Kamperman, Prof. Marleen
Marleen Kamperman studied Physics at the University of Groningen (UG) and was awarded her doctorate in 2008 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Since 2018, she has been the Professor of Polymer Science at the UG. Here, Kamperman focuses on making new materials, such as the long, organic molecules that are often known as polymers.
Kamperman studies softer materials that are suitable for biomedical applications, among other things. Her focus now lies on adhesives that stick well to wet surfaces. Geckos, for example, appear to have a kind of superglue on their feet: they can peel their feet off surfaces and reattach them very often, without the glue losing its effect. Mussels also possess a unique type of glue that works under water. Marleen Kamperman is fascinated by this. She is attempting to replicate such special types of glue. These could be used in the human body, for instance, to adhere wounds shut instead of stitching them up.
In 2019, Kamperman was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant. She wants to use this to develop new materials through environmentally-friendly processes. ‘In nature, all sorts of organisms make fantastic materials, such as spiderwebs and the threads made by velvet worms, without using any harmful solvents. Many of these materials are made from proteins. Before they get their final properties, they sit inside the organism in a fluid form. The conversion of the fluid to the final material is a very interesting process, which I would like to simulate in the lab.’
In 2023, Kamperman received a Vici grant for her research on (bio)polymer materials.
Previously in the news
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Making new materials (interview in magazine Broerstraat 5, in Dutch)
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We need to invest in the soft sciences (in Dutch)
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| Last modified: | 26 March 2024 12.26 p.m. |