Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials, is pleased to present the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award in Materials Sciences to Doros Theodorou, PhD, Professor in Materials Science & Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens in Greece.

Professor Theodorou received the honour at DFYP 2018, the international conference on Deformation, Yield, and Fracture of Polymers, in Kerkrade, the Netherlands.

Decades of ground-breaking polymer modeling
An international scientific jury – chaired by Dr Marcus Remmers, Royal DSM’s Chief Technology Officer – recognised the major contributions Professor  Theodorou has made to the field of molecular and meso-scale modeling of polymers. He has earned much praise for his open way of working, and his efforts to educate a whole generation of researchers, thereby making it easier for them to build on his findings.

“By using computational science to answer the thousands of ‘what if’ questions surrounding potential new materials, Professor Doros Theodorou and his team are enabling commercial science companies such as DSM to bring game-changing and often life-changing innovations – like biomedical devices – to market faster and more efficiently,” noted Remmers.

The Professor’s polymer modeling work began in 1985 with the publication of his influential PhD papers on the topic of predicting the structure and mechanical properties of glassy amorphous polymers. Professor Theodorou indicates that his next plan is to intensify his research into coarse graining – the study of computational polymer modeling beyond the nano level.

“It is truly a career highlight for me to win this lifetime achievement award, because I respect the work of DSM in materials science so much,” says Professor Theodorou. He gave an acceptance lecture at the conference on his groundbreaking research work.

DSM’s dedication to scientific innovation
Open to scientists worldwide, DSM grants this award every two years in recognition of outstanding scientific work by an established scientist who has significantly contributed to advancing the materials sciences. Award candidates can be put forward by nomination only. The Lifetime Achievement Awards carry a cash prize of 50,000 Euros. An overview of previous winners can be found online.

“We believe it is our responsibility to nurture and develop bright science to create brighter lives for people today and for generations to come,” Remmers said. “Our awards show our commitment to promoting pioneering scientific research that leads to products or applications that enhance people’s quality of life and are intended to ensure we all continue to benefit from bright science.”

About DYFP
This year’s March 25-29 DFYP (www.dyfp-conferences.org) marked the 17th edition of this triennial conference, which began in Cambridge, England, in 1970, but which since 2006 has been held at Rolduc Abbey in Kerkrade.