Published: August 8, 2025
Ebba Grönfors, a doctoral student in the Division of Electronics Materials at Chalmers University of Technology, has been awarded Best Presentation at the European Conference on Liquid Crystals held in Prague this June. This marks her very first oral presentation at a scientific conference.
Grönfors presented her self-developed Matlab model, which simulates ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals confined within a specific geometry. These materials behave like liquids with aligned, polar, rod-shaped molecules, forming a vector field. Her model calculates the elastic energy required to deform this vector field under certain boundary conditions and predicts where discontinuities may appear.
Reflecting on the award, Grönfors credits her clear communication style and focus on accessibility. “I reduced the number of components per slide and avoided skipping steps in my explanations,” she explained. Her unique approach and the clarity of her presentation stood out among the conference contributions.
Despite initial nerves, Grönfors was encouraged by the recognition. “This award feels like a strong signal that experienced researchers believe in my ideas and my ability to contribute meaningfully to the field,” she said.
Source: Chalmers University of Technology
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