The judging panel of the IULTCS Research Commission (IUR) has attributed the €1,500 Young Leather Scientist Grant to Santiago Ortiz-Monsalve, a PhD student in Chemical Engineering from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, LACOURO, Brazil, whose research focusses on bio-decolouration and biodegradation of leather dyes.
In his ‘Treatment of Tannery Dye-Containing Effluents Using Native Fungal Strains’ research topic, Ortiz-Monsalve investigates fungal organisms that have the potential to decolorise and detoxify dye-containing effluents. This work aims to contribute to the development of important technologies for the treatment of some of the more recalcitrant wastewaters from the leather industry.
“This year, we have received a larger number of innovative research topics and the quality of the applications has also improved. This indicates the growing importance and interest in this grant”, said Dr Luis Zugno, Chair, IUR.
The Selection Committee is chaired by Dr Michael Meyer who oversees the necessary independence, confidentiality, and integrity of the selection process. The 2018 Young Leather Scientist Award will, once again, be sponsored by Lear Corporation.
