Boosting materials development through comprehension of icing phenomena

My name is Anny Catalina Ospina, I am from Colombia. I studied Chemistry and obtained my master’s degree in chemical science at the Universidad de Antioquia in Medellin. 

During my bachelor studies I discovered my fascination with polymers because of their wide range of properties that allow imagining the most unexpected behavior with many possibilities for further application. Since that time I knew I would like to spend my life designing materials for different purposes. 

My PhD project is about the design of icephobic materials for different industries. It comprises from the theoretical simulation of icing events and the design of material until the final implementation in engineering devices. 

I am working on the production of the materials in the lab, since we want to obtain controlled inhomogeneities in a coating to test their ability to decrease the ice accretion. My goal is to investigate the role of hardness in ice adhesion properties. 

What I like the most about this project is the interdisciplinary work between physics, chemistry, and engineering researchers around the world and how all the projects are connected to improve the understanding of these complex systems. 

Additionally, I am using this opportunity to work on my abilities and ideas for communicating science through the SURFICE official website: 

Being part of a highly qualified team like in an ITN project promotes the academic growth of young researchers like me: we have access to lots of different resources and we can share our questions, doubts and discoveries with very brilliant people in the field. Additionally, we can travel and discover how the research is developed in different countries and contexts. 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 956703.