The Mario Malinconico award was established to reward the best master’ thesis in the field of polymer science. In the 2023 edition, the eligible candidates were graduates who had defended their degree thesis in Italian universities between 01.03.2021 and 28.02.2023.

The evaluating committee included Prof. Domenico Albanese, University of Milan, Prof. Loris Giorgini, University of Bologna, and Dr. Maria Laura Di Lorenzo, Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials of the Italian National Research Council, Pozzuoli. The committee considered the curricula and thesis works of twenty candidates from thirteen Italian universities and interviewed the five best candidates resulting from the preliminary selection.

The selection criteria were the quality of the thesis work and the relevance to the topic of the competition; the curriculum vitae; the quality of publications; the knowledge of the thesis topic, the personal contribution to the research and the critical thinking demonstrated by the candidates during the interview with the evaluating committee.

The winner will receive a € 500 prize. He will present the results of his thesis work in an oral communication at the Milan Polymer Days international congress on 9th June 2023 at the Auditorium of the University of Milan.

Our warmest congratulations go to the winner, Andrea Odoardo, who is currently serving as research fellow at the University of Ferrara. We really look forward to attending his presentation at the MIPOL2023 congress!

Our best compliments also go to the other four finalists of the competition, for their excellent performance in the interview. The mastery of the topic of their research work and their maturity encourage us to continue with our goal of highlighting the skills of the talented young researchers who are developing an expertise in polymer science.

Last, but not least, we gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the Assobioplastiche association, Rome, Italy.

The Organizing Committee