Mr Andrew Wiersum

Photo courtesy of Cyril Bruneau, SET Awards

Andrew Wiersum has won the AWE Award for the Best Chemical Engineering Student of the Year at the recent Science Engineering and Technology Awards (SET). Andrew won the award for his final year research project which looked at designing new materials for carbon capture under the supervision of Dr Tina Düren. This is the second time a Chemical Engineering graduate from the University of Edinburgh has won the award after Jennifer Wilson in 2007. In his project, Andrew looked at mesoporous silica materials functionalised with organic surface groups. By using molecular simulation techniques, he tested new surface groups and undertook a fundamental study of the properties required for good performances in carbon capture applications. Andrew graduated with a first class degree in Chemical Engineering in June 2009 and is currently doing a PhD at the CNRS Laboratoire Chimie Provence in Marseilles, France.

The SET Awards are the UK's and Ireland's most important awards for science, engineering, and technology undergraduate students. The awards were presented at a ceremony on 24th of September 2009 at London's Intercontinental Hotel 2009 attended by more than 500 students, academics, and business leaders. Record numbers of entries were received from every major university in the United Kingdom and Ireland and judges paid tribute to the exceptional quality of this year's work. 45 students were shortlisted in fifteen different categories.

October 2009