Study award for outstanding achievement

"Outstanding" and "impressive": these words were heard several times at the award ceremony for the Altenkirchen district study prize. This year, the award went to Maren Kipping from Betzdorf, whose master's thesis in chemistry at the University of Siegen was rated "very good". The prize, endowed with 2,000 euros, is donated by Sparkasse Westerwald-Sieg.

In her master's thesis, Maren Kipping dealt with the detection of microplastic particles in liquids. She researched the optimization of an instrumental method for detecting these particles. Microplastics can now be detected almost everywhere - in Arctic ice, in the snow of the Swiss Alps and even in breast milk. In her presentation, which was easy to understand even for laypeople, the prizewinner illustrated her research work and presented the application of a new system that for the first time enables significantly faster data acquisition when examining plastic particles.

As part of her doctorate, for which she received a scholarship from the Chemical Industry Fund, Maren Kipping will further refine this method. This will be done in cooperation with Johannes Schmitt (House of Young Talents scholarship holder), who developed the system's hardware and software. In future, utilities will be able to benefit from the results when analyzing drinking water, for example, or industry in process and product control. She wrote her Master's thesis in English and received the highest grade for it. "She was already the best student of the year in chemistry in her Bachelor's degree," emphasized Prof. Dr. Carsten Engelhard, first examiner and supervising professor, in his laudatory speech. As a "tracker" who is on the trail of even the smallest particles, Maren Kipping is making a valuable contribution to tackling the global challenge of microplastics, said Engelhard. Efficient analytical methods are essential for this.

Professor Engelhard also recounted a formative childhood experience: a demonstration by the Betzdorf volunteer fire department, which Maren Kipping watched at the time, had awakened her enthusiasm for chemistry. The spectacular effects of this show were a key moment that sparked her curiosity and passion for the subject. Engelhard paid tribute to the great perseverance of the prizewinner, who has already co-authored a scientific publication, as did District Administrator Dr. Peter Enders: "Behind your achievement is a great deal of self-discipline and hard work. You can be very proud of that."

"The award reflects the close ties between the people and companies in our region and the University of Siegen," emphasized District Administrator Enders in his welcoming address. Dr. Andreas Reingen, Chairman of the Board of Sparkasse Westerwald-Sieg, had previously welcomed the guests to the "Breidenbacher Hof" in Betzdorf. He emphasized that this year's prizewinner had not only fulfilled the criteria of the study prize, but had far exceeded them with her achievements.