Techtextil trade fair in Frankfurt witnessed the commendation of six pioneering young engineers by the Chairman of the Walter Reiners Foundation of the VDMA, Peter D Dornier. Awards were distributed in categories of bachelor/project theses and diploma/master theses, with a notable emphasis on promotion and sustainability.
Anna Markic, from Reutlingen University, clinched a 3,000 euro sustainability prize for her thesis on carbon fiber recycling. Meanwhile, Mark Zenzinger of Albstadt-Sigmaringen University secured a 3,000 euro promotion award for his work on automating the production process of welded textile hard goods.
Further accolades included Lena Fink's promotion award for simplifying braiding machine maintenance and Fabio Bussmann's Master's thesis analyzing life cycle assessments of geotextile semi-finished products.
Katharina Maria Ernst's sustainable process development for chitosan fibers earned her recognition, while Lennart Hellwig’s exploration of machine learning in nonwovens plants rounded off the awards.
These initiatives underscore the industry's commitment to innovation and sustainability, driving forward technological advancements in textile engineering.
