CAPTURE newsletter June 2024

CAPTURE days: Milestone edition

August 29th and 30th @Saint Peter's Abbey (Ghent)

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This year’s edition of the CAPTURE days is a milestone in the history of the platform, for two reasons. (1) The first concept of CAPTURE originated ten years ago and (2) we round the cap of 5 years partnership with the four key partners.

Water pipeline manager shift of roles

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We happily announce our 'new arrival' Francis Meerburg. Francis will work for both CAPTURE and The ProteInn Club. At CAPTURE, he manages the water pipeline and coordinates the water business platform. At The ProteInn Club, he works on value chains in microbial protein with the core partners and companies. Francis is not new to the CAPTURE environment. He obtained a PhD from Ghent University in 2016, under guidance of professors Nico Boon and Siegfried Vlaeminck. After that, he worked as a researcher at Aquafin NV, a member of the water business platform. Francis is looking forward to interact with the CAPTURE members. Feel free to connect via?LinkedIn!?

And not to worry, Francis will be guided well into the wonderful world of CAPTURE as Marjolein is not going far. Although she will step down as water pipeline manager, she's doing so because she took up a position as assistant professor in physico-chemical water treatment at Ghent University. Congratulations to both

Collaboration for impact

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The last couple of months, several business and research members of CAPTURE won contests or were applauded for being top in their field. A short anthology (based on the information we have, apologies if we forget some achievements):

• Professor Veronique Van Speybroeck won the renowned Francqui award
• AM-team won the changemakers competition organised by The Tijd and L’Echo (Ekopak and D-CRBN were also nominated for the final 30)
• At the Antwerp Innovation night, all prices were won by CAPTURE members (D-CRBN, Aquafin, Annemie Bogaerts, Tom Breugelmans, Sammy Verbruggen)

It is an honour that we can count these researchers and companies, who are top in their field, as members of CAPTURE. We hope that these kinds of awards and recognitions spread the message that to innovate and create societal impact, collaboration is a crucial lever.?

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Highlight: 'Belgian Nobel Prize' for pioneering work by Professor Veronique Van Speybroeck

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Professor Veronique Van Speybroeck is one of the world's leading researchers concerning sustainable technologies. For making groundbreaking contributions to the computer modelling of catalysis, she wins the prestigious Francqui Prize for Exact Sciences. Van Speybroeck uses computer models to predict which materials can function as catalysts and what conditions yield the best results. Factors such as temperature, humidity, and the clever combination of chemical elements can significantly impact the catalyst’s performance. She does this with remarkable accuracy, using sophisticated quantum simulations to consider the many parameters that affect catalysis. Read more