurethane systems. Recently, he has developed a catalyst-, formaldehyde-, and petroleum-free polyurethane–wood composites (PU-WC) using renewable feedstocks, targeting reduced environmental impact for polymeric materials. Developed materials can be applied as a healthier substitute for commonly used wood-based panels manufactured using formaldehyde-based petrochemical resins. His work combines circular economy and green chemistry concepts for the development of high-performance sustainable materials. Beyond science, he is a social activist for the academic community. In the future, he would like to engage in the popularization of science and the promotion of environmentally friendly solutions in the plastic industry.
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RSC Sustainability Best PhD Talk Prize Wolfgang Laudensack (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, Germany) Wolfgang Laudensack is a first-year PhD student at the Chair of Bioprocess Engineering at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, working under the supervision of Prof. Roland Ulber. He obtained his BSc and MSc in bio- and chemical engineering at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau. His research focuses on the utilization of press juice from green waste. The current aim of this work is to scale up the production and fermentation of grass juice to platform chemicals like butyric or itaconic acid.
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Please join us in celebrating these winners and their excellent talks during the conference!
