Entering and subsequently winning awards makes our community working for the understanding, description, and modelling of porous media systems shine. You find below a list of awards received by our colleagues these last years.
InterPore – PoreLab Award for young researchers
The International Society for Porous Media, InterPore, on behalf of PoreLab, a center of excellence jointly formed by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the University of Oslo, announces a Young Researcher Award in recognition of outstanding contributions in the field of porous media from a fundamental point of view. The research may be theoretical, computational, or experimental.
Award winners receive a grant of 1000 Euro towards participating in the InterPore meeting wherein the award ceremony is to be held.
In addition, the awardee is offered to spend up to 60 days within one year after receiving their award, with the PoreLab in Norway. This is not a commitment, but an option and can be achieved through up to four visits. Should the awardee choose this option, a detailed declaration of intent from the awardee to visit PoreLab (including the agenda of the visits to PoreLab agreed with PoreLab) should be submitted to InterPore before the Award Ceremony during the InterPore meeting. If the awardee chooses to visit PoreLab, he/she will be given a stipend of 50 Euro per day for up to 60 days of visiting PoreLab, either at the NTNU or the University of Oslo. PoreLab will reimburse as well and directly to the awardee, the travel and accommodation expenses connected with the visits upon presentation of the receipts.
Nominees must be PhD students or Postdoc researchers who obtained the PhD degree no longer than 3 years before the award nomination deadline and must be an InterPore member.
Nomination packages should include: a full CV of the candidate, a nomination letter (maximum length two pages) including explicit references to nominee’s contributions to the field, up to two additional supporting letters (maximum length two pages), and related documentation (publications, reports) supporting the nomination. The nominator must be a member of InterPore. Self-nominations are not accepted.
Nomination packages should be submitted to nomination@interpore.org.
IMPORTANT: Deadline for submission of complete nomination package: November 1st of each year.
2024
The 2024 winner of the Interpore-PoreLab award for young researchers is Dr. Bauyrzhan K. Primkulov, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Dr. Primkulov is currently an Instructor of Applied Mathematics, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
While only having completed his PhD in the Spring of 2022, Bauyrzhan has already displayed a high level of scientific accomplishment and academic maturity and has already demonstrated the ability to bridge disciplines, from fluid dynamics and interfacial phenomena to geoscience and engineering.
Bauyrzhan is an outstanding young scientist and engineer with a very strong background in fluid mechanics, which he combines with an exceptional talent for laboratory experiments to make fundamental advances in our understanding of the physics of flow through complex, disordered media.
PoreLab, InterPore and InterPore Foundation congratulate Dr. Primkulov on this honor and wish him continued success.
2023
The 2023 winner of the Interpore-PoreLab award for young researchers is Dr. Pranay Shrestha, researcher at the University of Toronto, Canada.
Pranay is working to advance sustainable energy technologies like fuel cells and the porous materials within them.
Congratulations!
Pranay received hid PhD degree from the University of Toronto in February 2023, working on “Experimental and theoretical investigation of transport phenomena within electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices for novel material development“. He received his Master of Applied Science in December 2017 from the University of Toronto.
Pranay says: “Truly humbled to receive this honour! I constantly look up to this community at InterPore for inspiration and expertise on porous media! So this one is extra special to me!”
2022
The winner of the InterPore – PoreLab Award for young researchers in 2022 is Dr. Senyou An
The 2022 winner of the Interpore-PoreLab award for young researchers is Dr. Senyou An, Research Associate at the Department of Earth Science & Engineering at Imperial College of London, UK. Senyou received his PhD degree from the University of Manchester in 2021. Areas of Senyou’s expertise cover advanced computational and experimental methods for fluid dynamics, such as multiscale multiphase flow, reactive transport, heat transfer, fluid-fluid interfaces, complex fluids (rheology), and non-classical theories of flow through porous materials to address fundamental problems in engineering and natural applications.
Congratulations!
2021
The winner of the InterPore – PoreLab Award for young researchers in 2021 is Maja Rücker
This year InterPore reported having a large number of high-quality nominees leading to a strong competition, but the members of the Honors and Awards Committee have made their choice. The InterPore-PoreLab award for young researchers goes to Dr. Maja Rücker from the department of Mechanical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands.
Congratulations!
Maja received her PhD in Petroleum Engineering in a joint project of the Rock & Fluid Physics team at Shell Global Solutions International B.V. and Imperial College London. She hold a BSc and MSc degree in Geoscience from the Johannes-Gutenberg University, Mainz. She worked from 2018-2020 as a Research Assistant and later as Research Associate in the Chemical Engineering Department at Imperial College London. In November 2020, she joined the Energy Technology group at the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Eindhoven University of Technology as an Assistant Professor.
Maja summarizes her research activities as follow:
“Treatment and development of sub-surface fluid reservoirs in rocks, such as aquifers, hydrocarbon reservoirs, H2 or CO2 storage sites, is crucial for the reduction of stress on water supply, energy demand, climate and environment. Insight in how fluids behave within the confined space of the porous rock is key for decision-making processes in the associated applications.
I study molecular interactions of fluids within porous materials and how these link to the macroscopic flow phenomena (incl. multiphase flow responses, reactive transport), develop integrated experimental workflows for upscaling and advance digital modelling approaches used, e.g. to assist decision making for effective utilization of sub-surface resources“
Maja is also one of the initiators of the very successful Tea Time Talks. Check here: https://porelab.no/events/
2020
The winner of the InterPore – PoreLab Award for young researchers in 2020 is Hamed Aslannejad
Based on the recommendation of the Awards Committee of the International Society for Porous Media (InterPore), Dr. Hamed Aslannejad has been selected to receive the InterPore – PoreLab Award 2020 for Young Researchers.
Hamed is a post-doc researcher at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. His current research concerns the interaction of water-based inks and paper in inkjet printing. Among other aspects, he investigates the motion of ink pigments into paper layers using pore-scale models. The research results will be used to develop a novel class of inks for high-quality inkjet printing. Hamed received his Ph.D. in January 2019, from Utrecht University with the distinction of cum laude (the highest distinction for a PhD degree in the Netherlands). His thesis was titled “Imbibition into a thin porous medium: an experimental and pore-scale modeling study of coated paper”. Hamed has 18 publications with a total citation count of 115.
Congratulations!
2019
The winner of the InterPore – PoreLab Award for young researchers in 2019 is Tom Bultreys
Dr. Tom Bultreys, from Ghent University, Belgium, has contributed significantly to the field of pore-scale imaging and modeling. During his PhD, he developed a multi-scale network model to describe rocks with a very wide range of pore sizes. New concepts were developed, which have already found commercial applications. In his subsequent work at Imperial College, Bultreys worked on the validation and calibration of pore-scale network models. He developed a methodology to compare model and image experimental results on a pore-by-pore basis, providing a much richer basis of comparison that had been possible hitherto with simply the comparison of average results. His work laid the framework for a proper validation of models. Bultreys has co-authored 17 well-written papers. He is an active member of InterPore.
Tom writes about the award:
“I am extremely honoured and humbled to accept this award. Interpore has played an enormously important role in my research career, and will continue to do so. That makes this award all the more valuable and special to me. I look forward to a fruitful collaboration with PoreLab and to continue contributing to the Interpore community to the best of my abilities.”
Tom came for a short visit in PoreLab Trondheim in January 2020. He came to visit different PoreLab teams and to scope out specific collaborative projects. The program for his visit can be found here. A workshop was organised on January 13th, 2020, and the agenda is available here. He plans longer stays in the course of 2020.
2018
The winner of the InterPore – PoreLab Award for young researchers in 2018 is Qingwang Yuan
InterPore – PoreLab Award for Young Researchers goes to Qingwang Yuan, a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University. Qingwang Yuan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science from the University of Petroleum East China and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Calgary (2015).
He was a recipient as well of Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation in 2017. Read more at InterPore: 2018 Award Recipints, or University of Regina: Advancement and Communication
More Awards and Prizes …
2024: Erika Eiser is elected to be member of the C3 (Statistical physics) commission of the IUPAP
Erika Eiser (PI for the WP4 – Nanoporous media and gels, at PoreLab) was elected to be member of the commission on Statistical physics of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). The IUPAP is the only international physics organization that is organized and run by the physics community itself. Its members are identified physics communities in countries or regions around the world. Its mission is to assist worldwide development of physics, to foster international cooperation in physics, and to help in the application of physics toward solving problems of concern to humanity.
The Commission on Statistical Physics (C3) promotes the exchange of information and views among the members of the international scientific community in the general field of Statistical Physics. The C3 section, among other activities, is organizing the next Statistical Physics Conference, StatPhys29, in Florence in 2025 and awards the Boltzmann medal. This Award, consisting of a gilded medal, honors outstanding achievements in Statistical Physics. It is awarded every 3 years.
August 2023: Alex Hansen chairs the research quality evaluation board of the Niels Bohr Institute
In August 2023, the University of Copenhagen asked Alex Hansen to chair the research quality evaluation board of the Niels Bohr Institute.
The University Management had decided that all departments must undergo an external evaluation by a Research Quality Assessment board consisting of international experts every five to six years. The Niels Bohr Institute itself recommended Alex Hansen as Chairman of their proposed panel.
The main focus of the evaluation was on the scientific performance of the department with a particular focus on the following four points:
- Quality, international impact and interdisciplinarity of the research
- Alignment between research and educational activities
- Societal impact, innovation and private and public collaboration
- Resources, capacity, governance and organization
The evaluation took place during a site visit from 27 November to 1 December 2023. The panel was composed of Ania Bleszynski Jayich from UC Santa Barbara, Kai Bongs from Ulm University, Julianne Dalcanton from Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics, Lance Dixon from Stanford University and Jürg Schweizer from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF.
2022 InterPore Honorary Lifetime Membership Award
Congratulations to Professor Emerita Signe Kjelstrup with the 2022 InterPore Honorary Lifetime Membership Award!
The InterPore Honorary Lifetime Membership Award is reserved for individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to porous media science and technology, who are world-renowned in the porous media community, and whose contributions are consistent with the aims and ideals of InterPore.
The committee wrote about Signe:She has made extraordinary contributions in applying the methods of non-equilibrium thermodynamics based on energy conservation, entropy production and local thermal equilibrium to describe multiphase flow in porous media. Her outstanding work in equilibrium and non-equilibrium thermodynamics is widely known, not only from her many scientific papers, but also from a series of books, including a book for engineering students, “Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics for Engineers”. Prof. Kjelstrup has widely applied novel scientific ideas in porous media science, from hydrogen-based fuel cell technology to the transport of nano-sized medication particles in the blood stream and the minimization of heat loss of reindeer and seal noses in winter. She is a principal investigator in PoreLab Center of Excellence at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway, where she has overseen graduate education and delivered a generation of researchers and engineers within the fields of equilibrium and non-equilibrium thermodynamics and porous media.
Poster presentations awarded during the 2022 Gordon Research Conference on Flow and Transport in Permeable Media
Postdoctoral researchers Paula Reis and Gaute Linga had their poster presentations awarded during the 2022 Gordon Research Conference on Flow and Transport in Permeable Media
Postdoctoral researchers Paula Reis and Gaute Linga had their poster presentations awarded during the 2022 Gordon Research Conference on Flow and Transport in Permeable Media. The conference happened on July 17-22, 2022, in Les Diablerets, Switzerland, and is one of the most important events worldwide for the porous media community.
The posters were entitled “Pore-scale modeling of film flow effects during gas-liquid drainage” and “Chaotic mixing in intermittent two-phase porous media flows“. Both Paula and Gaute are working in connection with two projects funded by the Research Council of Norway under the Researcher Project for Young Talents funding scheme. Congratulations to our young researchers!
President of The Society of Core Analysts
Professor Carl Fredrik Berg is appointed President of The Society of Core Analysts
Professor Carl Fredrik Berg, Principal Investigator at PoreLab, has been appointed President of the Society of Core Analysts, a Chapter of the SPWLA, in 2022. This organization is a Chapter-at-Large of the Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts (SPWLA).
Its objectives are to promote the aims, purpose, and membership of the SPWLA which is a non-profit scientific organization, as well as to serve the interests of all persons who use or obtain reservoir evaluation information from rock and core samples. SCA was founded in 1986.
Congratulations, Carl Fredrik, for this nomination!
The Lorentz Medal Award 2022
Professor Emeritus Daan Frenkel, receives the Lorentz Medal Award 2022
Former PoreLab Scientific Advisory Board member and long-term visitor at PoreLab, Daan Frenkel, Emeritus Professor at the University of Cambridge, received the Lorentz Medal Award 2022 from the Royal Netherland Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) for his pioneering and innovative work in theoretical physics. The Lorentz Medal 2022 award ceremony took place in Leiden, on November 10th, 2022. The Lorentz Medal in physics is awarded every four years to a researcher who has made groundbreaking contributions to theoretical physics.
The Academy commented as follow: The use of computer simulations to map molecular systems may be a no-brainer today, but it was not self-evident a few decades ago. One of the driving forces behind a ‘quiet revolution’, Frenkel pioneered the use of creative computer simulations to mimic chemical and physical processes. Frenkel’s research forms the basis of a large number of theoretical and experimental studies on the behavior of suspensions: liquids containing insoluble spherical, rod-shaped and plate-shaped particles. Frenkel is considered one of the most creative and versatile computer physicists in the world, preferring to simplify rather than complicate his models. In many of his scientific breakthroughs, Frenkel used surprisingly simple code, according to his peers. Frenkel’s research is not limited to theoretical physics. It has also resulted in innovative insights in related fields including chemistry, biology and crystallography. Frenkel was recently involved in a publication that – based on his earlier work – proposes a new method for detecting the DNA of different pathogens
The 2022 EFCE Michael L. Michelsen Award
Professor Emerita Signe Kjelstrup receives the 2022 EFCE Michael L. Michelsen Award
The European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE) has named Signe Kjelstrup, Professor Emerita of physical chemistry as the laureate of the 2022 EFCE Michael L. Michelsen Award. The honor, previously called the Distinguished Lecture on Thermodynamics and Transport Properties, is conferred every two years by the EFCE Working Party on Thermodynamics and Transport Properties. In choosing her for the award, the judges cited her internationally renowned research in the area of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, with emphasis on entropy production minimization electrochemical cell modelling, heterogeneous systems and nanothermodynamics. They also highlighted her contribution to the development of novel important research in the field and her strong commitment to education and training, in her country and internationally.
The 2022 Michael L. Michelsen Awardee is supported by Elsevier and its journal Fluid Phase Equilibria. Signe gave a keynote lecture on the opening day of the ESAT 2022 meeting on March 29th, 2022, in Graz, Austria, and got her award during the ceremony.
The Excellence Award in Thermodynamics and Transport Properties 2021 from the European Federation of Chemical Engineers (EFCE)
Ailo Aasen received the Excellence Award in Thermodynamics and Transport Properties from the European Federation of Chemical Engineers (EFCE) in 2021
Dr. Ailo Aasen won the European Federation of Chemical Engineering’s 2021 Excellence Award for an outstanding PhD thesis in “Bulk and interfacial thermodynamics of mixtures: From aqueous systems to ultracryogenic fluids”.
His thesis dealt with understanding and modelling the thermodynamics of mixtures. His supervisors were Professor Øivind Wilhelmsen (PoreLab, department of chemistry, NTNU) and Dr. Morten Hammer (SINTEF Energy Research). The excellence award consists of a diploma, a cash prize of 1500 Euros, and the opportunity to present his work in a plenary talk. The award was presented to Dr. Ailo Aasen during the 31st European Symposium on Applied Thermodynamics (ESAT 2021) on July 6th, 2021.
The judging committee of EFCE’s Thermodynamics and Transport Properties Working Party was highly complimentary of the technical quality of Aasen’s work, which included his innovative approach to include quantum effects into classical Helmholtz energy equations of state. The thesis also focused heavily on fluid interfaces, and his work on nucleation of fluid mixtures featured in PoreLab’s Annual Report 2019. Ailo performed large parts of his PhD thesis at PoreLab. Today he works at SINTEF Energy Research and continues his presence at PoreLab through collaboration with PoreLab Principal Investigator Øivind Wilhelmsen.
To find out more, read the EFCE press release. More info here
Prix de Thèse 2021 de la Commission de la Recherche de l’Université de Strasbourg
Congratulation to Tom Vincent-Dospital with the Prix de Thèse de la Commission de la Recherche 2021 de l’Université de Strasbourg
Dr. Tom Vincent-Dospital has been awarded the Prix de Thèse de la Commission de la Recherche de l’Université de Strasbourg, i.e. the PhD award from the research commission of the University of Strasbourg. The title of his thesis is: “ Interfacial fractures: thermal effects and material disorder.”
This prize is awarded to 20 PhD fellows every year (394 PhDs were granted in 2021). This is a great achievement! The rigorous selection of the winner is first performed at the level of the doctoral schools according to their area of expertise, followed by the members of the research commission of the University. Tom received his prize on June 18th, 2021, during a ceremony in Strasbourg.
Tom performed his PhD in geophysics and fracture physics as a Cotutelle between the Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg, ITES (France) and PoreLab at the department of physics, University of Oslo (UiO), Norway. His supervisors were Professor Renaud Toussaint from the Institute for Earth and Environment of Strasbourg (as well adjunct professor at PoreLab, UiO) and Professors Knut Jørgen Måløy and Eirik Grude Flekkøy from PoreLab, department of Physics, UiO. Early in 2021 he joined PoreLab UiO as a Postdoctoral researcher and works together with professors Knut Jørgen Måløy and Eirik Flekkøy on the dynamics of fractures and flows in porous materials.
More information here
The Martin Landrø prize 2021 for outstanding master thesis in physics
Joachim Falck Brodin was awarded the Martin Landrø prize 2021 for outstanding master thesis in physics from the Norwegian Physical Society (Norsk Fysisk Selskap – NFS)
Congratulations to Joachim Falck Brodin who was awarded the Martin Landrø prize for outstanding master thesis in physics from the Norwegian Physical Society (Norsk Fysisk Selskap – NFS). He received his prize on June 24th, 2021.
The Martin Landrø prize for outstanding master thesis in physics was established by NFS in 2011 based on a gift of NOK. 150,000 from Martin Landrø. The price consists of NOK 5,000 as well as a diploma and is awarded during the NFS annual meeting every second year. Joachim’s master thesis is entitled “A new vision for 3D experiments on flow in porous media“. During his master thesis, Joachim built an entirely new setup for the imaging of multiphasic flows in porous media with a 3D scanner.
Previously the researchers have only been able to study in 2D systems, and this has been substantial in the success of PoreLab based on systems developed experimentally by PoreLab at UiO and numerically by PoreLab at NTNU. With the new 3D-scanner, the researchers at PoreLab are now able to extend much of their previous work to 3D systems.
In addition to the accomplishment being highly valuable for PoreLab the work itself is quite impressive. There are only a couple of groups in the world that have developed similar systems in the past years (one in Harvard and another at MIT for example). Joachim is now a PhD candidate at PoreLab, department of Physics, UiO.
Read more about Joachim’s master here: https://www.tu.no/artikler/splitter-ny-3d-skanner-folger-vaesker-fra-hulrom-til-hulrom/492141
Joachim is now PhD candidate at PoreLab/UiO.
The Physica Award 2021
Professor Daniel Bonn of the University of Amsterdam was awarded the Physica Award 2021 by the Dutch Physical Society. Professor Daniel Bonn is a member of the PoreLab Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). He is a well-know expert in soft matter. Bonn receives the prize at the online conference FYSICA 2021 on Friday 16 April, 2021, when giving the Physica Lecture. More info here.
The Physica Award is awarded yearly to an eminent physicist working in the Netherlands, after consultation with representatives of the physics community in the Netherlands, by a jury consisting of the chair of the Nederlandse Natuurkundige Vereniging, the Stichting Physica and a previous winner.
The Norwegian Research Grand Prix 2020
Vilde Bråten, PhD candidate at PoreLab and at the department of Materials Science and Engineering at NTNU was placed second in the National Finale in the Norwegian Researchers Grand Prix 2020, where researchers from universities all over the country presented their research in a way where it becomes possible to understand for the general population. Vilde did an amazing job in communicating in a simple manner a complex topic, nanothermodynamics. The contest consisted of one regional finale in Trondheim, Norway, and one National finale. Researchers’ Grand Prix is a passionate, fun, eventful competition focused on research communication. Researcher’s Grand Prix puts the spotlight on research communication and helps to highlight the breadth of Norwegian research at the PhD level.
More information here and here.
Onsager Professorship 2019
The distinguished scientist selected for the Onsager professorship this year is Daan Frenkel from the University of Cambridge. He received the Onsager silver medal on Nov.7, and gave the lecture “Entropy and complex assembly” in front of a full auditorium.
The Onsager professorship of NTNU is the last honor, in a series of almost 30 honors, awards, or named lectures that Frenkel has received. The formidable list include the highest honor available in statistical physics, the Boltzmann medal in 2016. This autumn we are happy to benefit from Daans deep knowledge in all fields relevant for the vision of PoreLab; to create a non-equilibrium statistical thermodynamic description of flow in porous media.
About the lecture
A holy grail of nano-technology is to create truly complex, multi-component structures by self-assembly. Thus far, much of the experimental work has focused on the entropy-driven creation of “structural complexity” – an approach based on Onsager’s insights.
In Daan Frenkel’s talk, he will discuss “Addressable Complexity”: the creation of structures that contain hundreds or thousands of distinct building blocks that all have to find their place in a 3D structure.
Even though the relevant interactions in such structures are mainly energetic, simulations yield surprising insights that highlight the importance of entropy in the interaction of particles with many binding sites.
These principles may even help us find ways to distinguish harmless and pathogenic bacteria.
About The Onsager Professorship
The Onsager Professorship is each year awarded to an outstanding researcher, to honor Lars Onsager.
Lars Onsager was a Norwegian-American chemist and physicist, who started out as a student at NTH (Norwegian Institute of Technology, later NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology), and later went on
to win The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1968 for his work done in 1931 on irreversible thermodynamics.
The Lars Onsager Lecture and the Lars Onsager Professorship are each year awarded by the Onsager Committee at NTNU.
As the 2019 Onsager Professor, Daan Frenkel is a guest professor at PoreLab Centre of Excellence (SFF) at NTNU and UiO.
Read more about the Onsager lecture and professorship
SPEs Regional Management and Information Award 2019
Ole Torsæter, Professor Emeritus at the department of Geoscience and Petroleum at NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) got the SPEs “Regional Management and information award“. SPE’s regional awards are intended to recognize those members who’ve contributed exceptional service and leadership to the society, as well as those who’ve made major professional contributions to their technical disciplines at the regional level. These awards are presented at region and section meetings. The regional award recipients become candidates for the equivalent international award in 2019.
2018 PhD prize of the French chapter of InterPore
The 2018 PhD prize of the French chapter of InterPore goes to Eve-Agnès Fiorentino. More information at l’Université de Strasbourg: Actualités.
Award from the Research Council of Norway for Excellence in Research 2018
Øivind Wilhelmsen, Principal Investigator at PoreLab, got an award from the Research Council of Norway for excellence in research. The award represents 500 000 NOK and was shared on March the 1st, 2018. More information at Sintef: Siste-nytt.