Audrey Cuvellier, a student at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, received the AWARD for her Master of Science thesis: “Selection of healing agents for a vascular self-healing application”.
The committee was particularly impressed by the solid medical and biological basis of the study. The findings offer excellent possibilities for direct application at the micro level, i.e., in channels measuring less than 1 mm in diameter. Efficiencies higher than 90% were reached after 7 days at ambient. Conclusion: a self-healing system with a high Tg, which does not completely react at ambient temperature yields better results than a system with a Tg below ambient temperature that is able to react completely.