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The Research Day of the School of Chemical Engineering was organized this year for the first time, and it aimed at providing a platform for discussion and collaboration regarding one’s research. Doctoral candidates, postdoctoral fellows and other researchers were given an opportunity to present their recent work, share expertise, as well as enhance their professional networks.  

Poster presentations by the members of the Multifunctional Materials Design research group: 

“Understanding the Nanodomain Morphology Formation in Dip-Coated PS-b-PEO Thin Films”

Hoang M. Nguyen (Doctoral candidate): “I have learned a lot during the poster session. From the “research” perspective, it provided me a chance to know what other researchers in the field of chemistry are doing. I got to know a variety of techniques that I have not been familiar with, for example, the Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) – a powerful characterization method that is quite popular in my field, but I did not have the opportunity to receive training for that. Moreover, since a five-minute presentation is quite short to include all the things I would like to introduce about my topic, I had to learn how to deliver all the important information to the audience in a condensed but still interesting way. Regarding the networking, I did not quite approach such “collaborative” things, however, I got the chance to know more people and their work, and, who knows, maybe in the future we will contact each other for co-working.”  

Keywords: block copolymer, dip-coating, thin film, self-assembly, nanopattern
Contact information: hoang.1.nguyen@aalto.fi

“All-biowaste-derived High Performance Flexible Supercapacitors”  

Yazan Al Haj (Doctoral candidate): “My opinion on the poster session is that it was well organized, thanks to the organizing committee. Although presentation time slots were quite short (five minutes), it is understandable as there were more than 70 speakers. By presenting my research project I managed to share information with the audience and get some feedback and suggestions on how to improve the quality of my work. During this event I attended more than eight interesting presentations on different topics, and this was a good opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with other young researchers.”

Keywords: flexible supercapacitor, renewable, biowaste, nanocellulose
Contact information: yazan.alhaj@aalto.fi  

“Improving the longevity of solar cells through the integration of added functions” 

Seyede Maryam Mousavi (Doctoral candidate): “As a new PhD candidate, it was a great opportunity for me to see how other researchers managed to do their research, and I have learned about new ideas and resolutions. Despite all the restrictions during the pandemic, it has become possible for us to find common research areas and collaborations even in new scientific fields. And thanks to our oral presentations, comments and opinions of others, we were able to look at our ideas and research from different points of view. Briefly, it was really productive for me since now I have both the confidence and ability to participate and present in an online seminar or event.”

Keywords: solar cells, stability, photo-switchable molecule
Contact information: maryam.mousavi@aalto.fi

“Translation of Leaf Structures into Functional Hierarchical Surfaces”

Hamidreza Daghigh Shirazi (Doctoral candidate): “Along with the challenges of presenting my work to people with different backgrounds came a great opportunity of widening my research overview and improving my presenting skills, especially on an online platform where interaction between the speaker and the audience is minimized. Presence of people from various departments also brought the opportunity to boost my professional network and receive constructive feedback."

Keywords: wetting, self-cleaning, superrepellent, biomimetic, lotus effect
Contact information: hamidreza.daghighshirazi@aalto.fi

“Optically Transparent Pectin Cryogels/Poly(methyl methacrylate) Composites”  

Fangxin Zou (Postdoctoral researcher): “It was a very nice poster day as it gave us an opportunity to understand and discuss scientific research results and experiences with each other.”  

Keywords: transparent, polymer composite, pectin, poly(methyl methacrylate)
Contact information: fangxin.zou@aalto.fi

“Novel actuators in smart textiles application”  

Zahraalsadat Madani (Doctoral candidate): “In fact, it was a great opportunity for me because I had a chance to present my work three times to different audiences. Moreover, I learned how to start the presentation in a good way, so I will surely participate in public seminars more and more. It was really nice to get familiar with the work of other researchers through their poster presentations, and it gave me inspiration for my future work.”

Keywords: novel yarns, actuation, smart textiles, artificial muscles
Contact information: zahraalsadat.madani@aalto.fi

“Photo-Controllable Wrinkle Erasure on Azobenzene-Containing Double-Layered Structure”

Yujiao Dong (Doctoral candidate): “The poster session definitely helped to practice presenting skills, but I did not feel that I got enough feedback to make my presentation better, nor received new ideas for my research. In regard to enhancing my professional network, maybe due to the online format, it was more difficult than I thought. But it still was good to hear about other researchers' work during the poster session“.  

Keywords: azobenzene, confocal microscopy, double layer, wrinkle, photo-responsive, thin films   
Contact information: yujiao.dong@aalto.fi