Dr. Gintarė Gečė, a researcher at the FTMC Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, received the award for the best PhD thesis of 2023 at the Presidential Palace of Lithuania.
The jury of the competition organised by the Lithuanian Society of Young Researchers selected the 5 best entries in the following categories:
- Humanities, social sciences and arts;
- Natural, technological, medical and health and agricultural sciences.
Gintarė and her colleagues are working on sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries, and the title of her thesis is "Search, Synthesis, and Investigation of New Framework Electrode Materials for Aqueous Na-ion Batteries".
(Dr. Jurgis Pilipavičius, Dr. Gintarė Gečė and Dr. Linas Vilčiauskas. Photo: FTMC)
According to Dr. Linas Vilčiauskas, the academic supervisor of G. Gečė's dissertation, who attended the ceremony, Gintarė was his first PhD student, so it is very gratifying that she immediately received such an important award.
"She fully deserves this. But this is only one side of the story, the most important thing is that Gintarė's scientific journey does not end, and the future will tell what it will be. Gintarė has all the foundations for further success," says L. Vilčiauskas.
Dr. Jurgis Pilipavičius, academic advisor for her thesis, tells that G. Gečė was the first to develop the topic of sodium-ion batteries at our Center, and more specifically in the
Electrochemical Energy Storage Group.
"This first dissertation on our new topic has proved that Gintarė is a very experienced chemist and is not only able to do her work well, but also to plan it, which is essential for a scientist," says J. Pilipavičius.
(Photo: Robertas Dačkus / Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania)
Congratulating the scientists, President Gitanas Nausėda noted that every PhD thesis is not only a sign of academic excellence, but also a source of hope that the challenges facing our society will become opportunities. "I have no doubt that science and innovation will be the key to Lithuania's success. In the future, we will have to compete on an international level, using the latest scientific achievements," said the Head of State.
In awarding the authors of the dissertations of the year, the President stressed that the voice of the creators of science must be clearly heard, ideas must be implemented, and discoveries must be used for the benefit of Lithuania and the whole world.
"You have a powerful tool in your hands to change the world. So share your ideas with the public, engage in the public debate and show that science is the foundation on which we can build a fairer, greener and stronger world," said G. Nausėda.
Information from the FTMC and the Presidential Communication Group