The Global Aluminium Foil Initiative (GLAFRI) invites talented scientists, students and academics to submit innovative research or designs related to aluminium foil or aluminium closures for the Robert V. Neher Award.
The Robert V Neher Award is an academic competition designed to seek out and reward the very best in innovative packaging and technical applications in context with aluminium foil and closures. Named after the inventor of the aluminium foil rolling process, the Robert V. Neher Award welcomes submissions from students and academia from packaging, food and technical universities worldwide.
Any scientific work or research, including a bachelor, master or doctoral thesis, addressing technical, scientific or sustainable aspects of aluminium foil processing, application or use can be entered. While aluminium foil does not have to be the main focus of the scientific work, there should be considerable reference to it.
Director General of GLAFRI, Stefan Glimm, outlined the purpose of the Award, “Every sector needs its innovators, and the aluminium foil and closure sector, through GLAFRI, has a great responsibility to encourage and develop talent for the future wellbeing of our industry.”
The Jury consist of five senior individuals with academic, as well as industrial backgrounds. The members of the first Award Jury are: Jürgen Hirsch (Prof. Dr.-Ing. senior scientist at Hydro Aluminium GmbH – R&D Centre); Tatsuo Sato (Professor Emeritus, Dr. Tokyo Institute of Technology); Marcelo Gonçalves (M.E., Ph.D. Professor – Escola Superior de Engenharia e Gestão, ESEG, Brazil); Paul D. Koning (Instructor – School of Packaging Michigan State University, USA) and Wang Zhutang (Prof. Member of expert committee, China Nonferrous Metals Fabrication Industry Association and Chief editor Aluminum Alloy and Processing Handbook in China).
The competition is open for entries at www.award.global-alufoil.org until the end of May 2018.
The award and presentation ceremony will be held at the Aluminium exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany October 2018. Winners will be awarded with a cheque for EUR 10,000 and will be presented to a representative of the award-winning work.