Pride and joy as University researchers collect two FNR Awards

On 19 October, two young University researchers collected an award at the annual FNR Awards Ceremony organised by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR).

Dr Emmanuele Penocchio, currently working at Northwestern University, obtained the FNR Award for Outstanding Thesis for his tremendous doctoral work on “Thermodynamics of chemical engines: A chemical reaction network approach”.

Dr Dominique Santana, postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH), obtained the FNR Award for Outstanding Promotion of Science to the Public for her transmedia documentary “A Colônia Luxemburguesa”.

FNR Award for Outstanding Thesis

With his PhD, defended at the Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine in the Doctoral Programme in Physics and Material Sciences, Emmanuele Penocchio aimed to advance understanding of thermodynamics of chemical systems that consume energy to perform complex functions. Such systems are called chemical engines, in analogy to steam engines or electrical engines.

Natural chemical engines are found in every living cell and their artificial counterparts have been synthesised by experimenters in chemistry. Artificial chemical engines are the most miniature machines ever built by humankind and provide building blocks to realise materials with life-like properties, holding great promises for future nanotechnology.

During his PhD, Dr Penocchio complemented previous analyses based on kinetics and stochastic thermodynamics. He furthermore found practical implications for designing and improving artificial chemical engines, regardless of the particular type of powering or chemical structure.

For the outstanding quality and innovation of his doctoral thesis, he also received, among other recognitions, the Rolf Tarrach Prize 2023 and the 2022 Foresight Institute Distinguished Student Award.

Watch Emmanuele speak about his work in the FNR Award video:

FNR Awards 2023: Outstanding PhD Thesis - Emanuele Penocchio

FNR Award for Outstanding Promotion of Science to the Public

Dominique Santana’s transmedia documentary “A Colônia Luxemburguesa” offers an interactive journey of discovery of a century of common industrial, cultural and social heritage between Luxembourg and Brazil. The project explores the history of Luxembourg workers who migrated to Brazil to work for ARBED in the industrial region of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The documentary was produced as part of her FNR-funded PhD research and served as grounds for several first-time collaborations between the University and diverse partners. This led to a dynamic outreach that benefitted a wide and diverse audience, both in Luxembourg and abroad.

A Colônia Luxemburguesa was the first collaboration and official co-production between the C²DH, the Centre national de l’audiovisuel (CNA) and Samsa Film. The team was selected to present the project as part of Esch2022 European Capital of Culture. They established a collaboration with the Service National de la Jeunesse (SNJ), enabling four young volunteers to join the team as cultural mediators in Luxembourg and in Brazil.

Dominique Santana has received numerous awards for her outstanding doctoral research and outreach work. In June she started a new project “Radio Luxembourg – The Station that Changed the World”.

Watch Dominique speak about her project in the FNR Award video:

Each year, the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) organises its awards ceremony to promote research in Luxembourg and to recognise significant outputs by researchers and science communicators. Awards are presented in four categories, and each award comes with a 5000 EUR prize: