The Division of Detergent Chemistry of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) awards an annual prize for an outstanding bachelor's thesis, a master's/licence thesis and a dissertation of particular relevance to the development of detergents and cleaning agents, provided that the proposals are worthy of an award. The prizes are endowed with 1000 euros, 2000 euros and 3000 euros respectively and are awarded at the European Detergents Conference, which takes place every October at the SEPAWA CONGRESS in Berlin.

Deadline: 31. March 2026

Objective
The Division of Detergent Chemistry of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) awards an annual prize for an outstanding bachelor's thesis, a master's thesis and a dissertation of particular relevance to the development of detergents and cleaning agents, provided that proposals are worthy of an award.

The prize
The award comes with an award certificate and prize money donated by the specialist group in the amount of 1000 euros for a bachelor's thesis, 2000 euros for a master's thesis and 3000 euros for a dissertation. The prize is awarded at the European Detergents Conference organised by the Division of Detergent Chemistry as part of the SEPAWA CONGRESS (14 - 16 October 2026; Berlin) and will take place on 14 October 2026 . The award winners will be given the opportunity to briefly present their award-winning work during the conference (e.g. short presentation or poster). The costs of attending the conference will be borne by the specialist group. A prize committee appointed by the specialist group board decides on the awarding of the prize.

Submission
Please send your informal proposals in electronic form and summarised in a PDF file to the GDCh office for the attention of Maike Fries.

On the occasion of the European Detergents Conference on 15 October 2025 in Berlin the Chemistry of Detergents Division awarded the 2025 sponsorship prizes to Lena Nielinger (TU Dortmund University) and Moritz Stanek (Henkel / University of Wuppertal).

Moritz Stanek received the award for his outstanding Master's thesis entitled Physicochemical Characterisation of Biosurfactants: "Mr Moritz Stanek addressed an important topic in the field of surfactant and detergent research: the physico-chemical properties of two different mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs) and their interaction with anionic surfactants. Mr Stanek used a variety of different measurement methods. This comprehensive analysis enabled him to characterise the special properties of the MEL derivatives. In addition, the observations of an exceptionally low equilibrium interfacial tension, the formation of efficient microemulsions at very low surfactant concentrations and the proven synergies between different surfactants are regarded as scientific highlights. His scientific work is an important contribution to the development of sustainable detergents and cleaning agents based on sustainable raw materials."

Lena Nielinger received the award for her outstanding bachelor's thesis entitled Investigating the Aggregation Properties of Ionic/Non-Ionic Hybrid Detergents: "Ms Lena Nielinger succeeded for the first time in determining the micelle formation concentration of ionic/non-ionic hybrid soaps using dynamic light scattering. After Ms Nielinger was able to confirm that only the concentration-dependent analysis of diffusion coefficients enables a reproducible determination of micelle formation concentrations, she was able to investigate the properties of the micelles of ionic/non-ionic hybrid soaps on this basis. Her results showed that micelles of ionic/non-ionic hybrid soaps can dissolve hydrophobic colourants and active ingredients in water just as well as conventional ionic soaps. Ms Nielinger's results revealed promising starting points for the development of soaps that are versatile and at the same time have exceptional compatibility with cell material."

On the occasion of the European Detergents Conference on 16 October 2024 in Berlin the Chemistry of Detergents Division awarded the 2024 sponsorship prizes to Robin Benedix (University of Stuttgart), Anton Michel (University of Berlin) and Dr Marc-Kevin Zinn (Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences).

Dr Marc-Kevin Zinn received the award for his outstanding dissertation entitled Protective biofilms to prevent the colonisation of household water systems by harmful organisms, exemplified by the washing machine: "Dr Zinn devoted himself to an important topic, the relevance of which is constantly increasing due to the pursuit of energy efficiency and energy savings - for example through the use of low-temperature washing programmes. He paid particular attention to biofilms that prevent the colonisation of household washing machines by microorganisms. This research makes an important contribution to the understanding of hygiene in washing machines and sheds light on possible consequences such as undesirable odours. Dr Zinn carried out a comprehensive analysis of the microbial community in washing machines, taking into account the contamination of used textiles. He also established a method for transferring a biofilm from a domestic washing machine to a laboratory model. His scientific work is of great importance and has the potential for the development of innovative solutions to improve hygiene in washing machines."

Robin Benedix received the sponsorship award for his outstanding master's thesis entitled: CO2-Switchable Additive and Surfactants: "In his very detailed and systematic work on the characterisation and application of the CO2-switchable additive N,N,N,N-tetramethyl-1,4-butanediamine and CO2-switchable "tail surfactants" using physico-chemical methods for determining surface tension and for foam analysis, Mr Benedix succeeded in showing that surface properties, foam formation and foam stability can be changed by changing the additive with CO2 as the trigger. He also found a surfactant that shows promising switchable and foaming properties. This work provides valuable insights into foam control in many large-scale applications and how to avoid the use of defoamers or antifoam agents that render surfactant solutions useless."

Anton Michel received the sponsorship award for his outstanding bachelor's thesis entitled Investigation of the pH-Dependence of Phase Behaviour and Structure of Complexes of Amphoteric Microemulsion Droplets and Polyelectrolytes: "In his bachelor thesis, Mr Michel investigated the pH-dependent phase behaviour of amphoteric microemulsion droplets in mixtures with oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. This topic of mixtures of surfactants with polyelectrolytes under solubilisation of oil is a fundamentally relevant topic for the field of detergents and cleaning agents, whereby the high pH dependence of the systems under consideration is of particular interest. The investigation of the phase behaviour of such systems is very demanding, as it requires a high level of attention and experimental skill. This and the detailed characterisation of the structures in question were carried out by Mr Michel in a highly convincing manner."

On the occasion of the European Detergents Conference on 25 October 2023 in Berlin the Division of Detergent Chemistry awarded sponsorship prizes in the field of basic research in detergents and cleaning agents to Cara Kohler (Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, Krefeld), Jörn Philipp Optatzi (Cologne University of Applied Sciences) and Dr Susanne Jacksch (Furtwangen University and Justus Liebig University Giessen).

Dr Susanne Jacksch received the award for her outstanding dissertation entitled: "Investigations on the structure and function of the microbiota in household washing machines, kitchen sponges, and on laundered textiles". "With her excellent work on the hygiene of washing machines, laundry and kitchen sponges in the domestic sector, Ms Jacksch made an important contribution to the development of sustainable, innovative detergents and hygiene products." Microbiome and metagenome analyses as well as state-of-the-art metatranscriptomics were established and applied. In addition, the foundations for the application of RNA-based stable isotope sampling for washed textiles were developed. Particularly noteworthy are the quantitative data on the microbiological load of washing machines and the contribution to application-oriented basic knowledge."

Jörn Philipp Optatzi received the sponsorship award for his outstanding master's thesis entitled: "Controlling the interfacial properties of surfactant mixtures using the hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation concept". "In his extensive work, Mr Optatzi succeeded in specifically adjusting the interfacial properties of different surfactant mixtures at variable salinity using the hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation concept and showed that this concept can be used as a guideline for formulating surfactant/oil/water systems with optimum oil removal capacity. Mr Optatzi combined physicochemical methods such as the spinning drop and bubble pressure methods with dynamic phase inversion and salinity inversion, modelled the interfacial tension using the net-average curvature model and demonstrated the applicability of the results of the hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation concept using high-throughput washing experiments."

Carla Kohler received the sponsorship award for her outstanding bachelor's thesis entitled: "Characterisation of sophorolipids and study of synergism with cationic surfactants". "In her very detailed work on the properties of new glycolipid surfactants, Ms Kohler succeeded in clarifying the phase and aggregation behaviour of sophorolipids and cationic surfactants in binary and multi-component systems and in developing synergistic mixtures that are also highly relevant for practical applications. These results were achieved using a variety of analytical methods, in addition to classical surface and interfacial tension measurements with NMR spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy."

On the occasion of the European Detergents Conference on 26 October 2022 in Berlin the Division of Detergent Chemistry awarded prizes in the field of basic research in detergents and cleaning agents to Dr Christoph Brudl (Graz University of Technology), Hailey Poole (University of Stuttgart) and Sophia Botsch (University of Stuttgart).

Dr Christoph Brudl received the award for his outstanding dissertation entitled: "Going green and clean - Is it possible? (Development of a biodegradable high performance dishwashing detergent)". "In his very detailed work on the development of biodegradable machine dishwashing detergents, Dr Brudl succeeded in finding a system of biodegradable complexing agents, surfactants and enzymes that is comparable in performance to conventional machine dishwashing detergents. Using the physicochemical methods SEM, Raman and IR spectroscopy as well as AFM and XPS, Dr Brudl was able to detect residual soiling on art surfaces. This makes it easier to determine the correct quantities and combinations of surfactants for machine dishwashing detergent formulations."

Hailey Poole received the sponsorship award for her outstanding master's thesis entitled: "CO2-Switchable Foaming Agents". "In her original work on new surfactants whose foaming behaviour in aqueous solution can be switched by varying the gas flowing through them, Ms Poole introduces a new concept for the synthesis of such surfactants by moving the switchable group from the head to the tail of the surfactant, in contrast to known structures. By fundamentally characterising the surfactant properties and foaming behaviour of three exemplary structures of an anionic, non-ionic and cationic representative, Ms Poole proves the effectiveness of the concept and lays the foundations for further optimisation of the switchability of these substance groups."

Sophia Botsch received the sponsorship award for her outstanding bachelor's thesis entitled: "Influence of surfactant concentration on the structure of porous polystyrene synthesised from emulsion templates". "In her very detailed work on the polymerisation of water-in-oil styrene emulsions with oil- or water-soluble initiators, Ms Botsch succeeded in clarifying the mechanisms of the formation of different polymer foam structures. Ms Botsch was able to correlate the pore shape and pore thicknesses of the polymer foams and the actual foam structure with the quantities of surfactant used, explain the phase behaviour and at the same time refute older hypotheses on the formation of these structures."

On the occasion of the European Detergents Conference on 13 October 2021 in Berlin the Division of Detergent Chemistry awarded prizes in the field of basic research in detergents and cleaning agents to Dr Lars Gabriel (Friedrich Schiller University Jena) and Jan Nilles (Kao Chemicals GmbH, Emmerich, and Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, Krefeld).

Dr Lars Gabriel received the award for his outstanding dissertation entitled: "Functional polymers based on polysaccharides: Synthesis, characterisation and properties". In his doctoral thesis, Dr Gabriel studied multifunctional polysaccharide derivatives, which he examined in detail with regard to special properties such as greying inhibition and soil release effects in detergents. The knowledge gained deepens the understanding of the so-called. The findings deepen our knowledge of so-called functional polymers based on renewable raw materials, especially polysaccharides and in particular xylan and chitosan derivatives. The work is characterised by its didactic, clear structure and its scientifically clear presentation of structure-property relationships. The relevant results have been used in several patent applications and publications.

Jan Nilles received the award for his outstanding master's thesis entitled: "Systematic investigation of alkoxylated alkyl ether carboxylic acids in metal cleaning". Mr Nilles carried out a systematic investigation of alkoxylated ether carboxylic acids with a focus on the optimisation of cleaning baths in metal cleaning. By establishing a set of physicochemical parameters such as cloud point, dynamic surface tension and foaming behaviour, the structure-activity behaviour of these baths could be understood for the first time and new formulations based on ether carboxylic acids could be developed. When using these systems, the cleaning performance could be doubled, the time and temperature reduced and metal cleaning thus made more sustainable.

On the occasion of the European Detergents Conference on 28 October 2020 in Berlin the Division of Detergent Chemistry awarded prizes in the field of basic research into detergents and cleaning agents to Janine Birnbach (Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, Krefeld, in cooperation with the company Henkel), Frieda Nagler (Friedrich Schiller University Jena) and Dr. Leonhard H. Urner (Freie University of Berlin).

Janine Birnbach received the award for her outstanding bachelor's thesis entitled:"Effect of Additives on the Phase Behaviour of an Amphiphilic Block Copolymer". Ms Birnbach investigated the phase behaviour of an amphiphilic EO-PO block copolymer as a function of various additives such as surfactants, polyols and salts using different physico-chemical methods. The didactically very good work contributes to a better understanding of liquid-crystalline cubic phases and has application relevance in detergents and cleaning agents, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Frieda Nagler received the award for her outstanding Master's thesis entitled: "Synthesis of hydrogels based on polydehydroalanine". Mrs Nagler produced novel hydrogels based on polydehydroalanine, which were reacted with bisepoxides and polyethers to form networks. She investigated the resulting hydrogels in terms of their swelling behaviour, mechanical properties and stability, among other things. These are highly interesting polymer systems with model character for investigating the reversible uptake of charged guest molecules and as a material for water treatment.

Dr Leonhard H. Urner received the award for his outstanding dissertation entitled: "Oligoglycerol Detergents for Native Mass Spectrometry of Membrane Proteins". By systematically investigating the structure-activity relationship of OGD on the isolation of membrane proteins, Dr Urner succeeded in making native mass spectrometry accessible for the structural elucidation of membrane proteins. This leads to a significant acceleration in the structural elucidation of this class of proteins, which is essential for the development of new drugs. The clearly and concisely written work transfers experience from cosmetics to biochemistry and has industrial relevance.

On the occasion of the European Detergents Conference on 23 October 2019 in Berlin the Division of Detergent Chemistry awarded prizes in the field of basic research in detergents and cleaning agents to Dr Martin J. Thiele (RWTH Aachen University) and Friederike Dehli (University of Stuttgart).

Dr Martin J. Thiele received the award for his outstanding dissertation entitled: "Boosting the performance of a protease with polymers and surfactants". In his doctoral thesis, Mr Thiele studied the molecular interactions of proteases with surfactants and polymers commonly used in detergents. He subsequently utilised the knowledge gained on the importance of calcium ions in the formation of supramolecular complexes as reactors to specifically improve the performance of these enzymes. The work is characterised by its methodological breadth at the highest scientific level and its clear presentation of complex systems. The results obtained are highly relevant for the industrial development of sustainable, efficient detergents and cleaning agents. The work has been utilised in patents and is published in scientific journals.