The Industrial Oil Products Division Student Award recognizes graduate students presenting an outstanding paper within the Industrial Oil Products technical program at the AOCS Annual Meeting.
This spotlight will introduce you to Zoriana Demchuk, winner of the 2021 award.
Provide a brief biography:
I am enthusiastic, adaptive and fast-learning person with a broad and acute interest in the discovery of new innovative polymer materials. I particularly enjoy collaborating with scientists from different disciplines to develop new skills and solve new challenges. In my life chemistry became a major part in my everyday routine. Since 2006 I plunged in learning chemistry and its processes and mechanisms. I just received PhD degree in Polymer Chemistry and after graduation I found a job where I can apply my thoughts and ideas into real life. Now, I work at Oak Ridge National Lab as Postdoctoral Research Associate. I believe this job will provide me an opportunity to achieve my goals in future and become a perspective chemist who solve hundreds of task and maintain the high productivity level of work.
Can you tell us about your current research?
My research study is directed to the synthesis of biobased polymeric materials from plant oils. Over five years, we developed a library of vinyl monomers derived from plant oils. These monomers are highly reactive and could be a good replacement for petroleum-based materials. Incorporation of flexible plan oil-based monomers into polymers provide hydrophobicity and film-forming properties to the resulted materials. Plant oil-based monomers have found to be biodegradable and eco-friendly which makes them a promising materials for future industrial applications.
What was your reaction when you learned you had won the award?
I was really excited and pleased when I heard that I received AOCS Student Excellence reward. The recognition of my research by AOCS is an excellent opportunity and driving force to move further. It provides enormous support for the research to develop new ideas and discoveries in application of plant oils for future materials.
How has AOCS helped develop your career?
AOCS always supports my research and gives new opportunities to move my research on the next level. Attending AOCS conferences every other year helped me to find new collaborations and established strong relationship with industrial partners.
Meet our 2021 Industrial Oil Products Division Student Excellence Award Winner
Zoriana Demchuk will be presenting her paper on "The Effect of Fatty Acid Unsaturation on Properties and Performance of Monomers, Polymers, and Latexes from Plant Oils" at the 2021 AOCS Annual Meeting and Expo, May 3-14, 2021
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