The Division of the Chemistry of Construction Materials of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) usually awards the chemistry of construction materials Young Scientist Award every two years as part of its Division conference . The best master's thesis and the best dissertation in the field of the chemistry of construction materials are honored in each case. the chemistry of construction materials Young Scientist Award is combined with an award certificate and prize money of 1,000 euros for the master's thesis and 3,000 euros for the dissertation. A panel of experts decides on the selection with a simple majority of votes.
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The chemistry of construction materials Young Scientist Award 2022 was awarded to Dr. Elizabeth John and M.Sc. Serena Mingione awarded.
dr Elisabeth John: In recognition of her outstanding dissertation entitled “The Effect of Artificial Calcium Silicate Hydrate on Cement Hydration”, prepared in the working group of Professor Dietmar Stephan at the Technical University of Berlin. In her dissertation, the award winner deals with the production and characterization of CSH phases. She is extremely good at bridging the gap between fundamental research topics in cement hydration and the optimization of CSH syntheses. In a very comprehensive review article, Dr. John with the relevant historical and current work in the field of CSH nucleation. Her resulting synthetic and analytical work contributes significantly to clarifying the influence of calcium-silicate ratios on cement hydration. The development of a new IR method is an essential part of this scientific work and for the first time opens up the possibility of following silicate formation in situ. Finally, the award winner demonstrates the relevance of her work for practical use by means of a comprehensive study on influencing factors on CSH production. In it, she provides proof that both the efficiency and the energy input can be improved through optimized reaction control
Serena Mingione: To recognize her outstanding master thesis conducted at the University of Naples Federico II in collaboration with the EMPA - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, entitled "Investigation on the reactivity of slag as supplementary cementitious material". Ms. Mingione presented an approach to improve the CO2 balance of cements by investigating the potential use of slags and its limitation by minor elements (Zn, Mg, and Sr). The thesis evaluated the influence of industrial slags on the structure, reactivity, and hydration behavior of cements. The model system used was based on calcium aluminosilicate glasses serving as fundamental validation of the presence of various oxide compounds. All experiments were carefully considered and purposefully performed. The analytical methods allowed a precise characterization of the model system. Application-oriented mortar tests rounded off the work. Ms. Mingione's work came to the conclusion that divalent ions influence the formation of non-bridging oxides which results in a less interconnected network of the glasses and a more reactive material. Thus, it represents an added value for further investigations on the way to a CO2-neutral future of the construction industry.
The chemistry of construction materials Young Scientist Award 2020 was presented to Dr. Elsa Qoku and M.Sc. Christopher Schiefer awarded.
dr Elsa Qoku: In appreciation of her dissertation entitled "Characterization and quantification of crystalline and amorphous phase assemblage in ternary binders during hydration". The central concern of the work is the deepening of the hydration mechanisms of ternary binders with special consideration of the role of X-ray amorphous phases. Thus, this work meets a current research topic of chemistry of construction materials. It impresses with a strong methodical investigation that follows the structure of the dissertation - chemical reaction - analysis - modeling - stringently. Ms. Qoku deals with very complex issues clearly, concisely and very easily understandable. This work is characterized by an excellent overview of the international literature and a very good reference to it during the evaluation. A particular strength of the work is the methodological comparison between QXRD, NMR, TGA and stoichiometric calculations. The model concepts further developed by Ms. Qoku on the basis of her experimental results, flanked by thermodynamic models, are new for the hydration of binders rich in alumina cement. Overall, this dissertation significantly expands the knowledge of the temporal evolution of the hydrate phases in complex ternary systems. Therefore, the submitted dissertation represents a scientifically outstanding achievement.
Christopher Schiefer: In recognition of his master's thesis entitled "Mg-Al-LDH-PCE nanocomposites as hydration accelerators for cement". Mr. Schiefer's master's thesis is dedicated to the synthesis, analysis and application of Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) nanocomposites as hydration accelerators for cements such as Portland cement and calcium aluminate cement. With this topic, Mr. Schiefer encounters an important area of current chemical research in chemistry of construction materials. Recognizing the fundamental connections of the acceleration of cement hydration is a very important key for increasing the performance of cements and thus associated with the CO2 reduction of cements, concrete, mortar and plaster. The comprehensive presentation of the literature is impressive, the derivation of the task is precise and logical. The synthesis experiments are very well thought out and skilfully executed. The analytical methods are purposefully selected and comprehensive, the application-oriented tests in the mortar round off the experimental work. The entire work is also very successful in its form and design as well as the representations. Overall, Mr. Schiefer presents an extremely fruitful and worthy master's thesis.
Miss Dr. Ellina Bernhard, Empa, Dübendorf (Switzerland) received the Young Scientist Award 2018 in recognition of her dissertation on the topic:
"Magnesium silicate hydrate (MSH) characterization: temperature, calcium, aluminum and alkali"
The work focuses on magnesium silicate hydrate, its formation and interaction with calcium, aluminum and alkali ions. Ms. Bernard is working on missing thermodynamic data for MSH structures in her dissertation. For the first time, these form a broad basis for modeling the MSH structures. The work is very well structured, the system is impressive. The extensive analytics, which are methodically coordinated and complement each other perfectly, are impressive. The detailed interpretation remains focused and is accompanied by very well structured summaries and very good "main findings". The chemistry of the magnesium silicate hydrate structures is rather limited to special applications and areas of use. However, this work is a scientifically excellent achievement and it can be expected that the knowledge gained here will also have an impact on the chemistry of construction materials . A great contribution to the understanding of the MSH system was made here.
Dr.-Ing. Henning-Felix von Daake, Technische Universität Berlin, received the Young Scientist Award 2018 in recognition of his dissertation on the topic:
"Possibilities for optimizing the mode of action of construction chemical additives through mechanisms of the controlled release of active ingredients"
The work takes up the problem of the development of drug concentrations over time. This is often not tailored to the prevailing conditions and the use is therefore not effective. Mr. von Daake addresses this problem through encapsulation and controlled release. Despite the extensive utilization of the results, the work is written as a monograph. The work is to be regarded as highly innovative because it was consistently designed and carried out in an interdisciplinary manner. It should be emphasized that Mr. von Daake had to use some methods (encapsulation, release) to solve the problem, for which he, as a trained civil engineer, lacked both the theoretical and the practical basics. However, he mastered this with flying colors. All in all, he succeeded in transferring an approach from other disciplines in an original way to solving a common practical building problem. An excellent performance with clear practical relevance.
The award ceremony took place as part of the chemistry of construction materials Conference on October 1, 2019 in Aachen.
| 2022 | dr Elizabeth John | Dissertation: "The Effect of Artificial Calcium Silicate Hydrate on Cement Hydration" |
| 2022 | MSc Serena Mingione | Master thesis: "Investigation on the reactivity of slag as supplementary cementitious material" |
| 2020 | dr Elsa Qoku | Dissertation: "Characterization and quantification of crystalline and amorphous phase assemblage in ternary binders during hydration" |
| 2020 | MSc Christopher Schiefer | Master's thesis: "Mg-Al-LDH-PCE nanocomposites as hydration accelerators for cement" |
| 2018 | dr Ellina Bernhard | Dissertation: "Magnesium silicate hydrate (MSH) characterization: temperature, calcium, aluminum and alkali" |
| 2018 | Dr.-Ing. Henning-Felix von Daake | Dissertation: "Possibilities for optimizing the mode of action of construction chemical additives through mechanisms of controlled release of active ingredients" |
| 2016 | dr Delphine Marchon | Dissertation: "Controlling Cement Hydration Throught the Molecular Structure of Comb Copolymer Superplasticizers" |
| 2016 | Cordula White | Master thesis: "Application of AFM on Cementitious Surfaces" |
| 2014 | Dr.-Ing. Manuela Marchetzky | Dissertation: "Influence of alkali salts and superplasticizers on the hydration of calcium sulfate hemihydrate" |
| 2014 | MSc Grit Losch | Master's thesis: "Comparative investigations into the setting behavior of thermal and synthetic anhydrite" |
| 2012 | dr Ueli Michael Angst | Dissertation: "Chloride induced reinforcement corrosion in concrete" |
| 2012 | Dipl.-Chem. Andrea Winkler | Diploma thesis: "On the effect of gypsum additives on gypsum crystallization" |
| 2012 | Dipl.-Chem. Iris Pashke | Diploma thesis: "Investigations into the existence and stability of calcium sulfate and calcium selenate subhydrates" |
| 2010 | Melanie Oestreich | Diploma thesis: "Investigations on phase formation in basic MgCl2 solutions" |
| 2010 | dr Severin Seifert | Dissertation: "Space-resolved phase analysis of self-levelling floor leveling compounds" |
| 2009 | dr Alexander De Gasparo | Dissertation: "Fractionation Behavior of Organic Additives and Resulting Microstructural Evolution of Mixed-Binder Based Self-Leveling Flooring Compounds" |
| 2009 | dr Sebastian Wistuba | Dissertation: "Influence of the Na2O doping of tricalcium aluminate and Portland cement clinker on the interaction with polycarboxylate-based superplasticizers" |
| 2007 | dr Andreas Brandl | Dissertation: "The interaction between CaAMPS®-co-NNDMA and acetone-formaldehyde-sulfite-polycondensate during adsorption on cement: An example of admixture intolerance and ways to solve it" |
| 2007 | Sebastian Seufert | Diploma thesis: "Investigations on phase development during hydration in the white cement-calcium aluminate cement model system" |
| 2006 | dr Ingo Mueller | Dissertation: "Influence of Cellulose Ethers on the Kinetics of Early Portland Cement Hydration" |
| 2006 | Mark Gretz | Diploma thesis: "Synthesis and properties of inorganic, organic and hybrid nanoparticles with core-shell structure" |
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last modified: 01.03.2023 13:10 H from M.Fries
