Matilde della Fontana winner of Menno Knetsch Thesis Award 2021
The Menno Knetsch Award 2021 has been awarded to MSc Biobased Materials graduate Matilde della Fontana. Matilde completed her thesis at the sustainability group of the Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM) under the supervision of Dr. Pouya Samani. Her winning thesis was about 'Sustainability assessment of biobased colourant in the textile value chain'. Matilde applied the holistic life cycle approach to the textile sector dealing with biobased dyes. Her work shows how a cradle-to-grave analysis can contribute to future research and developments in this field.
‘Winning the Menno Knetsch Prize was the perfect and unexpected closure of a wonderful trajectory that I have followed in recent months, and I feel very honoured. I strongly believe in a more sustainable future and I hope my thesis was able to provide some colourful insights into that.’
Matilde della Fontana
About the Menno Knetsch Master Thesis Award
The prize, a cheque of €500, is made available by the Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM). The award is handed out during the yearly graduation ceremony of the master’s programme in Biobased Materials. This year Prof. Yvonne van der Meer handed out the award to the winner.
Criteria for the best master thesis are:
- Overall mark for the master thesis
- The contribution to the scientific domain of biobased materials and/or its application
- The innovative aspects of the topic, as well as the context in which the research was executed
The Menno Knetsch Master Thesis Award was set up in remembrance of our highly appreciated colleague and friend Menno Knetsch, the first Programme Director of the Master Biobased Materials.
