ZwickRoell Academia Day
Over the years, ZwickRoell Academia Day has become an important event for science and industry where new opportunities and possibilities in intelligent materials testing are discussed. How can we accelerate research through the use of materials testing machines? How can new materials be established more quickly? And how can research and industry strengthen their partnership? These are just a few of the questions that are addressed each year at the ZwickRoell Academia Day. A highlight of this event is the presentation of the ZwickRoell Science Award and 8,000 euros in prize money for the innovative use of a materials testing machine in research and science.
Participants from research and industry
Presentations on current research topics
Presentation of the ZwickRoell Science Award
Networking opportunity for participants, speakers, and Science Award winners
Academia Day 2023 in Cambridge - ZwickRoell Science Award for Publications of Innovative Testing Concepts
Academia Day 2023, which this year took place at the renowned Cambridge University (United Kingdom), ended on September 26 with the presentation of the ZwickRoell Science Award, worth a total of 8,000 euros. For the 14th year in a row, the ZwickRoell Science Award, sponsored by machine manufacturer ZwickRoell was presented in the presence of Dr. Jan Stefan Roell and ZwickRoell Board Member Christine Dübler (CSO). With this prize, the company recognizes publications of innovative testing concepts in the field of materials testing. This year’s winners were from Italy, Spain and Germany. A total of 212 research papers were submitted from all over the world.
“As a leading manufacturer of testing systems, ZwickRoell has been promoting the exchange of information in the field of academia for years. Above all, the mix of participants from the areas of science and industry gives Academia Day that special flair and always makes it relatable in practice”, said Christine Dübler, Chief Sales Officer at ZwickRoell. This year’s topics covered during Academia Day 2023, organized by ZwickRoell and held at different universities around the world, centered around decarbonization and renewable energy.
Winners came from Italy, Spain and Germany
As part of the event at the Møller Institute of the renowned Cambridge University (United Kingdom), a number of guest speakers presented results from materials research in the areas of wind power, hydrogen technology, battery testing and electromobility.
They were preceded by the traditional presentation of the ZwickRoell Science Award. This year, a total of 212 researchers and scientists submitted their papers on topics from different areas in materials testing. The winners gave short presentations on their innovative testing concepts.
First place (5,000 euros) went to Dr. Diego Misseroni from the University of Trento (Italy) for his publication in Extreme Mechanics Letters, entitled “Experimental Realization of Tunable Poisson's Ratio in Deployable Origami Metamaterials.”
Second place (2,000 euros) went to Dr. Sergio Medina Escobar from the University of Girona (Spain) for his publication “Guided Double Cantilever Beam Test Method for Intermediate and High Loading Rates in Composites”, in the International Journal of Solids and Structures.
And third place (1,000 euros) was awarded to Peter Hetz from the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg for his contribution published in CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology 71, entitled “Characterization of Sheet Metal Components by Using an Upsetting Test with Miniaturized Cylindrical Specimen.”
Academia Day 2022 at TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology)
After having to put ZwickRoell Academia Day on hold for two years due to the pandemic, and carrying out the presentation ceremony for ZwickRoell Science Award winners in form of online events, we were able to again hold Academia Day in person on June 10, 2022.
In the beautiful surroundings of the domed hall known as the Kuppelsaal at the Vienna University of Technology, we returned to a lively exchange between speakers and participants.
The headlining topic of this year’s ZwickRoell Science Award was: „Linking Microstructure with Macroscopic Properties – with Special Focus on Additive Manufacturing“.
In line with our tradition of preceding events from years past, we also presented the ZwickRoell Science Award winner within the scope of Academia Day.
First place was awarded to Ahmed Zouari from Mines ParisTech, France, for his publication in the Journal of Nuclear Materials, entitled “The Effect of Strain Biaxiality on the Fracture of Zirconium Alloy Fuel Cladding“.
Second place went to Jiahui Li from the Val d’Hebron University Hospital in Spain, for her work „Catheter Tip Distensibility Substantially Influences the Aspiration Force of Thrombectomy Devices“ and published in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery.
Third place was awarded to Longhui Zhang with the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, for his article „Pure Shear Plastic Flow and Failure of Titanium Alloys Under Quasi-Static and Dynamic Torsional Loading” published in the Mechanics of Materials journal.
The ZwickRoell Science Award, worth a total of €8,000, once again honored outstanding research work involving the innovative use of materials testing machines.
ZwickRoell Academia Day 2017: Hongkong University of Science and Technology
Within the framework of ZwickRoell Academia Day 2017, the presentation of the ZwickRoell Science Award took place on May 26, 2017 at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Over 70 participants from 20 countries submitted 100 and gave the judges a difficult task to choose amongst them.
First prize, including 5,000 euros and the Paul Roell Medal, was awarded to Maria F. Pantano from the University of Trento in Italy, for her MEMS technology based nano testing machine for the characterization of small components and materials. Progressive miniaturization and the increasing use of nano materials necessitate micro-scale characterization, as characteristic values from macroscopic tests cannot be scaled at will.
David Jocham of the Technical University of Munich received second prize for his method of biaxial determination of the yield locus of mild steel during forming.
Third prize was awarded to Zihao Quin of Tsinghua University in China for his work in the field of oscillating signals in dynamic materials testing at high speeds.
ZwickRoell Academia Day 2016: Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague
On April 26, 2016, the winners of the ZwickRoell Science Award 2015 received their awards in the course of the seventh ZwickRoell Academia Day, held at the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. The scientific framework of the event featured presentations focused on materials testing.
This year’s winner of the Paul Roell medal, together with the first prize of 5,000 euros, is Enrique Alabort from the University of Oxford, one of the world’s ten leading engineering universities. In a compelling presentation, he expounded the superplasticity of alloy materials, including for example the properties of polycrystalline materials, which can deform by several hundred percent. Second prize went to Benjamin Zillmann of Chemnitz University of Technology (Germany), with a paper on the biaxial deformation of sheet metals, primarily in compression tests. Third place went to Ph. D. Ozgur Atalay from Istanbul Technical University, who highlighted possible ways of integrating sensors into textiles by means of electrically conductive fibers. The three winners were chosen out of 160 entries from 26 countries.
ZwickRoell Academia Day 2015: ETH Zurich
For the sixth time in succession, ZwickRoell Academia Day was the setting for the presentation of the 2014 ZwickRoell Science Awards. An international audience gathered at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich on June 2, 2015, to celebrate the achievements of this year’s winners of the prize for the most innovative use of a materials testing machine in a scientific context.
A first prize of 5,000 euros went this year to Markus Seidl of the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the University of Innsbruck. His paper describes the special features of the phase diagram of water at very low temperatures and high pressure—an aggregate state that can be brought about by the use of liquid nitrogen and a ZwickRoell AllroundLine testing machine. The results of the research are interesting for all processes in which crystal nucleation and growth is a relevant component, ranging from areas of biology and environmental technology to food engineering and pharmaceutical engineering; for example how this knowledge can be used to extend the shelf life of medicines.
The jury, made up this year of representatives from the University of Bayreuth, the University of Bristol, and the ETH Zurich, awarded second and third places to German scientists. An additional third place went to a project from Spain. The winners also had the opportunity to present their work alongside notable professors as part of the Academia Day series of scientific lectures in front of an international audience of experts.
ZwickRoell Academia Day 2014: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid
On April 9, 2014, the winners of the 2013 ZwickRoell Science Award were presented their awards at the fifth ZwickRoell Academia Day at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid. The technical framework of the event featured presentations focused on the testing of lightweight materials.
The winner of the Paul Roell Medal and first prize of 5,000 euros was Debrupa Lahiri of the Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee. She completed her Master of Technology degree at IIT Kanpur and her doctorate at Florida International University. Her thesis describes the binding behavior of carbon nanotubes with a substrate. Her findings can be used in developing coating technologies for endoprostheses, so they can be better embedded in human tissue.
The second prize went to a scientist from Great Britain, and the third prize was shared by two scientists from the USA and Germany. There were a total of 119 entries for the 2013 ZwickRoell Science Award, and the scientific lecture series of the Academia Days provided a comprehensive view of today's important scientific issues in materials testing.
ZwickRoell Academia Day 2013: University of Manchester
On April 17, 2013, the winners of the 2012 ZwickRoell Science Award received their awards at the fourth ZwickRoell Academia Day, held this year at Manchester University, England. In addition to various expert presentations on the subject of materials in challenging environments, they also had the opportunity to present their own technical articles.
The winner, Michal K. Budzik, of the University of Bordeaux, examined how to determine the fracture behavior of composites using a ZwickRoell materials testing machine. The results offer a better understanding of industrial bonding processes. Second and third prizes went to projects from Spain and Italy. A total of 72 scientists from 17 different countries took part in the ZwickRoell Science Award.
