Biobased Materials

Stephane Kouame

“This is an important programme”, says Stephane Kouame about the master’s programme of biobased materials at Maastricht University. Stephane is in his second year. “It should attract lots of students; more bachelors should know it exists.” American Stephane did his bachelor’s in chemistry at McGill University in Montreal and aims for a job in sustainable consultancy or perhaps even in teaching.

“Only a few master’s worldwide combine material science and sustainability in the way Maastricht University does. That was one of the reasons for me to come to the Netherlands. The other reason is that I like the European lifestyle more than the American. Here, sustainability is embraced by society while in the US often only scientists do so.”

Science Project

Stephane and his fellow students are working on a joint project that involves material science using sustainable sources. Supervised by project mentor Katie Saralidze they do their experiments in one of the Chemelot Campus laboratories. It is their first project month this year. Their task is simple: “do something with the antioxidant resveratrol”.

Michelle Mendez Fonseca

“I wish I could have eaten them, they were so juicy”, says Michelle Mendez Fonseca about the 18 kg of grapes they peeled. Of course, eating in a laboratory is not a wise thing to do therefore; they could only salivate during their work. The peels of red grapes are the main biological source of the of the antioxidant resveratrol. Michelle, who originates from the isle of Aruba, is one of 18 students working on a mutual goal: materials research involving resveratrol.

Though

Michelle obtained her bachelor in chemistry at Hogeschool InHolland in Amsterdam, a university for applied sciences. “The switch was overwhelming”, says Michelle. “The pace and workload are a lot higher than I was used to. Now, a few months later, I have everything under control. If you consider the master’s, I really would advise you to do so.” After she finishes her studies, Michelle thinks of obtaining a PhD.

Tessa Lokate

Resveratrol, the main topic of their research, is studied for its health benefits. However, after being asked to do something with the antioxidant, the students came up with an idea in the field of material science. “We started with an extensive study of the literature and found one article that investigated the role of resveratrol as a flame retardant”, says Dutch student Tessa Lokate. “We explore if resveratrol can make the biobased polymer polylactate more fire resistant. We do this because only little is known about resveratrols role as a flame retardant. We do not know if our project will succeed and this is what makes science fun. Even if we fail, we succeed because a negative result is a result as well.”

Tessa obtained their bachelor in chemistry at a university for applied sciences, Avans Hogeschool in Breda. She had a though change of environment from hogeschool to university. “Although our bachelor’s theory fits well with the masters, at first, everybody struggled with the work load.” After she graduates, Tessa wants a job in a company that offers the possibility to do lab work. I, most certainly do not want to pursue a PhD”, she says.

Emese Szikszai

Not every research project starts with an overwhelming success. The 18 students of the master’s programme of Biobased Materials, who are jointly working on their first research project month, know all about this. Although their goal is the same, test the flame retardant properties of resveratrol, their approaches differ. The first students managed to isolate some resveratrol from grape peels. The yields are disappointing. “Well, We did not know if the experiments would work out the way we anticipated, so we accept that they did not and try something different”, says Emese Szikszai who previously studied bioengineering at the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Budapest. For most students, trying something different means that they fetch their resveratrol out of the chemical cabinet.

Future

Emese at first did not know what to do after her master’s study. Becoming a PhD-student was almost certainly not an option. Lately, she seems to be changing her mind and she might even pursue a position as a PhD-student.

Xavier Nauts

The students have several backgrounds in chemistry, materials or biomedical sciences. “That’s what I like about our group”, says Dutchman Xavier Nauts. “Everyone has their own view of the project, based on their expertise.” Nauts obtained his bachelor’s in biomedical sciences at Maastricht University. “The programme has been designed in such a way that people, regardless of their bachelor’s, can participate. If you have a background in biomedical sciences, you will start following courses with an emphasis on chemistry and material sciences. Something similar goes for those with a background in material science or chemistry.”

Xavier feels he did well in changing from biomedical sciences to biobased materials. “Every year about 300 students graduate in biomedical sciences, but only a few in Biobased Materials. I wanted to be more of an engineer and the master’s offers the opportunity to focus my master’s thesis project on biomedical materials.” Going from biomedical science tot biomedical materials, completes the circle, how sustainable is that!