press release

Join BonLab as a PhD student in 2022

We are looking for enthusiastic and dedicated people to join the BonLab as a PhD student. Start dates are Oct-Dec 2022. Do you have what it takes to work at the forefront in supracolloidal chemical engineering? 

You will be working under guidance of prof.dr.ir. Stefan A. F. Bon on an exciting 3.5 year project in collaboration with industry in the area of polymer and colloid science. The project will relate to:

Next generation sustainable polymer colloids

This projects deals with the fabrication of sustainable polymer colloids and capsules and their use as building blocks for a range of supracolloidal materials. We will look at alternatives to free radical polymerization methods under the tentative title: “oh, but its not microplastics”. Not only will we look at innovative fabrication methods, we will look at the formulation process involved during the processing into colloidal products, and we will characterize the physical and mechanical properties of the materials made.

Enquiries, which should include a CV with the names of two referees, should be made to prof.dr.ir. Stefan A. F Bon (s.bon@warwick.ac.uk)

Requirements:

An eligible student must hold, or be predicted to obtain, at least a 2.1 4-year degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or an equivalent scientific discipline. Exceptional students with a 3 year BSc degree will also be considered. This studentship is open to UK and EU (pre-) settled nationals and those of equivalent status* (fees paid, plus annum stipend). Availability is for 3.5 years.

*Please note - ELIGIBILITY - Applicants from outside the UK are eligible for this post if they can bridge the gap between home and overseas study fees.

 

Use of macromonomers as reactive stabilizers in mini-emulsion polymerization

Use of macromonomers as reactive stabilizers in mini-emulsion polymerization

A mini-emulsion polymerization is a variation on the more conventional emulsion polymerization process in that in the ideal scenario latex particles are formed by monomer droplet nucleation. The monomer droplets are turned into polymer particles. The trick to achieve this is to shrink monomer emulsion droplets to sub-micrometer diameters. For this two ingredients are key, one is a lyophobe, a compound that dissolves in the monomer droplet but does not like to partition into the continuous phase, here water. Typically n-hexadecane is used. This compound suppresses coarsening, also called Ostwald ripening, of the droplets by providing an Osmotic counter pressure. The other essential ingredient is a surfactant which aids to stabilize the large combined surface area of the droplets and keeps then from colliding and fusing (colloidal stability).

The use of molecular surfactants, however, can have negative impacts when the polymer latex is used in formulations and applications as the surfactant can migrate. For example in a clear coating it could lead to uptake of water, causing the transparent coating to become opaque, a phenomenon known as water whitening.

Stefan Bon receives Warwick Award for Teaching Excellence (WATE)

The Warwick Awards for Teaching Excellence (WATE) are handed out annually by the University of Warwick (UK) and aim to recognise those who have made a difference to the student learning experience through their work and their teaching practice. This year there were over 400 nominations by staff and students.

After an extraordinary academic year (2020-2021), WATE will be celebrating stories of ’everyday excellence’ in challenging times. Award winners are recognised for their exceptional commitment, impact and innovation to higher eduction by supporting students and colleagues, planting the seeds for future approaches to teaching and learning as we emerge from the global COVID pandemic.

One of the recipients this year of an individual Warwick Award for Teaching Excellence (WATE) is prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon, a chemical engineer with expertise in polymer and colloid science, who works in the Department of Chemistry within the Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

Prof. Bon is passionate about and dedicated to education, has an excellent relationship with the students, and has a track record to innovate in and to deliver great learning environments and experiences for students at Warwick. Throughout the years he has delivered original and exciting modules in polymer and colloid science, thermodynamics, kinetics, mathematics, key skills, and chemistry practical lab classes.

His creativity, drive, and passion to teach science and his engagement with the student community have led to progressive educational ideas being implemented at Warwick University, amongst which Chemistry Café, a highly successful student led social informal learning space, a concept now rolled out to multiple departments.

Prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon says: “ This award came as a total surprise. I am absolutely delighted to have been nominated by our students and I am thrilled that the WATE committee decided to make me one of this year’s WATE recipients. I truly feel touched by this, it means a lot.

I would like to say a massive ‘thank you’ to all the students for their enthusiasm and dedication to their studies, standing up for themselves and each other, and forming together the Warwick community, especially in these unusual and difficult COVID times. I am proud of what they have achieved, especially in this academic year.

Teaching science is a key reason why I became an academic. The opportunity to mesmerise people with scientific concepts and see them use and apply these with enthusiasm to discover new science and develop innovative strategies for a more sustainable society, makes me very happy.

The combined learnings from teaching over one academic year remotely/blended, together with the STEM-grand challenge plans Warwick University has for the sciences, is a not to be missed opportunity to provide a step-change in higher education delivery.”

Prof. Bon is contributing actively to this with colleagues from across the University and is leading a task group under the Education and Students Experience Work Group, to look at new and exciting learning opportunities and curriculum design and how these can be implemented for Warwick science.