Representatives from Shenkar’s Department of Polymer Materials Engineering attended the Polymer Processing Society’s (PPS) 38th international conference in the picturesque town of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

At this year’s conference, Shenkar’s faculty members — professor Shmuel Kenig, VP of Shenkar and head of the Authority for Research, Creativity, and Development; and professor Hanna Dodiuk, head of the Department of Polymer Materials Engineering M.Sc research program — were joined by department alumnus Netanel Yarak, who gave a talk about Vitrimers, an emerging field he studied within the framework of the Israel Innovation Authority’s CIRCLE Consortium, co-mentored by professor Naum Naveh.

From left to right: Professor Shmuel Kenig, Netanel Yarak, and Professor Hanna Dodiuk

Since his graduation, Netanel has continued his research and is now a PhD student jointly mentored by Hebrew University (professor Shlomo Magdassi) and Shenkar (professor Hanna Dodiuk). Netanel’s PhD is the first step toward obtaining CHE approval for a joint doctoral program between Hebrew University and Shenkar.

Shenkar’s faculty members were chosen to give the keynote presentation at the nanotechnology session. They presented the fruits of their research on combining nanoparticles developed by professor Reshef Tenne from the Weizmann Institute of Science for use in adhesives and 3D printing. This research is part of an Israeli-German initiative.

At the end of the conference, Professor Shmuel Kenig was awarded a PPS fellowship for 2022 for his scientific and technological advancements in polymer processing.

Professor Kenig had been given this honor at the 2022 conference in Japan, but due to restrictions introduced by the Japanese government, the official ceremony could not be held there and was postponed to this year’s conference.