We are delighted that Annika Fischer has been awarded the 2026 VDI Sustainability Prize for Plastics Technology by the VDI Society for Materials Engineering. The prize recognises outstanding final-year projects in the field of sustainable plastics processing.
Annika Fischer received the award for her Master’s thesis entitled ‘The influence of chain extension in recycled polyethylene terephthalate on morphology, rheological properties and foaming behaviour in a two-stage autoclave process’, which she completed under the supervision of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ruckdäschel. In her thesis, she investigated the influence of chain extension in recycled PET on material properties and foaming behaviour, and identified innovative approaches for the sustainable upcycling of recycled plastics.
The award ceremony took place as part of the VDI Annual Conference on ‘Injection Moulding’ in Wiesbaden. The award recognises the scientific quality of the thesis and its contribution to the sustainable advancement of plastics technology.