Prof Ilja Voets wins the KNCV Gold Medal 2019. "Voets is a talented and driven chemist, who both conducts fundamental research and makes the translation to practical applications," said jury chairman Jurriaan Huskens. The highest Dutch award for top chemical talent will be presented at chemistry conference CHAINS in Veldhoven on 10 December.
Ilja Voets is professor of Self-Organising Soft Matter at Eindhoven University of Technology. There, she leads a team of physicists, biologists, chemists and engineers. Among other things, Voets studied so-called antifreeze proteins, which prevent organisms, living in extreme cold, from freezing. "Voets has a unique profile in which she combines different fields of study," says Jurriaan Huskens, jury chairman committee Gold Medal 2019. "She is also very involved in the chemical community, as evidenced by the many national and international committees and conferences she has participated in."
CV
Following her PhD at Wageningen University under the supervision of Professor Martien Cohen Stuart, Voets became a postdoc at the Aldolphe Merkle Institute in Switzerland. There she researched the behaviour of proteins under different phase conditions. In 2011, she started as an assistant professor at Eindhoven University of Technology at the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems. Since 2018, she has been a professor at Eindhoven University of Technology. Voets received several prestigious grants such as a Vidi and Rubicon fellowship and led several application-oriented projects in collaboration with industry.
Ambassador
Voets is among the world's top researchers in the physical chemistry of soft condensed matter - liquids containing polymers or colloids (small particles that can behave like molecules but that you can see with the naked eye). She wrote more than 100 publications on this subject, which are cited by many researchers. She also has four patents to her name. In addition to her research activities, Voets took the initiative to set up symposia on soft condensed matter at Eindhoven University of Technology. "Ilja Voets has an impressive CV," says Huskens. "Besides her extensive and visible own research, she stands out because of the many and various forms of outreach she does. She really has an ambassadorial role within chemistry."
Golden Medal
The KNCV Golden Medal is awarded annually and is the main Dutch prize for researchers who have distinguished themselves particularly in the field of chemical research in the broadest sense. Eligible for the award are researchers up to the age of 40 who are expected to become leaders in their field. The Gold Medal has been awarded to top chemical talent in the Netherlands since 1963.
The official presentation of this prestigious award will take place during CHAINS 2019, a major, chemistry conference - 10 and 11 December 2019 - focusing on science and industry.
Source: https://www.kncv.nl/k/n231/news/view/154436/872/kncv-gouden-medaille-voor-ilja-voets.html
