Within the framework of “FEMS Junior Euromat”, the FEMS (Federation of European Materials Societies) Master Thesis Award took place on July 17, 2024, in Manchester. Nine candidates from eight European countries presented a lecture on their master's thesis and had to face the jury's questions. The FEMS is the umbrella organisation of national European societies for materials science, and each participant had to win their country's competition beforehand.

Representing the German Society for Materials Science (DGM) was Oliver Preuß, doctoral candidate from the Institute for materials science of Technical University of Darmstadt (we reported). With his topic “Dislocation-Based Toughening in Single-Crystal Potassium Niobate”, he presented new ways to protect ceramic surfaces from cracks through plastic deformation, earning him first prize. The second place went to Ines Addi from the Société Française de Métallurgie et Matériaux SF2M, and the third prize went to the Italian Sara Scolari from the Associazione Italiana di Metallurgia AIM.

Former FEMS President Prof. Dr. Anna Zervaki noted that selecting the winners was very difficult due to the very high quality of the presentations. Current FEMS President Prof. Dr. Aldo Boccaccini said that in light of the demonstrated achievements, he sees a “bright future for materials science in Europe”.

The FEMS Junior Euromat is a materials science conference particularly aimed at young scientists, especially doctoral candidates. In addition to technical presentations, it offers excellent opportunities to network with like-minded individuals across Europe, thus promoting future collaborations and international research exchanges.