Chemistry: Tribute to a Young Scientist at the University of Udine

A prestigious honor for Myla Daniels, a young researcher at the University of Udine, for her PhD research on methane-fueled environmental catalysts, conducted in collaboration with Ford Motor Company (Dearborn, USA). Danieles, 29, of Udine, PhD in Energy Sciences and Environmental Engineering, won – together with Andrea Fasolini, of the University of Bologna – the second edition of the Mauro Graziani Prize awarded by the Interdepartmental Catalysis (Gic) Group of the Empresa Italiana in Chemistry (Science). His research has also resulted in a patent and numerous publications in international scientific journals. The award is aimed at doctoral theses on the topic “Environmental and Biostimulation”. The award was created in 2020 to honor the memory of Professor Graziani, founder of the School of Heterogeneous Motivation at the University of Trieste. Myla Daniels is a researcher in the Department of Engineering and Architecture in the Polytechnic (Dpia) at the University of Udine. After graduating in Environmental and Energy Engineering from the University of Friuli in 2020, he obtained his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professors Carla de Littenberg and Sarah Colossi, also in Udine.
The research work of Maya Daniels’ doctoral thesis focused on the study and characterization of palladium (Pd)-based catalysts for mechanosynthesis in the methane oxidation reaction in natural gas engines. These materials showed unique properties from a structural and physicochemical point of view, which proves that they have a much greater catalytic activity than the materials obtained by conventional methods. Danielis is currently further study of its properties in collaboration with Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York.
The award ceremony will take place on Friday, September 10, from 2 pm, in the Ceremonial Hall of the Scientific Campus of Ca’Foscari University of Venice.