On 12 July 2021, the 5th FEMS Master Thesis Competition took place virtually. The FEMS Master’s Thesis award is intended to recognise the best Master’s Thesis on Materials Science and Engineering, presented in any Academic Institution from the country of any FEMS Member Society.

The five finalists each presented a 10-minute lecture on their chosen topics with presentations ranging from nanomaterials to biomaterials.

Xabier García Casas from SOCIETMAT was awarded first place for his presentation on ‘1D and 3D nanomaterial fabrication and surface modification for developing piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators.’ Speaking about winning, Xabier said, ‘I’m very happy to have won the award. I did not expect it because the presentations of the other finalists were impressive. I am delighted to have been able to participate, which has helped me to learn a lot, and the fact that my work has been recognised motivates me to continue forward with more enthusiasm than ever in my PhD.

Second place went to Maria Dimitra Chiotelli (HMS) for her thesis on ‘Experimental investigation of the biomechanical behaviour of the most widespread patellar fixation techniques in medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction.’ Maria said, ‘I am deeply honored to receive the second award in the FEMS Master Thesis Award Competition 2021. I enjoyed the event and the presentations of all the finalists. Thank you very much for this opportunity.’

Followed closely in third place by Austin Hubley from SF2M on ‘Shape-shifting nanosheets: 2-dimensional Chiral perovskites.’

Congratulations to all this year’s finalists.

You can find more information on their thesis presentations at www.fems.org/event/fems-master-thesis-award