We are delighted to announce the winners of our 2024 Outstanding Student Paper Awards. We are celebrating this year’s winners with a series of webinars and encouraging submissions for 2025 and onwards!

The RSC Advances Outstanding Student Paper Awards recognise outstanding work published in the journal, for which a substantial component of the research was conducted by a student. For 2024 we received over 860 nominations, which were shortlisted, and the winning papers were then selected by our Editorial Board and Associate Editors.

You can view the winning contributions and hear more about the winners here:

Editorial                                                    Full Collection

Join us for our upcoming series of webinars, where the award winners will present an overview of their research.

Registration is free, so sign up now to support our winners and hear about the exciting research that helped them to win the award.

Outstanding Student Paper Award Webinars
Session 1: 27th November, 2025 9:00 UK time | 10:00 CET |		Session 2: 3rd December, 2025 9:00 UK time | 10:00 CET |
Biological and Medicinal Chemistry	Morgane Baudoin, Université Grenoble Alpes, France	Materials Chemistry	Vaishali Rathi, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies UPES, India
Catalysis	Anjana Rajeev, National Institute of Technology Calicut, India	Organic Chemistry	Mintu Munda, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, India
Energy Chemistry	A M Mahmudul Hasan, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh	Physical Chemistry	Maria Bånkestad, Uppsala University, Sweden
[Registration link]		[Registration link]
Session 3: 4th December, 2025 16:00 UK time | 17:00 CET | 10:00 CT |
Computational & Theoretical Chemistry	Reza Ghanavati & Alma C. Escobosa, New Mexico State University, USA
Inorganic Chemistry	T. Harri Jones, University of New Brunswick, Canada
Nanoscience	Christina Wenck, Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM, Germany
Food Chemistry	Nafisa Sadaf, University of Arkansas, USA
[Registration link]

Apologies from the winners who are unable to attend: Analytical chemistry Zhaokang Zhang, Fuzhou University; Environmental chemistry Melanie Maddin, Trinity College Dublin.

 

Looking forward: RSC Advances Outstanding Student Paper Awards 2025 and onwards

We will continue to recognise outstanding student contributions and give out these awards each year. If you published a research article in 2025, or go on to publish with the journal in the future, and would like to recognise a significant contribution made by a student, we invite them to join us in future editions of this series. Please look at our webpage for more information or submit now!

 

Submit to RSC Advances today! Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.

Keep up to date with our latest Popular Advances, Reviews, Collections & more by following us on BlueSky. You can also keep informed by signing up to our E-Alerts.

We are delighted to announce the winners for the RSC Advances Outstanding Student Paper Awards 2024. RSC Advances presents an annual award series to recognise the hard work of students within the chemistry community.

All research articles published in RSC Advances in 2024 were considered. In order to be eligible for this award, the first author or co-first author must have been a student at the time of carrying out the research. From the support of corresponding authors, we received over 860 nominations highlighting the incredible talent and potential of emerging researchers in the field of chemistry. These awards continue to celebrate the exceptional work across a range of research fields and countries, reflecting the talent, diversity, and scientific curiosity that define the next generation of chemists.

The nominations were shortlisted based on several criteria, and the winning papers were then selected by our Editorial Board and Associate Editors.

Below, we highlight the winner of each subject category, and the research paper that won them the award. Please join us in congratulating all our winners for their exceptional achievement. We look forward to witnessing their continued growth and impact as they embark on a promising career in the field of chemistry.

Analytical chemistry

Zhaokang Zhang, Fuzhou University, China

 

Zhaokang is recognised for his outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Portable glucose sensing analysis based on laser-induced graphene composite electrode

Zhaokang Zhang has a Master’s degree in materials and chemical engineering from Fuzhou University under the supervision of Professor Li Yanxia. His research focuses on enzyme electrochemical sensors, where he specializes in enhancing micro-sensing electrode performance through advanced materials engineering while capitalizing on enzymatic bioelectrocatalysis to develop next-generation flexible wearable biosensors.

Prior to his graduate studies, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in materials science from Hefei University of Technology in 2021. Building upon his expertise in polymer synthesis and nanomaterial fabrication, he is presently engaged in cutting-edge research dedicated to optimizing high-performance polyolefin production systems through catalytic process innovation and process intensification strategies.

Biological and Medicinal Chemistry

Morgane Baudoin, Université Grenoble Alpes, France

 

Morgane is recognised for her outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

To click or not to click for short pulse-labeling of the bacterial cell wall

Morgane Baudoin obtained an engineering degree in chemistry in 2017 from the Graduate School of Chemical, Materials and Industrial Engineering (ENSIACET) in Toulouse, France. After six months of experience as an intern at the pharmaceutical company Servier, where she worked on the synthesis of polymer–drug conjugates (PDC), she pursued a PhD in chemical biology at the Department of Molecular Pharmacochemistry (DPM) in Grenoble under the supervision of Dr Yung-Sing Wong and graduated in 2023. Through the design and synthesis of novel organic compounds, she explored the metabolic incorporation of teichoic acid and peptidoglycan precursors in the cell wall of Streptococcus pneumoniae for labelling and therapeutic purposes. This work led to the publication of 4 research papers in peer-reviewed international journals and several oral communications at national and international conferences. She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden with Dr Luke Odell.

Catalysis

Anjana Rajeev, National Institute of Technology Calicut, India

 

Anjana is recognised for her outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Selective synthesis of cyclic alcohols from cycloalkanes using nickel(II) complexes of tetradentate amidate ligands

Anjana Rajeev K obtained her Master’s degree in applied chemistry from the University of Calicut. She then pursued her PhD at the National Institute of Technology Calicut, India, under the supervision of Dr Muniyandi Sankaralingam, and was awarded her degree in April 2025. Her doctoral research focused on the synthesis and characterization of diverse molecular nickel(II) complexes and their catalytic applications in the oxidation of unactivated C–H bonds in substrates such as cycloalkanes and benzene derivatives. Her broader research interests include the generation, trapping, and reactivity studies of first-row transition metal–oxygen species.

Computational & Theoretical Chemistry

        

Reza Ghanavati & Alma C. Escobosa, New Mexico State University, USA

 

Reza & Alma are recognised for their outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

An automated protocol to construct flexibility parameters for classical forcefields: applications to metal–organic frameworks

Reza Ghanavati is a fifth-year PhD student in chemical and materials engineering at New Mexico State University, where he conducts research under the mentorship of Dr Thomas A. Manz. His doctoral work focuses on developing automated methodologies for polarizable, flexible forcefields to study gas separations in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), targeting hydrogen purification in solar water-splitting applications. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology and a Master’s degree in chemical engineering from Sharif University of Technology, specializing in simulation and control. Beyond his academic research, Reza has applied machine-learning algorithms and developed interactive R Shiny applications to advance pharmacometrics modelling, enhancing predictions of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) parameters. He has also gained industry experience through internships at leading pharmaceutical companies, including GSK, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Johnson & Johnson.

Alma C. Escobosa earned her Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2018. She then continued to pursue her PhD in chemical engineering at New Mexico State University, completing it in 2024. Her doctoral research, conducted under the supervision of Dr Thomas Manz, focused on developing interatomic potentials (forcefields) for metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) to allow prediction of helium separation performance from natural gas. Her dissertation presents a roadmap for constructing, validating, and applying forcefields to use in atomistic simulations. Along the way, she was a recipient of the Frontera Computational Science Fellowship and the CONACYT fellowship, both of which she is grateful for.

Energy Chemistry

A M Mahmudul Hasan, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

 

Mahmudul is recognised for his outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Synergism in carbon nanotubes and carbon-dots: counter electrode of a high-performance dye-sensitized solar cell

A M Mahmudul Hasan completed his BSc in chemistry (2021) and MSc in physical chemistry (2022) at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, where he conducted research in the Materials Chemistry Research Laboratory (MCRL) under the supervision of Prof. Md. Abu Bin Hasan Susan. Mahmudul’s research centres on the design and synthesis of π-conjugated, structurally ordered electronic materials with high electrical conductivity that are cost-effective and readily processable for next-generation energy technologies. Motivated by the urgent need for environmentally sustainable energy solutions, his Master’s research focused on developing composite carbon materials as counter electrodes to enhance the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells. This research led to fellowship awards from the Bangladesh National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) and the Semiconductor Research Institute at the University of Dhaka. Mahmudul is currently pursuing a PhD in physical chemistry at the University of Florida, USA, where his work expands to the development of advanced organic polymer-based electronic materials. His doctoral research has been recognized with the Louise and V.T. Jackson Summer Fellowship and the Martin T. Vala Award for Research Excellence in Physical Chemistry. Mahmudul remains dedicated to advancing his research toward the development of novel, scalable, and economically viable materials that facilitate the transition to renewable energy technologies.

Environmental Chemistry

       

Melanie Maddin, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

 

Melanie is recognised for her outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Transient crystallisation of rare earth carbonates during the hydrothermal oxidation of siderite

Melanie Maddin is a geochemist with a BSc in Earth science and a PhD in geochemistry from Trinity College Dublin. Her doctoral research explored how rare-earth elements are taken up and fractionated in carbonates, iron carbonates, and iron phosphates. She now works as a laboratory technician and research fellow in the Earth Surface Research Laboratory at Trinity College Dublin, where she supports and develops cutting-edge geochemical research. Her upcoming project will investigate carbon, nutrient, and trace-element dynamics in the coastal systems of North County Dublin, with the aim of advancing our understanding of how these environments respond to environmental change.

Inorganic Chemistry

T. Harri Jones, University of New Brunswick, Canada

 

Harri is recognised for his outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Colour tuneability of heteroleptic iridium complexes through second-sphere coordination

Trystan Harri Jones obtained his MChem from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 2021. His Master’s thesis work was on the synthesis of amide-directed boron-doped polyaromatic hydrocarbons under the supervision of Prof. Michael Ingleson. He then went on to earn his PhD at the University of New Brunswick, Canada, in 2025 with the guidance of Prof. Barry Blight. His doctoral research centred on a large library of cyclometalated iridium complexes with tuneable optoelectronic properties that had potential applications from photocatalysts to emitters. The tuneable nature of these iridium complexes relied on complementary hydrogen-bonding arrays built into complexes which facilitate a change in emission in the presence of complementary H-bonding compounds.

During his PhD, Harri published multiple research papers in peer-reviewed journals, presented at several conferences (notably winning a poster prize at CANUK 2025), worked as a finalist judge for the Canada wide science fair, and delivered lectures in organic chemistry. Harri has accepted a post-doctoral research position with Prof. Catherine Aitchison at Linköping University, Sweden, in the laboratory of organic electronics.

Materials Chemistry

Vaishali Rathi, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies UPES, India

 

Vaishali is recognised for her outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Improved thermoelectric performance of PEDOT:PSS/Bi₂Te₃/reduced graphene oxide ternary composite films for energy harvesting applications

Dr Vaishali Rathi is an INSPIRE Fellowship awardee with a strong academic and research background in materials science and nanotechnology. She completed her BSc (CBZ) from HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, in 2015, followed by an MSc in organic chemistry from the same university in 2017, graduating with a Gold Medal for securing first rank.

She earned her PhD in materials science from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun, in May 2025, under the supervision of Prof. Ashish Kumar and Prof. Ranjeet Kumar Brajpuriya. Her doctoral research focused on the design, synthesis, and multi-scale characterization of organic–inorganic hybrid composites for thermoelectric energy harvesting. She developed strategies to enhance the performance of graphene-based ternary composites with conducting polymers (PEDOT:PSS, PANI) and Bi₂Te₃, achieving improvements in electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and power factor.

Currently, Vaishali is a scientist at The Advance Carbon Company (TACC) Ltd., Madhya Pradesh, leading R&D on graphene materials for applications in concrete, textiles, and coatings. Outside research, she enjoys travelling and playing badminton.

Nanoscience

Christina Wenck, Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM, Germany

 

Christina is recognised for her outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Design and characterisation of casein coated and drug loaded magnetic nanoparticles for theranostic applications

Christina Wenck joined the Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems (IMM) in Mainz, Germany, as a doctoral student in 2023, in the Nanomedicine group led by Dr Regina Bleul. Her research focuses on synthesizing magnetic nanoparticles using a continuous-flow micromixer setup, online analytics for real-time characterization, and developing magnetic nanoparticle systems for theranostic applications.

Christina holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in nanotechnology from Leibniz University Hannover. After completing her Master’s degree in 2022, she worked in the Biophotonics group of Prof. Dr Heisterkamp at the Institute for Quantum Optics, Leibniz University Hannover. During this period, and while working on her Master’s thesis, her research focused on colorimetric detection of oral bacteria using functionalized gold nanoparticles as a plasmonic biosensor array, which was published in 2024 (https://doi.org/10.1039/D3NA00477E).

Organic Chemistry

Mintu Munda, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, India

 

Mintu is recognised for his outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Total synthesis of naturally occurring abietane diterpenoids via a late-stage Fe(iii)-bTAML catalysed Csp³–H functionalization

Dr Mintu Munda, born in Kolkata, India, obtained his BSc (Hons.) in chemistry from Chakdaha College, affiliated to the University of Kalyani, in 2016. He then pursued an MSc in chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. In 2018, Dr Munda joined the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal for his doctoral studies under the guidance of Prof. Alakesh Bisai, with Prof. Aasheesh Srivastava as co-supervisor. His PhD research focused on the total syntheses of indolosesquiterpene alkaloids, including xiamycins A and C–F, advancing synthetic strategies for biologically important natural products.

Following his PhD, Mintu joined the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Kansas, United States, in 2024 as a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. Shyam Sathyamoorthi. His research focused on the development of catalytic asymmetric methods for the synthesis of β-amino acids and their application to biologically active frameworks.

In the same year, Mintu was awarded the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship. He subsequently moved to the United Kingdom to join Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) as an MSCA postdoctoral researcher in the group of Dr Stellios Arseniyadis, where his current work explores biohybrid N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalysis at the interface of synthetic methodology and chemical biology.

Physical Chemistry

Maria Bånkestad, Uppsala University, Sweden

 

Maria is recognised for her outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Carbohydrate NMR chemical shift prediction by GeqShift employing E(3) equivariant graph neural networks

Maria Bånkestad defended her PhD in Machine Learning for Scientific Applications at Uppsala University in February 2025, with the dissertation Structured models for scientific machine learning: From graphs to kernels. Her doctoral work combined methods from graph neural networks and kernel approaches to tackle problems in the physical sciences, and her final paper was Carbohydrate NMR chemical shift prediction by GeqShift employing E(3) equivariant graph neural networks. Maria is currently a researcher at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, where she applies machine learning to materials science and related fields.

Food Chemistry

Nafisa Sadaf, University of Arkansas, USA

 

Nafisa is recognised for her outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Effect of a novel drying method based on supercritical carbon dioxide on the physicochemical properties of sorghum proteins

Nafisa Sadaf is a PhD student in food science at Florida State University under the supervision of Dr Leqi Cui. Her doctoral research focuses on enhancing the functionalities of plant proteins and evaluating their impact on the gut microbiome. She earned her MSc in food science at the University of Arkansas, working with Dr Ali Ubeyitogullari on improving sorghum protein properties using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂). Her thesis compared the physicochemical characteristics of SC-CO₂-dried and freeze-dried sorghum proteins, providing novel insights into sustainable protein processing. Nafisa has published three peer-reviewed research papers and one conference proceeding. She was recognized as a finalist in the Protein and Co-Products Division Poster Competition at the AOCS Annual Meeting and Expo (2024). She completed her BSc in food engineering at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh, where her undergraduate thesis explored edible coating development using ascorbic acid and aloe vera gel to extend fruit shelf life. Across her academic journey, Nafisa has consistently demonstrated a commitment to rigorous, application-oriented food science that advances sustainable protein systems and supports future innovations in nutrition and health.

 

Please join us in congratulating all of our winners for their exceptional achievement. We extend our sincere gratitude to all the authors for their contributions, as well as to the editors and referees for their collaboration, which has resulted in this high-quality series.

We will continue to recognise outstanding student contributions and plan to give out these awards each year. If you published a research article in 2025, or go on to publish with the journal in the future, and would like to recognise a significant contribution made by a student, we invite them to join us in future editions of this series. Please email advances-rsc@rsc.org for more information.

 

Submit to RSC Advances today! Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.

Keep up to date with our latest Popular Advances, Reviews, Collections & more by following us on BlueSky. You can also keep informed by signing up to our E-Alerts.

We are delighted to announce the winners for the RSC Advances Outstanding Student Paper Awards 2023. RSC Advances presents an annual award series to recognise the hard work of students within the chemistry community.

All research articles published in RSC Advances in 2023 were considered. In order to be eligible for this award, the first author or co-first author must have been a student at the time of carrying out the research. From the support of corresponding authors, we received over 700 nominations highlighting the incredible talent and potential within the next generation of chemists. It is particularly inspiring to learn about the exceptional work from a diverse range of research fields and countries, a testament to the quality of research and curiosity throughout the community.

The nominations were shortlisted based on a number of criteria, and the winning papers were then selected by our Editorial Board and Associate Editors.

Below, we highlight the winner of each subject category, and the research paper that won them the award. Please join us in congratulating all of our winners for their exceptional achievement. We look forward to witnessing their continued growth and impact as they embark on a promising career in the field of chemistry.

Analytical chemistry

Kumar Shwetabh, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), India

 

Kumar is recognised for his outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Synthesis and upconversion emission studies of CaYF₅:Ho³⁺/Yb³⁺ phosphor and its applications in optical thermometry, fingerprint detection, and security ink 

Kumar Shwetabh, from Bihar, India, completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Physics in the years 2015 and 2018 respectively, from Lalit Narayan Mithila University, India. He joined the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) for a PhD, and completed his PhD in July 2024 under the supervision of Prof. Kaushal Kumar at the Department of Physics, IIT(ISM) Dhanbad, India. During his PhD, he explored various rare earth-doped nanomaterials for upconversion-based multifunctional applications via, biomedical, optical thermometry, forensics, and security applications. His work is mainly focussed on rare earth-doped fluoride-based materials viz, NaYF₄, NaGdF₄, LiYF₄, CaYF₅, and KYF₄ nanoparticles. Apart from academics, he likes to read books and play cricket.

Biological and Medicinal Chemistry

Mateusz Kozarski, University of Warsaw, Poland

 

Mateusz is recognised for his outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Towards superior mRNA caps accessible by click chemistry: synthesis and translational properties of triazole-bearing oligonucleotide cap analogs 

Mateusz Kozarski completed his B.Sc. in Molecular Biophysics at the University of Warsaw in 2016, focussing on the application of copper(I)-catalysed alkyne-azide cycloaddition to synthesise novel 7-methylguanosine nucleotide analogs modified at the 5’ position. Continuing at the University of Warsaw, he completed his MSc. in Molecular Biophysics in 2018, exploring new molecular tools to investigate the biological role of the enzyme cNIIIB through the design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel 7-methylguanosine 5’-monophosphate analogs.
His pursuit of knowledge led him to a PhD programme at the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, and the Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw in Chemical Biology and Biophysical Chemistry Laboratory. His doctoral research, supervised by Joanna Kowalska, PhD, DSc, and Prof. Jacek Jemielity, focussed on the synthesis and evaluation of nucleoside-based molecular tools for monitoring mRNA-related biological processes, where he co-authored three scientific publications on 5’-end mRNA metabolism.
From 2022 to 2023, he worked in industry as a scientist at Celon Pharma (Poland), where he was involved in research and development in the mRNA bioengineering group, working on RNA synthesis and purification. Mateusz is currently a Senior Scientist at etherna (Belgium), biotechnological company which focusses on customizable Lipid Nano Particles (cLNPs), supported by RNA chemistry and process technologies, here, Mateusz is responsible for optimising processes of RNA production and purification.

Catalysis

Respati K. Pramadewandaru, University of Ulsan, Republic of Korea

 

Respati is recognised for his outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Synergistic effect of bimetallic Pd–Pt nanocrystals for highly efficient methanol oxidation electrocatalysts 

Respati Kevin Pramadewandaru is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS), Indonesia. He earned his Ph.D. in Nano-Energy Chemistry from the University of Ulsan, South Korea (2024), where he also completed his master’s degree. His research focuses on material synthesis, characterisation, and applications, particularly in electrochemical systems and nanotechnology.

Respati has published several papers in reputable journals and has received awards such as the Best Paper Presentation at the International Joint Symposium of Ulsan University and Fukuoka University Conferences in 2022. He is actively involved in professional organizations, including the Indonesian Engineers Association (PII), collaborates with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on hydrogen energy projects (REIDI ITS) and fuel cell team with NTU-Univeristas Indonesia (UI).

Computational & Theoretical Chemistry

Songyuan Yao, University of Oklahoma, USA

 

Songyuan is recognised for his outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Machine learning based implicit solvent model for aqueous-solution alanine dipeptide molecular dynamics simulations 

Sonyuan Yao graduated with a Ph.D. from Dr. Yihan Shan’s group at the University of Oklahoma. His primary research focus during his studies was on utilising machine learning to assist in molecular dynamics simulations. In addition to his work in simulation and dry lab research, he also engaged in wet lab activities, which enhanced my understanding of drug discovery and molecular modelling.

Energy Chemistry

Naufal Hanif Hawari, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), Singapore

 

Naufal is recognised for his outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Understanding SEI evolution during the cycling test of anode-free lithium-metal batteries with LiDFOB salt 

Naufal Hanif Hawari earned his BSc in 2020 and MSc in 2023, both in Materials Science and Engineering from Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia. His research focusses on developing high-energy density batteries, including silicon anodes and lithium metal batteries under the supervision of Dr. Afriyanti Sumboja. During the final year of his master’s program, he received the Singapore Pre-Graduate Award (SIPGA), allowing him to spend five months at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) at the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore. Additionally, he was awarded the Singapore International Graduate Award (SINGA) from A*STAR to pursue a 4-year PhD program at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) under the supervision of Dr. Ning Ding and Prof. Yan Qingyu.

Environmental Chemistry

       

 Valtteri Suorsa, Miho Otaki and Topi Suominen, University of Helsinki, Finland

Valtteri, Miho and Topi are recognised for their outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Anion exchange on hydrous zirconium oxide materials: application for selective iodate removal 

Valtteri Suorsa obtained his PhD in CHEMS doctoral school of University of Helsinki, Finland in 2023. Within his PhD studies he and his co-authoring colleagues in associate professor Risto Koivula’s Ion exchange for nuclear waste treatment and for recycling research group focused on different ion exchange materials suitable for purification of radioactive waste. His doctoral thesis, Selective iodate removal using zirconium oxides, summarises his research regarding the utilization of zirconium oxides for the selective purification of solutions containing radioactive iodine. Currently, he works as a senior inspector at Finnish Radiation Safety Authority (STUK) and his work focuses on the radiochemical and ICP-MS analytics of radionuclides.

Miho Otaki earned her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Tokyo and pursued her master’s degree in Radiochemistry at the University of Helsinki. Her master’s research involved the synthesis and characterization of ion-exchange sorbents for the removal of radioactive substances. Currently, she is a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, working with Dr. Risto Koivula. Her ongoing project is focused on developing highly selective methods for the separation of Group 3 and f-block elements, utilising inorganic-organic hybrid sorbents and selective precipitation techniques.

Topi Suominen is a PhD researcher at the University of Helsinki, working in the ion exchange group of the radiochemistry laboratory. He earned his master’s degree in chemistry and molecular sciences from the University of Helsinki in 2019. Originally focusing on environmental chemistry during his master’s, he moved into materials research in the ion exchange group under the supervision of Risto Koivula in 2020 when he started his PhD. Currently, his research interests include separation of lanthanides and synthesis of mesoporous metal oxides.

Inorganic Chemistry

Anderson Moledo Vicente Guedes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

Anderson is recognised for his outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Valence tautomerism in a cobalt–dioxolene complex containing an imidazolic ancillary ligand 

Anderson Moledo Vicente Guedes attended chemical engineering college and obtained a bachelor’s degree in 2016. Still in 2016, he entered the master’s course in Chemistry at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, under the supervision of professors Giordano Poneti and Rafael Alves Allão Cassaro. Here, he worked on the synthesis and the magnetic properties of transition metal complexes seeking to obtain the phenomenon of valence tautomerism. After completing his master’s degree in 2018, he joined the doctorate course in 2019 in the same University. During his doctorate, Anderson worked to increase the complexity of systems that exhibited the phenomenon of valence tautomerism and used various techniques to study the complexes he developed, having contact with techniques such as synchrotron x-ray absorption spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, magnetometry and others. Anderson is currently in the process of completing his doctorate and, concomitantly, using part of the knowledge acquired during postgraduate studies in a profession as a forensic expert.

Materials Chemistry

Kun-Lin Wu, University of Washington (UW), USA

 

Kun-Lin is recognised for his outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Pharmacological regulation of protein-polymer hydrogel stiffness 

Kun-Lin Wu is a PhD candidate in chemical engineering at the University of California, Davis, under the direction of Prof. Ambarish Kulkarni. His current research interest is using computational modelling to investigate CO₂ adsorption in microporous materials for carbon reduction application. Before his PhD studies, he was a master’s student at the University of Washington under the guidance of Prof. Cole DeForest. He employed protein engineering and molecular biology techniques to design and synthesise biomaterials for drug delivery application. His research interest is developing and designing materials from an atomistic scale with applications in diverse domains, including carbon capture, nanoscience and biomaterials.

Nanoscience

Ashima Makhija, Maharshi Dayanand University, India

 

Ashima is recognised for her outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Green emission from trivalent cerium doped LaAlO₃/MgO nano-composite for photonic and latent finger printing applications 

Ashima Makhija is a Research Scholar in the Department of Physics at Maharishi Dayanand University, India. Currently, she is pursuing a Ph.D. on the topic “Synthesis and Characterization of Rare-earth metal doped nanomaterials.” Ashima’s research interest lies in enhancing luminescence and the photocatalytic properties of nanomaterials, contributing to advancements in Materials Science and Nanotechnology. Under the expert guidance of Prof. Rajesh Punia, she embarked on a journey to explore the suitability of luminescent materials for LEDs and latent fingerprint identification applications. Her research work has led to the publication of seven research papers in peer-reviewed international journals and one in conference proceedings. Ashima has actively participated in numerous international and national conferences, workshops, seminars, and webinars that have enriched my research experience. She has received the Best Poster Presentation Awards at 2 National Conferences, i.e. RAMAN-2023 and FMS-2024. Her academic achievements include securing the University 3rd rank in graduation and qualifying GATE 2018. She has also been awarded the POSE fellowship at graduation and post-graduation levels.

Organic Chemistry

Margarita Damai, London Metropolitan University, UK

 

Margarita is recognised for her outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Crafting mono- and novel bis-methylated pyrroloquinoxaline derivatives from a shared precursor and its application in the total synthesis of marinoquinoline A

Margarita Damai is a second-year student at London Metropolitan University pursuing a BSc Biomedical Sciences degree. Her research work primarily revolves around synthesising complex molecular structures and their applications in medicinal chemistry.
She is an active individual and has participated in several research conferences to represent her work. Apart from research, Margarita is heavily involved in democracy, particularly within the LondonMet Students Union, where she served one year as a sabbatical officer.

Physical Chemistry

Maria Dekermenjian, INRS-EMT, Canada

 

Maria is recognised for her outstanding contribution to the research presented in:

Raman spectroscopy investigation of magnesium oxide nanoparticles 

Since high school, Maria Dekermenjian has found an interest and passion in science, especially in mathematics and physics.  She completed a bachelor’s degree in physics at University of Montreal (2005-2008).  Her real contact with research was during the three summer internships (financed by NSERC and RQMP scholarships) with her Physics professors during her bachelor’s degree. She wanted to learn more about research, so she pursued with a master’s in physics in the group of Prof Richard Martel at the same university from 2008 to 2011. Her thesis focussed on far infrared properties of carbon nanotube films. After finishing her master’s thesis, she worked as a private teacher alongside immersing herself in entrepreneurship. She wanted to learn more about nanotechnology and more importantly perfecting her research skills. Therefore, in 2017, she started a PhD at EMT-INRS (Varennes, Canada) in the group of Prof Andreas Ruediger co-supervised by Prof Alexandre Merlen. Maria graduated in 2024, her thesis being entitled “Raman spectroscopy study of magnesium oxide nanoparticles”. She co-supervises research activities in the same field. Thus far, she has 10 publications in highly impacted journals.

 

Please join us in congratulating all of our winners for their exceptional achievement. We extend our sincere gratitude to all the authors for their contributions, as well as to the editors and referees for their collaboration, which has resulted in this high-quality series.

We will continue to recognise outstanding student contributions and plan to give out these awards each year. If you published a research article in 2024, or go on to publish with the journal in the future, and would like to recognise a significant contribution made by a student, we invite them to join us in future editions of this series. Please email advances-rsc@rsc.org for more information.

 

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We are delighted to announce our winners for the RSC Advances Outstanding Student Paper Awards 2022.

These awards recognise outstanding work published in the journal in 2022, for which a substantial component of the research was conducted by a student. We received over 550 nominations, highlighting the incredible talent and potential within the next generation of chemists. The nominations were shortlisted, and the winning papers were then selected by our Editorial Board and Associate Editors.

Below, we congratulate the winner of each subject category, and highlight the research paper that won them the award. We look forward to witnessing their continued growth and impact as they embark on a promising career in the field of chemistry.

Analytical chemistry

Margaret MacConnachie, Queen’s University, Canada

Margaret is recognised for her outstanding contribution in the research advance presented in Sex determination of mummies through multi-elemental analysis of head hair using electrothermal vaporization coupled to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

Originally hailing from Alberta, Canada, Margaret moved to Ontario to pursue her bachelor’s degree at Queen’s University. She received her BScH in 2018, with a major in chemistry and a minor in classical studies. During the last year of her degree, she completed a fourth-year research project on the analysis of solder for applications in forensic science, which sparked her interest in analytical chemistry. Following the completion of her undergraduate work, she stayed at Queen’s University to complete a PhD under the supervision of Dr. Diane Beauchemin, working on projects which combine elemental analysis with both forensic and archaeological sciences. She recently submitted her thesis, titled ‘Novel Forensic and Archaeological Applications of Methods Involving the Direct Multi-Elemental Analysis of Solid Materials’. In the last year of her doctoral program, she received a MITACS Globalink Research Award which allowed her to spend six months working in an archaeometry research group at the University of Southern Denmark (Odense campus). Although interested in many areas of analytical chemistry, she has a particular passion for the intersection between chemical analysis, cultural heritage, and archaeology.

 

Biological and Medicinal Chemistry

Toni Pringle, Newcastle University, UK

Toni is recognised for her outstanding contribution in the research advance presented in The influence of degree of labelling upon cellular internalisation of antibody-cell penetrating peptide conjugates

Toni is a 4th year postgraduate researcher working with Dr James Knight at Newcastle University. Her research focuses on synthesis and preclinical evaluation of radioimmunoconjugates for positron emission tomography and fluorescence imaging, and cancer therapy. This includes the development of dual-modal antibody constructs for pre- and intra-operative imaging of sarcoma to enhance both surgical planning and the identification of tumour margins. She is also developing novel antibody constructs with cell-internalising properties for both diagnosis and therapy of cancer. Her current position follows the award of a 1st class MChem (Hons) degree in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry from Newcastle University. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking in the Lake District, snowboarding and sailing.

 

Catalysis

Gen Li, Dalian University of Technology, China

Gen is recognised for his outstanding contribution in the research advance presented in Highly dispersed ruthenium nanoparticles on nitrogen doped carbon toward efficient hydrogen evolution in both alkaline and acidic electrolytes

Gen Li obtained his B.S degree (2019) and M.S. (2022) degree in chemical engineering from Dalian University of Technology. He is now a Ph.D. student at the Dalian University of Technology under the supervision of Professor Yujiang Song. His current research mainly focus on electrocatalysts and membrane electrode assembly toward hydrogen evolution reaction and/or oxygen evolution reaction in polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis.

 

Computational & Theoretical Chemistry

                      

Stephanie Linker & Christian Schellhaas, ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Stephanie and Christian are recognised for their outstanding contribution in the research advance presented in Polar/apolar interfaces modulate the conformational behavior of cyclic peptides with impact on their passive membrane permeability

Stephanie holds a double degree in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. In her studies she focused on the development of computational models for complex biological processes. Afterwards, Stephanie joined the Computational Chemistry group of Prof. Riniker at ETH Zurich, Switzerland for her PhD.  There she used molecular dynamics simulations to study the permeability mechanism of large drug molecules. After defending her PhD in January 2023, Stephanie joined Merck (EMD) as a Computational Chemist. Beyond her academic achievements, Stephanie is a passionate advocate for science and is active in the board of the Swiss chemical society where she is responsible for international collaborations.

Christian studied Interdisciplinary Sciences with a focus on Chemical Biology and Theoretical Chemistry at ETH Zurich. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in the field of protein engineering under supervision of Prof. Bruno Correia at EPFL Lausanne. Initially, Christian started working on the computational design of proteins during his master’s thesis project in the research group of Prof. Possu Huang at Stanford University. Inspired by the work on the conformational behaviour of cyclic peptides, his current research interest focuses on the conformational dynamics of proteins and how these dynamics can inform the design of binding proteins. In his leisure time, Christian likes to play tennis and to make most of the Swiss Alps, be it by hiking in summer or skiing in winter.

 

Energy Chemistry

Karina Asheim, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

Karina is recognised for her outstanding contribution in the research advance presented in Improved electrochemical performance and solid electrolyte interphase properties of electrolytes based on lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide for high content silicon anodes

Karina graduated from a 5-year Master’s program in chemical engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in 2016. During the study she specialized in materials science and materials for energy technology, finishing with a Master Thesis on Mg-ion batteries. Continuing in the world of batteries, she started on a PhD project in Li-ion batteries where the work focussed on electrolyte for silicon-based anodes. The work was supervised by Prof. Ann Mari Svensson, was carried out at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and was completed in 2021. Now Karina works on battery separators for a Norwegian polymer R&D company called Norner AS.

 

Environmental Chemistry

Cui Li, China University of Geosciences, China

Cui is recognised for her outstanding contribution in the research advance presented in Response of chlorinated hydrocarbon transformation and microbial community structure in an aquifer to joint H₂ and O₂

Cui Li, doctor from China University of Geosciences, majoring in Environmental Science and Engineering. The research direction focuses on microorganisms, with the goal of achieving efficient treatment of pollutants. The main researches are environmental microbiology, microbial community function and its transformation mechanism of organic pollutants. Published 3 SCI papers and applied for 2 utility model patents during the doctoral period.

 

Food Chemistry

Xingyu Ding, Nanjing Tech University, China

Xingyu is recognised for her outstanding contribution in the research advance presented in Preparation of chitosan-coated polystyrene microspheres for the analysis of trace Pb(II) ions in salt by GF-AAS assisted with solid-phase extraction

Ding Xingyu, was born in Jiangsu Province, China in 1997. Her bachelor’s and master’s degrees were obtained from Nanjing University of Technology under the supervision of Associate Professor Li Yi, and all of her research achievements are inseparable from his guidance and assistance. Her research direction is food safety, and the title of her master’s project is “Research and Preparation of Novel Polymer Carriers for Concentration and Enrichment of Harmful Heavy Metal Ions”.

This article, “Preparation of Chitosan-coated Polystyrene Microspheres for the Analysis of Trace Pb(II) Ions in Salt by GF-AAS Assisted with Solid-phase Extraction”, focuses on the enrichment and analysis of harmful heavy metal lead in food. This article studies and prepares a polymer microsphere to overcome the interference of high salt background and achieve the separation and detection of heavy metal lead.

In the future, food safety will receive increasing attention, and the enrichment materials and detection methods for heavy metals will also show diversified development. Xingyu hopes that the food safety industry will flourish and more scholars will join in.

 

Inorganic Chemistry

Nicole DiBlasi, University of Notre Dame, USA

Nicole is recognised for her outstanding contribution in the research advance presented in Pu(III) and Cm(III) in the presence of EDTA: aqueous speciation, redox behavior, and the impact of Ca(II)

Nicole A. DiBlasi is a Scientist in Actinide Analytical Chemistry at Los Alamos National Lab with 8 years of experience in actinide and environmental radiochemistry. After receiving her bachelor’s in chemistry from the University of Missouri in 2016, Nicole pursued her doctorate in actinide chemistry at the University of Notre Dame under the guidance of Dr. Amy E. Hixon where her doctoral research focused on the speciation, solubility, and redox behaviour of the Pu-EDTA system under conditions relevant for deep geological repositories. In addition to her dissertation work, Nicole was able to participate in other projects including work with novel actinide compound synthesis and characterization and the development of synthesis methods for post-detonation nuclear melt glass reference materials for use in nuclear forensics. Following the completion of her Ph.D. in 2021, Nicole became a postdoctoral research associate at the Institute for Nuclear Waste Disposal at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany, where she performed research on actinide- and technetium-organic interactions under alkaline and high ionic strength conditions. In late 2022, Nicole accepted a position as a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory where she performs high accuracy, high precision analyses on actinide materials as part of the Radiochemistry team in the Actinide Analytical Chemistry group.

 

Materials Chemistry

Despoina Eleftheriadou, University College London, UK

Despoina is recognised for her outstanding contribution in the research advance presented in An alginate-based encapsulation system for delivery of therapeutic cells to the CNS

Despoina Eleftheriadou obtained her MEng in Chemical Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2016. She then completed her M.Sc. in Nanotechnology and Regenerative Medicine at University College London in 2018. During this time, she was able to work on various projects including nanobiomaterials for Alzheimer’s disease treatment and immunomodulation for therapeutic cell transplantation in the CNS. She is currently a Ph.D. student at the University College London Centre for Nerve Engineering, focusing on mathematical modelling led design of nerve repair constructs. Her research interest lies in working at the interface of engineering and life sciences.

 

Nanoscience

Rabia Tahir, National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan

Rabia is recognised for her outstanding contribution in the research advance presented in First observation on emergence of strong room-temperature ferroelectricity and multiferroicity in 2D-Ti₃C₂T_x free-standing MXene film

Born in Multan (southern Punjab city of Pakistan) and completed her Bachelor’s degree from The Women University Multan (WUM), Rabia Tahir is currently enrolled as a PhD student at Department of Physics, School of Natural Sciences (SNS), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan. Under the expert guidance of her supervisor, Prof. Dr. Syed Rizwan, she embarks on a journey to explore the unique properties and potential applications of 2D materials such as MXene and their potential as a ferroelectric and multiferroic material that has been a long-standing issue of interest in the research community. Rabia Tahir reported the ferroelectricity and multiferroicity in 2D Ti₃C₂T_x MXene for the first time that may revolutionize next-generation data storage devices with enhanced functionalities.

Rabia Tahir is also hired as research associate under the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan under project No. 20-14784/NRPU/R&D/HEC/2021. In her leisure time, she likes to play sports and reads books with inspiring lessons.

 

Organic Chemistry

Alejandro O. Viviano-Posadas, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico

Alejandro is recognised for his outstanding contribution in the research advance presented in Efficient fluorescent recognition of ATP/GTP by a water-soluble bisquinolinium pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide compound. Crystal structures, spectroscopic studies and interaction mode with DNA

Alejandro Viviano was born in Mexico City. He received his B.Sc. (2019) and M.Sc. (2021) degrees with theses focused on the synthesis and luminescent properties of novel Pd/Pt-based complexes with analytical applications. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. with Professor Alejandro Dorazco at the Chemistry Institute from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

His research involves the molecular recognition of neurotransmitters and nucleotides using novel organometallic and organic receptors. To date, their scientific results have been published in seven research articles. (ORCID: 0000-0002-3588-5836)

 

Physical Chemistry

Rawia Msalmi, Sfax University, Tunisia

Rawia is recognised for her outstanding contribution in the research advance presented in Organically tuned white-light emission from two zero-dimensional Cd-based hybrids

Dr. Rawia Msalmi obtained a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from the Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, Sfax University, Tunisia. During her thesis, she performed the physico-chemical characterization of Cd- and Pb-based white light emitter hybrid materials (WLEHMs). Her research focus was on the contribution of the organic molecules and the tridimensional assembly mode in the performance of the emitted white light. She has published the findings of her Ph.D. study in four peer-reviewed journal articles. In line with her Ph.D. work, she contributed in other research papers on the study of optical behavior of one-dimensional Cu-based perovskites published in Journal of Material Chemistry C as second co-author.

Dr. Rawia Msalmi is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Laboratory of Physico-Chemistry of the Solid State, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, Sfax University, Tunisia, under the supervision of professor Houcine Naïli. Her present investigation focuses on the stabilization and physico-chemical characterization of lead-free hybrid materials for environmentally friendly photovoltaic solar cells and lighting sources. She co-supervises research activities in the same field. Thus far, she has 10 publications in highly impacted journals.

 

Please join us in congratulating all of our winners for their exceptional achievement.