Ilja Voets, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, has been awarded the KNCV Gouden Medaille (Gold Medal) by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Chemische Vereniging (KNCV, Royal Dutch Chemical Society). The award was presented during the conference CHAINS 2019 in Veldhoven, The Netherlands, on December 10, 2019.
The KNCV Gold Medal is the most important Dutch chemistry prize and honors researchers up to forty years of age who have distinguished themselves in the field of chemical research in the broadest sense. Ilja Voets is honored for her work on the physical chemistry of soft condensed matter and, in particular, for her antifreeze protein research. Antifreeze proteins, which occur naturally in some organisms, can help cells survive at sub-zero temperatures. Voets is also honored for her outreach activities: She regularly communicates her work to the broader public and has co-founded a series of symposia on soft condensed matter at Eindhoven University of Technology (see example below).
Ilja Voets studied Molecular Sciences at Wageningen University, The Netherlands, where she received her Ph.D. under the supervision of Martien Cohen Stuart in 2008. From 2008 to 2011, she worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Adolphe Merkle Institute in Fribourg, Switzerland, with Peter Schurtenberger. In 2011, she started her independent research career as University Lecturer at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry and the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems at Eindhoven University of Technology. There, she was appointed Associate Professor in 2015 and Full Professor in the field of self-organizing soft matter in 2018.
Among other honors and grants, Voets has received an ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council and the Biomacromolecules/Macromolecules Young Investigator Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS) in 2019.
Selected Publications
- Shape modulation of squaramide-based supramolecular polymer nanoparticles,
Victorio Saez Talens, D. M. M. Makurat, Tingxian Liu, Wei Dai, Clément Guibert, Willem E. M. Noteborn, Ilja K. Voets, Roxanne E. Kieltyka,
Polym. Chem. 2019, 10, 3146–3153.
https://doi.org/10.1039/c9py00310j - The Impact of Salts on the Ice Recrystallization Inhibition Activity of Antifreeze (Glyco)Proteins,
Romà Surís-Valls, Ilja K. Voets,
Biomolecules 2019, 9, 347.
https://doi.org/10.3390/biom9080347 - Noncovalent Synthesis of Self-Assembled Nanotubes through Decoupled Hierarchical Cooperative Processes,
Violeta Vázquez-González, Maria J. Mayoral, Raquel Chamorro, Marco M. R. M. Hendrix, Ilja K. Voets, David González-Rodríguez,
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 16432–16438.
https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.9b07868 - Multiresponsive Reversible Gels Based on Charge-Driven Assembly,
Marc Lemmers, Joris Sprakel, Ilja K. Voets, Jasper van der Gucht, Martien A. Cohen Stuart,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 708–711.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.200905515 - Complex coacervate core micelles,
Ilja K. Voets, Arie de Keizer, Martien A. Cohen Stuart,
Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 2009, 147-148, 300–318.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2008.09.012 - Double-Faced Micelles from Water-Soluble Polymers,
Ilja K. Voets, Arie de Keizer, Pieter de Waard, Peter M. Frederik, Paul H. H. Bomans, Holger Schmalz, Andreas Walther, Stephen M. King, Frans A. M. Leermakers, Martien A. Cohen Stuart,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2006, 45, 6673–6676.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.200601000
