First ProMat Graduate Receives Bremen Study Award

Eric Macke and the ProMat team are delighted: As the first graduate of the new master's programme in Process-Oriented Materials Research (ProMat), Eric Macke was awarded the Bremen Study Award for his master's thesis.

Dear Eric, congratulations on receiving this year's Bremen Study Award! What is the topic of your thesis for which you received this award?

My work was devoted to the simulation of a novel class of materials, the so-called Prussian blue analogs. In the future, these could be used, for example, for inexpensive yet powerful rechargeable batteries.

What role did the ProMat master's programme take, e.g., in finding your research question and to realise your research project?

In the ProMat master's programme, I learned the various physical, electrochemical and computer science basics that are necessary for such complex simulations. I probably would never have come across the topic itself without the great interdisciplinarity of the programme.

And what are your professional and scientific plans now, after having successfully completed your master's degree?

In fact, the Prussian Blue analogs have not let me go and now I am pursuing my PhD under the supervision of my ProMat mentor Prof. Dr. Colombi Ciacchi. Over the last year, my focus has shifted a bit more to the methodological side. I try to make the simulation of materials more accurate and easier to apply in general.

What advice do you have for young people interested in the ProMat master?s programme, and for new students who just started on the programme?

ProMat is a great master?s programme for all those who are willing to look far beyond their previous scientific and personal horizons. The great payoff comes at the end: Once you've jumped back and forth between different disciplines, lecture halls and study groups like a bouncy ball, you'll be able to cope in almost any academic and social environment afterwards - an indispensable skill!

And finally, what are you planning to do with the prize money? Will you treat yourself to something nice?

Even though it may not be quite enough for that, the prize money is nevertheless a welcomed contribution to the purchase of an (electric) car; a fascinating topic for me, even without the scientific reference.

Thank you very much for your answers. We from the ProMat study program wish you all the best in achieving your goals and plans!