Hochschule Osnabrück graduates receive VDI awards

The VDI Osnabrück-Emsland district association has honored five graduates from Hochschule Osnabrück for four outstanding final theses. The awarded projects span diverse fields, including agriculture, mechanical engineering, sensor technology, and history.

Achmed El-Etri received the award for the best Master’s thesis in Applied Animal and Plant Sciences. His research, conducted as part of the SYNergie project with the Julius Kühn-Institut, focuses on combating potato wart disease. By optimizing a process that uses quicklime to disinfect soil contaminated with fungal spores, El-Etri developed a model that reduces soil cleaning costs from 40 euros to less than two euros per ton. The Julius Kühn-Institut confirmed through genetic analysis that the treated spores are no longer infectious.

In the Bachelor’s category, Daniel Mendricks was recognized for enhancing the Exp*FEM simulation program for mechanical engineering. Moritz Kampe received a prize for developing a prototype flexible insole equipped with pressure sensors and software designed to monitor foot pressure for individuals with diabetes. Other recognized works included research into interactive history education and technical simulations.