Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕

@bonlab.bsky.social

1.2K followers 660 following 150 posts

Prof. in Polymer and Colloid Chemical Engineering at the University of Warwick (UK), LGBTQ+ Advocate, Dutch origin, Gen X, Educator. Maker of small plastics. He/him, https://bonlab.info 🏳️‍🌈 🎸🐕

bonlab.info

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Jun 19

www.bonlab.info/blog/2025/6/... 🧪🍎🥽

Warwick drives green growth with £13m EPSRC hub in plastics — BonLab

New 7-year £13.6M Manufacturing Research Hub in Sustainable Engineering Plastics between the University of Warwick, the University of Manchester, and UCL announced by UKRI/EPSRC.

www.bonlab.info

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · 3h

Had a fantastic day at Cambridge University to kick off our collaborative new large Reconstructable Nano-Opto-Mechanical Metamaterials (ReNOMMs)project. Ready for some fantastic and fun science the years ahead.

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · 9d

Beautiful walk this morning.

Sunrise with early morning fog in a UK park.

1 5

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · 12d

Welcome to all new students to the University of Warwick the coming week. In Chemistry around 200 UGs and 60 PGs will join our vibrant community. I am looking forward to meeting and interacting with many of you. Let's do great science, together! 🧪🍎🥽

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 29

The entitled salary of the UK's PM is £172,153. It is time we cap the salaries of university management in the UK well below this threshold. Now there is a start to save on running costs.

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 27

May be see if a "Klamm" is nearby. Still a water adventure then :-)

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 21

Any airborne particle (aerosol) is obviously good (what the study does). Studying shape variation would be great, away from spheres. I mean inhalation of natural asbestos dust or other silicates is far from pleasant. The word microplastics IMO is just thrown into it.

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 21

This theory study looks through modeling how spherical particles could be taken up. It does not look at microplastics but any hypothetical spherical particle. It seems to suggest that the denser the particle, the worse. So why not focus on silicates and metal oxides instead? Clickbait. #plastic

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 21

4) Help with teaching some polymer chemical engineering and physics to a 3rd year module discussing gels and solubility, and leading several labs on radical polymerization in homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. 🥽🍎🧪

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 21

3) My module on "polymer colloids" revised with a new textbook draft and some new sections. Open to higher year science UGs and all PG students. We discuss, emulsion polymerization, colloid motion and stability, rheology, industrial applications, and environmental fate and sustainability. 🧪🍎🥽

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 21

2) A module "chemical reaction engineering and data processing". Here we will introduce to science students a chemical engineering way of thinking to chemical reactions highlighting reactor design and choice and how to interpret data to existing or new models. 🥽🍎🧪

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 21

1) A module "plastics: the good, the bad, the future" is open to ALL at the Warwick on both UG and PG level. Here we will teach polymer science, engineering, and manufacturing. How polymers are made and why these materials are chosen. We will discuss societal and circularity challenges.

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 21

A key objective of a university is to teach the next generation. To transfer knowledge in a way that students learn how to reason and innovate. It is not just data transfer. To reinforce this, I will be teaching a lot in the coming academic year, with pleasure. @uni-of-warwick.bsky.social

4 12

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 15

Afbouw van plastic kan alleen als er afbouw komt van de consumptiemaatschappij en de economische verslaving daaraan. Simpelweg zeggen minder plastic is makkelijk; waar vervang je het mee? Precies, de enige 'groene' mogelijkheid is, met niks. Maar tja, dat willen die 120 landen helaas niet....

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 13

The actual word has been around for centuries, though recently it features in many, many papers. I wonder why? Could it be AI? Haha.

1 1

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 13

On page 180 and counting. I guess I will end up around 300.

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 13

The use of the word ubiquitous in scientific papers of the last couple of years is indeed ubiquitous. Sigh. 🧪🍎🥽

1 6

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 12

The letter states that due to polymer processing by others it becomes unfeasible. This is where a lot of the problems are. During processing into products additives, pigments etc are added. Mostly unregulated and by many small companies all doing something different. Recycling becomes a nightmare.

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 8

Interesting discussion with @jamestapper.bsky.social today on the Global Plastics Treaty. The elephant in the room: consumerism and the global economy addicted to it. Without addressing the need to go for durable and repairable products and not opt for "fast" or "single use", humanity will be lost.

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 8

Added a small extra chapter after colloid motion...rheology of dispersions.

Yes, it will be a textbook for people who wish to get into the field.

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 5

Chapters will be: 1) Introduction to colloids. 2) Emulsion polymerization. 3) On colloid motion. 4) On colloid stability. 5) Industrial applications 6) Sustainability and Environmental Fate.

1 1

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 5

Five years ago, during the COVID lockdown I wrote the first version of my polymer colloids course as an online e-book. I am finally converting and updating it to a (digital) textbook, and try it out this fall/winter. After that, the plan is to release it. 🥽🍎🧪

1 22

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 5

Absolutely not a doomer attitude. I agree there are many uses of products that are totally unnecessary. Still humanity produces it, still we all consume it. To single out plastics as the "bad" material without addressing overconsumption is in my view oversimplified.

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 5

It is easy to say "must reduce production", but this inevitably means humanity must reduce consumption, which I am sorry to say people as a whole will not do. A second point: what will you replace plastics with? It will be challenging to find environmentally sustainable alternatives.

1 1

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 4

Our response:

a woman is holding a pair of glasses and says that 's all

Alt: Meryl Streep is holding a pair of glasses and says that 's all in the Devil wears Prada.

media.tenor.com

prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕 @bonlab.bsky.social · Aug 4

Warwick marketing ‘fiasco’ shows ‘education isn’t a luxury brand’ www.timeshighereducation.com/news/warwick...

Warwick marketing ‘fiasco’ shows ‘education isn’t a luxury brand’

Experts warn institutions against losing sight of their purpose, as more details emerge about university’s prolific spending on PR activities

www.timeshighereducation.com

1 2