© Laura Kronlachner

Laura Kronlachner completed her doctoral studies in the Research Group for Surface, Trace Analysis and Chemometrics under the supervision of Prof. Andreas Limbeck. Alongside her research, she worked as a university assistant, contributing to teaching activities and supporting various laboratory courses for bachelor’s and master’s students.

Her research focuses on laser- and plasma-based analytical techniques, with particular emphasis on developing and optimizing innovative methods for material characterization. Laser-based approaches enable high-precision, spatially resolved analyses that are essential both for the comprehensive characterization of high-tech materials and for investigating the environmental impact of technologically and ecologically relevant substances.

The broad scope of the work and includes the development and patenting of a novel measurement setup for plastics analysis, the creation of methods for forensic applications, and the advancement of analytical techniques for environmentally relevant materials such as nanoparticles and microplastics. In particular, the study of microplastics is gaining importance due to their increasing prevalence in the environment and ecosystems, making it a significant area of analytical environmental research.

To reliably trace, understand, and influence the long-term effects and transport pathways of particles such as microplastics within ecosystems, the continuous development of innovative analytical methods is indispensable. Her published methods can provide an important foundation for further progress in this field.

The Lions Prize, endowed with €4,000, will enable Laura Kronlachner to present her research results at international conferences.