7.4 EIT InnoEnergy Alumnus awarded 2022 sigvard Eklund nuclear prize

EIT InnoEnergy Master's in Nuclear Energy alumnus, Georgios Zagoraios, was the proud recipient of the prestigious Sigvard Eklund's prize in 2022 for his Master's thesis ‘Synthesis of uranium nitride fuel from UF4 stock’. In the opinion of the evaluation committee, the thesis is a manifest of excellent experimental skills and thorough theoretical understanding. The achievement of producing actual, and novel, nuclear fuel in laboratory scale is beyond the expectations of a master thesis.

The Sigvard Eklund prize was established by the Swedish Center for Nuclear Technology (SKC) to recognise and reward outstanding academic work of one talented student per academic level at Swedish universities. An independent jury considers the motivation for nomination, the scientific merit and the overall quality of all submitted theses in deciding whom to award.

In addition to the honour and recognition, the winner is rewarded with SEK 50,000 for the best doctoral thesis, SEK 35,000 for the best master's thesis or SEK 25,000 for the best bachelor’s thesis.

Zagoraios’ goal is to continue his career as a researcher in academia, in a role that promotes nuclear energy as one of the most sustainable energy sources worldwide. His vision aims to provide innovative ideas and solutions to a broad spectrum of problems that will improve the sustainability of nuclear energy.

This award made me proud of my effort over the last months and filled me with more strength and confidence to proceed to my future steps.