With a song about the period table of elements, bubbles and awards, DTU celebrated the PhD graduates who have completed their research education and contributed significant scientific results. The graduates were celebrated in the sports hall at DTU Lyngby Campus on Friday, November 15, 2024, surrounded by family, friends, supervisors, and department heads.
The Dean of Sustainability at DTU, Christine Nellemann, was the host and moderator of the event, while DTU’s President, Anders Bjarklev, delivered a welcome speech in which he thanked the young researchers for their hard work and dedication and encouraged them to be ambassadors for science and technology, for example by joining DTU's alumni network.
This year's guest speaker was alumna Signe Munk, who holds a PhD in industrial biotechnology from DTU and is now Vice President at Ferrosan Medical Devices. She was recognized for her extensive experience in research and development as well as innovation.
PhD Thesis of the Year
The award for PhD Thesis the Year went to Frederik Warburg from DTU Compute for his thesis on 3D scene reconstruction from images, which will enable reliable performance in robot navigation and interaction. Frederik Warburg has published 15 articles with nearly 700 citations and has supervised more than 10 MSc or BSc theses. The award includes a prize of 25,000 DKK.
PhD Supervisor of the Year
PhD graduates can nominate their supervisor for Supervisor of the Year each year. The award includes a prize of 25,000 DKK. This year, it was awarded to Christian Danvad Damsgaard from DTU Physics and DTU Nanolab. He was recognized for his significant influence as a supervisor, extending beyond his own group. Christian Danvad Damsgaard is described as a supervisor who finds joy in helping others succeed and has saved many research projects, according to the PhD students who nominated him for the award.
Young Researchers Award
The award is given to young researchers who have made an extraordinary effort and have great potential for further development. The recipients are also recognized for being role models for younger students, serving as mentors and supervisors, and actively disseminating their research to the public. The award includes a prize of 15,000 DKK.
The six winners of the Young Researchers Award 2024 are:
- Line Roager from DTU Bioengineering for the dissertation 'Microalgal Microbiomes: Composition, Assembly, and Interactions'
- Christopher Whitford from DTU Biosustain for the dissertation 'Development of CRISPR Tools for Metabolic Engineering of Specialized Metabolite Production in Streptomyces'
- Marcus Carstensen from DTU Electro for the dissertation 'Alzheimer's Disease and Neuronal Dysfunction'
- Ronja Güldenring from DTU Electro for the dissertation 'Perception for Precision Agriculture Robotics using Deep Learning'
- Degenhart Hochfilzer from DTU Physics for the dissertation 'Understanding catalyst stability and local reaction environments in electrocatalysis'
- Randi Neerup from DTU Chemical Engineering for the dissertation 'Large CO2 Pilot: Energy Consumption, Emission, and Corrosion'
After the announcement of the award winners, the attending PhD graduates received their diplomas, after which they got their pictures taken and congratulated each other on their achievements over champagne toasts.
