Career boost for female YKI researchers
Josefina Lindqvist Hoffmann and Andra Dedinaite at YKI are two of 17 awarded promising female scientists in the latest Vinnmer round. Competitive starch-based sustainable materials and structured interfaces for cleantech applications are their topics.
"There is a strong competition for these grants, so we are extremely pleased about the opportunities this gives," says YKI President Peter Alberius. "It is a quality stamp for YKI's activities that our researchers can compete successfully for funding through Vinnmer."
Today Dr. Andra Dedinaite has her main activities at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, but with this new grant her research will be carried out within Intermat, YKI’s competence platform for development of sustainable energy production. Dr. Josefina Lindqvist Hoffman will work at YKI’s Forest Products Section in close collaboration with SLU Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala. Josefina’s project concerns using starch for new applications and materials. The project is linked to another VINNOVA-funded project with YKI participation ”Renewable functional barriers”.
The Vinnmer program is run by VINNOVA The Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems. It gives researchers who have completed their Post Doc qualification the opportunity for further postgraduate qualification based on strategic collaborations. Positive action is applied to achieve equality effects for an underrepresented gender in fields where the need is high at the senior level - professor or similar.
Successful Vinnmer applicants get up to half of their salary paid for three years to establish themselves in a leading research environment. The objective of Vinnmer is to help to increase the number of postgraduates who can become leaders of the future at universities, research centers, institutes and companies.
Competitive starch-based sustainable materials: From molecules to industrial application
Dr. Josefina Lindqvist Hoffmann
The aim of the project is to study how the molecular structure of starches affects colloid behaviour and film-forming properties and to apply this knowledge to the use of starches in food colloids and as barrier films for packaging applications. In the beginning of the project, focus will be put on learning the various characterisation techniques for starches currently used at SLU. Different types of starches will be analysed to evaluate the amylose/amylopectin ratio and chain length distribution as well as the fine structure in terms of branching pattern and structure of the clusters and domains building up the macromolecule. Further on in the project, colloid-related properties, and film-forming properties of selected starches will also be studied in order to investigate the structure-property relationship of these materials.
Structured interfaces for cleantech applications - developing new research links
Dr. Andra Dedinaite
This project will be focused on surface layers for cleantech applications, where the aim is to develop products and processes in a manner that leads to a sustainable development. In most applications interfaces play a significant role and a proper design of surfaces is the key issue. To make considerable progress requires a concerted effort including polymer synthesis, fundamental studies elucidating the molecular mechanisms leading to friction, wear, adhesion and fouling, combined with a thorough understanding of the technical applications. This can only be achieved through intimate collaboration of academia and industry, thus this project is targeted at creating a joint research venture where common goals and strategies will be set. Surface coatings developed through international collaboration within this project will primarily be used in the following cleantech applications: Friction tuning, retardation of ice formation, and non-fouling surfaces, even though many other coating applications also will be considered.