Ideas in Exchange: The MFP Poster Award

What happens when 13 research ideas meet more than 50 perspectives from science and industry? New questions emerge, connections become visible, and ideas begin to move beyond their original field.

That was the spirit of the second networking evening ahead of the FOMOP Symposium and Ideation Workshop. In an informal setting, researchers and technology partners from TNO, ITA and IKDG at RWTH Aachen University, DLR, Turboden and Modellfabrik Papier presented their work across 13 scientific posters.

The topics ranged from fibres and recycling to flow simulation and dry web laying, as well as industrial heat pumps, heat recovery and the systemic integration of new technologies.

More than 50 guests from research and industry gathered at Kreativwerk Elim to discuss the different approaches: Which ideas can be connected? Where do new questions emerge? And which impulses could help shape the future research activities of the Modellfabrik Papier research cluster (FOMOP)?

MFP Poster Award makes its debut

For the first time, the MFP Poster Award was presented during the networking evening. All guests were invited to vote for the contributions they considered particularly compelling and innovative.

First place went to Bendix Brüggenjürgen from the Institut für Textiltechnik at RWTH Aachen University (ITA) for “Dry Formation and Consolidation of Paper Fibre Webs: Adapting Airlaid Technology for Papermaking”.

Jay Raval from Modellfabrik Papier took second place with “Beyond Pulp Refining: A Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Approach for Better Strength and Reduced Water Retention Value”.

The audience awarded third place to Edmond El Akl from Modellfabrik Papier for “SP4 Systemic Integration: Overview and Systemic Implementation within the FOMOP Framework”.

The award highlights research approaches that spark discussion, open up new perspectives and create connections beyond their own fields.

Taking research further

This reflects a central principle of the Modellfabrik Papier research network: innovation rarely emerges from a single perspective.

When different disciplines, experiences and research questions come together, new connections emerge. An approach to fibre modification can raise new questions for dewatering and drying, just as a new drying process can lead to new questions about the energy performance of the overall system. Research is therefore not pursued in isolation; individual approaches are continually considered in relation to one another.

The ideas and discussions from the networking evening feed into the ongoing exchange within the FOMOP network. At the FOMOP Mini-Symposium and Ideation Workshop the following day, research questions were explored in greater depth and new approaches were developed collaboratively.