Chemical Engineer receives Imperial's Armstrong Medal for outstanding research

Dr Maria Fernanda Jimenez Solomon, from the Department of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded the College's Henry Armstrong Memorial Trust Medal.

The prize, awarded this week at Imperial's Dudley Newitt Lecture, is presented to exceptional PhD students undertaking research that can be applied to help tackle industrial problems.

Maria was awarded the medal for her research into polymeric membranes – plastic microporous films which are used as a kind of filter to remove impurities and toxic substances from pharmaceutical products.

Most conventional membranes break down when they are exposed to organic solvents, such as alcohols and ethers, which are used in many chemical processes. The solvent-stable membranes that are currently on the market only allow very small amounts of solvent to pass through them – meaning that the filtering process is slow and inefficient.

Maria’s research in this area led to the development of a technique that significantly increased the amount of solvent able to flow through the membranes. This means that substances can be filtered at a much greater speed and that the size of filter needed is much smaller.

These innovative membranes have already generated significant interest from industry, with company Evonik licensing two of Maria’s patents. The company is now sponsoring Maria’s continuing post-doctoral research at Imperial to develop larger filters that could be used on an industrial scale.

Maria, who was supervised by Professor Andrew Livingston - Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, said:

“The Armstrong Medal is a very prestigious award and I am absolutely delighted to have been chosen as the winner. I knew that I was up against a lot of really interesting and exciting projects, so this was a very unexpected honour.”

“I actually have a background in Chemistry so I had never worked with machines before I embarked upon my PhD. The support and guidance I received from Imperial – especially from my supervisor – in this area has been invaluable in allowing me to achieve this success. I look forward to continuing my research and am excited at the prospect of developing my ideas further.”

Professor Sue Gibson, Director of the Graduate School, chaired the panel that selected the winner. Speaking of Maria’s success, she said:

“Maria’s outstanding research in this area has led to a significant scientific breakthrough which will have a major impact on industrial purification processes”

The candidates for this year’s medal were very strong; however Maria’s determination, motivation and persistence throughout her research project make her a deserving winner. We are pleased to be able to recognise her achievements with this award.”