During the Fall meeting, Dr. Jan-Joris Devogelaer received the Piet Bennema Crystal Growth Award 2024.

The Assessment Committee (AC) for the 2024 edition of the Piet Bennema Crystal Growth Award consisted of: Dr. Aalbert (Bart) Zwijnenburg, Nobian, The Netherlands (chair), Prof. Dr. Sarah (Sally) Price, University College London, UK (member) and Dr. Marketta Uusi-Penttilä,

Aspen, The Netherlands (member). The AC received a recommendation by Prof. Dr. Elias Vlieg (Radboud University Nijmegen) on the Ph.D. Thesis “Co-crystal prediction using network science and machine learning” by Jan-Joris Devogelaer. The thesis has received a Cum Laude distinction. The thesis describes a co-crystal prediction approach based on link prediction and artificial neural networks/machine-learning, as well as a validation of predictions by experiments.

The AC unanimously nominated Dr. Jan-Joris Devogelaer for the PBCG Award 2024. Cited from the AC report: “The proposed approaches are in a very relevant field, applying latest techniques in machine learning to crystal growth. The thesis and publications are easy to read, accessible for other scientists to build on (this is also evidenced by citations). This field is evolving as we speak, and the AC believes this is a relevant contribution to a field where the application to industrial use may be still in the early stages.”