Louise Overzet from Maastricht University
We are delighted to welcome Louise Overzet from Maastricht University who is on a six month placement with us. To welcome Louise we asked a few questions about the work she will carry out whilst she is here. Over to Louise….
About Louise
I am Louise, I am enrolled at Maastricht University in a Master of Science in Biobased Materials. I am currently doing my Master Thesis research at the BDC for a period of six months. My project is based on the extraction of pectin from different sources of biowaste to create hydrogels for biomedical uses.
Collaboration opportunities
I found out about the BDC when I was looking at the list of projects that my university had. Maastricht University has a collaboration with the BDC and has already worked together on a project based on pectin. This had been developed as part of funding the BDC had received to develop opportunities with Maastricht, through the York-Maastricht Partnership.
Research interests
I am particularly interested in the development of greener materials and sustainable processes and I wish to help make the world a greener place and BDC appears to be a perfect match for it.
During my internship, I will primarily focus on novel extraction methods such as microwave-assisted extraction, subcritical-assisted extraction, and ultrasonic-assisted extraction to extract pectin. I am very excited about this project because it will be the first time I perform extraction of any kind. I am also thrilled to delve my knowledge in chemistry in particular in analysis skills.I have already designed hydrogels in previous courses and I really enjoyed it so I am even happier to create new hydrogels with the pectin that I will extract.
Looking to the future
Looking ahead, I am allowing myself some time to decide whether to pursue a Ph.D. or to directly seek employment after completing this Master's. However, I am certain that my current project will be a significant pivot in my life, guiding my decision-making process.
Let's work together
We have worked on 1,500 bio-based projects to date
We have several ways to work with us, including business advisory programmes and self-funded commercial options. We even have the option for you to hire our state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and office space.
