AMIBM 10th anniversary Conference

A decade of Biobased Materials

4 February 2026 12:30 - 5 February 2026 13:30

This festive two-day event will highlight key developments in the field and bring together colleagues from science, industry, and policy to reflect on a decade of achievements and look ahead to the future.

The Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM) is delighted to invite you to join the AMIBM 10th Anniversary Conference; "A Decade of Biobased Materials"

Programme

Wednesday, 4 February 2026

Time	Activity
12:30	Welcome Romano Orrù, Scientific Director AMIBM (moderator)
12:35	Opening words by regional representatives: Martin Paul Astrid Boeijen (Brightlands Chemelot Campus) Elianne Demollin-Schneiders (Province of Limburg) Harm Askes (UM-FSE) Carsten Honerkamp (RWTH-Aachen)
13:15	Main Speaker 1 Catalytic conversion of renewable resources into bulk and fine chemicals Prof. Hans de Vries (Catalysis with renewable resources; emeritus @ RUG, LIKAT-Rostock and DSM)
14:00	Coffee break with poster presentations and networking
14:30	Career after AMIBM Seven years of biomaterials start-up in a European chemical industry under pressure Stefaan De Wildeman (Director at B4Plastics) Connecting research and industry: Exploring a career in sustainability Varun Srinivas (Global manager Technology and Innovation Materials Wavin) From Wood to Biopolymers and back: Building a Research Path in Bio-based Materials Sophie Koch (Research Stream lead at ETH Zürich)
15:30	Talent @ AMIBM Tough, sticky, fantastic: protein biomaterials designed by evolution Julia Jansing (Assistant Professor group Molecular and Applied Biotechnology) High-Speed Lab-Scale Melt Spinning with Milligram Precision: Development and Validation of the Microbatch Spinner Naveen Balakrishnan (Researcher group Polymer Engineering) Advances in Functional Biomaterials: Biomimicry and Controlled Drug Delivery for Biomedical Applications Samaneh Ghazanfari (Associate Professor group Biobased Polymers and Materials) C-Terminal Modification of Peptides via the Passerini Reaction Jordy Saya (Assistant Professor group Biobased Organic Chemistry)
16:30	Main Speaker 2 Towards Molecular Redesign: On Biobased, Circular (and Safe) Chemicals and Materials Prof. Pieter Bruijnincx (Sustainable Chemistry & Catalysis @ University of Utrecht)
17:15	Closing first day.

Thursday, 5 February 2026

Time	Activity
08:30	Welcome with coffee and tea
09:00	Main Speaker 3 How can we balance material properties and chemical recyclability? Prof. Karin Odelius (Green design and synthesis of sustainable functional polymers @ KTH Stockholm)
09:45	Career @ AMIBM Reading Nature’s chemistry for the design of biobased, new and valued materials structure – function relationships Assoc. Prof. Jules Harings Beyond the Fossil Fuel Age: Developing the Next Generation of Polymers Assoc. Prof. Katrien Bernaerts Maximizing impact, minimizing footprint: pathways toward Sustainability in Chemistry and Materials Prof. Yvonne van der Meer
10:45	Coffee break with poster presentation and networking
11:15	Presentations current sr. PhD Research @ AMIBM Dual Nickel/Photoredox Catalysis Enables Isocyanide Insertion Chemistry Diego Meneses Sánchez (PhD group Biobased Organic Chemistry) The dimensions of dried gels: A deep dive into aerogels, cryogels and xerogels, their processing and applications Konrad Beukenberg (PhD group Polymer Engineering) Unlocking Tomorrow’s Green Electronics: Designing Biobased Semi-Aromatic Polymers for High Energy-Density Applications Joshua Verstappen (PhD group Macromolecular Physics and Technology)
12:15	Main Speaker 4 Producing biodegradable plastics using fermentation Prof. Kevin O’Connor (Bioeconomy research centre @ University Dublin)
13:00	Look back at the event and invite for lunch Romano Orrù
13:30	End