Dear members of FibRe,

I’m one of those born in Sweden who, unfortunately, have rather poor memories when it comes to celebrating Midsummer. I partially blame my parents’ cows for that. Good weather meant carting hay; bad weather meant bringing in the silage and packing it into the clamp.

I remember once having a Finnish professor visiting Chalmers. We were working on a proposal but in the evening, we decided to celebrate Midsummer with strawberries and cream in the garden. It ended in catastrophe: the garden chairs collapsed, and we all ended up crawling around in the grass, topped with strawberries and cream. Some years later, when the children were small, our Norwegian friends came to visit, eager to learn how Swedes celebrate Midsummer. We panicked but asked around among our neighbours and checked the garden chairs thoroughly. It went alright, and since then, we've kept to a light version of the Midsummer celebration. Last year, I decided to go home to Dad and show him how to properly celebrate Midsummer, he’s never really learnt, even though we haven’t had cows for 25 years. I think he enjoyed it.

As for FibRe, a few things have happened since the last newsletter which you can read more about below:

• Patric and Åsa have graduated. It went very well, and you can find the link to their theses further down.
• The board has approved seven projects (three of which are associated). In an interview, Arvindh discusses one of the project in more detail.
• The Boundary Conditions group has reviewed the boundary conditions and checklist from Phase I, made improvements, and is now ready to integrate them into our “DNA.”
• A webinar on X-ray scattering by the world-renowned Prof. Yoshiharu Nishiyama.
• Those interested in developing demonstration projects will meet in August to discuss the next steps.

With that, I wish you all a “Glad Midsommar”, and hope none of you end up crawling in the grass with cream and strawberries.

Warm regards,

Anette

Revised Boundary Conditions and checklist

FibRe’s Boundary Conditions were initially formulated by the Strategic Group (SG) at the start of Phase I. Later in that phase, the Basic partners developed a complementary Checklist to support the projects in aligning with these boundary conditions.

Now that we have entered a new phase and the centre has accumulated substantial knowledge since the original version, it is time to revisit and refine the boundary conditions. To this end, the SG has appointed a working group to review and consolidate the two documents into a clearer, more cohesive version that the entire centre can confidently follow.

The working group, under the leadership of Hanna Hobohm Skoog, has now prepared a revised proposal (see the document "FibRe Boundary Conditions 2.0" on ProjectPlace).

We kindly ask for your comments on the revised proposal by 18:00 on August 10th, preferably by making small edits directly in the document and uploading it to the same domain on PP. The revised document will be forwarded to the SG for discussion at their next meeting. The outcome of that meeting will form the basis of a proposal to be submitted to FibRe’s board for a decision on September 4th. Thereafter, the approved list of Boundary conditions will be presented and implemented in the centre during the autumn, particularly at the FibRe meeting on October 8th at Chalmers.

For other types of feedback, input or questions, please contact Camilla directly at camilla.johansson@chalmersindustriteknik.se.

Workshop for demo projects - August 22nd

Following the summer break, on August 22nd, we plan to hold parallel workshops for our two demo areas. These sessions will build on the digital brainstorming meeting we had with our industrial partners earlier this spring. The goal of the workshops is to define concrete demo projects that will support the development of our physical demonstrators. During the workshop day, we will divide into two groups, one for each demo area, but we will also come together for joint sessions to ensure alignment and cross-collaboration. This will be an in-person workshop held at KTH in Stockholm.

Questions that we will try to answer during the day:

• Do we have the capability to develop the intended product? Is there anyone in the centre who has the necessary equipment, etc.?
• What do we need to know about the material in order to manufacture the correct product? What properties must the material have for the product to be manufacturable?
• Quantities?
• What properties?
• What do we need to analyse the material?
• What do we need to develop the material?

If you are interested to join, please register via the button below:

Congratulations to Patric Elf and Åsa Jerlhagen 

FibRe wishes to congratulate Patric Elf and Åsa Jerlhagen for their successful PhD defences!

How do you feel after your defence?

I'm happy, relieved, and a bit overwhelmed. I'm happy because the defence went really well and was a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed the discussions with the opponent and the grading committee, which were both interesting and engaging.

I'm relieved because the defence is essentially an examination and evaluation of what can be described as your life's work. Naturally, you always worry and wonder — "Is it good enough?" Fortunately, it was.

And finally, I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the love and support my FibRe-friends and colleagues have shown me during and after the defence. I feel truly blessed to have been part of FibRe, and I will miss working with all the wonderful people within the centre as my time here comes to an end.

Read the abstract and download Patric's thesis "Prediction of Thermoplasticity in Lignocellulose-Based Materials using Molecular Simulations" via this link.

I had an incredible time at my defence. I really enjoyed the discussions with my opponent and committee, and the party after with friends and family was fantastic. I am still feeling excited and full of energy after this incredible day!

Now I am looking forward to a little bit of rest, and then to get back to the science I love. Thank you FibRe for these years of support - you have really created a stable foundation for me during these years of PhD, and friendships for life! 

Read the abstract and download Åsa's thesis "Assembly of Colloidal Nanoparticles and Cellulose Nanofibrils" via this link.