Durham student's research for Proctor and Gamble up for national award

A County Durham student who has spent her gap year undertaking a ‘Year in Industry’ is in the running for a top national award for her research work with consumer products giant.

Zoe Triston from Stanley has been working with Newcastle based Proctor and Gamble Ltd where she was tasked with assisting in the development of a radical new laundry detergent.

The youngster’s success in the project has lead to her being nominated as a finalist in the annual ‘The Year in Industry’ awards in which the top category recognises students who have made the most significant contribution to the businesses with which they have been working. The prestigious awards take place at the Royal Academy of Engineering in London on Thursday 19th September. Zoe is enthusiastic about the year she has spent working in industry before going on to study Human Sciences at Oxford University. She said: “From the experience I developed both my technical knowledge and key skills required to be successful in the work place, especially the ability to present and sell the merits of your work to others. I know this will stand me in good stead at university and beyond. “I found the adjustment from school to work a relatively easy one. Undoubtedly things become easier the longer you do them for, but even in the first few weeks I felt myself fitting in well, thanks to my welcoming colleagues and the support given by the wider intern community. “I would really recommend ‘The Year in Industry’ to anyone who is considering it, and is willing to put in the work to get the most out of the experience. My internship has given me everything, and more than, I hoped it would.” Zoe’s work on developing the new detergent included evaluating the degree of and key drivers for neutralisation, and the impact this has on the overall product characteristics, particularly expensive perfume degradation.

Zoe began by contacting experts and consulting literature and then created and tested a series of methods including: CO2 loss by weight over time; perfume raw materials in a Schiff Base reaction; indicators and perfumes. This enabled her to be able to judge the un-reacted acid in the agglomerate and the impact this had on the finished product odour characteristics. Zoe planned her own experimental design programme, presented to senior management, made recommendations and written reports with an international distribution. Zoe showed that the new agglomerate has better neutralisation than current and there are no perfume stability issues. Her contribution to the business has been recognised through the inclusion of her work in a pending patent application. Nigel Somerville Roberts, Principal Engineer at Procter and Gamble said: “Zoe rapidly became an integral member of the team by demonstrating the necessary credibility at an early stage. She has been comfortable and competent in making her own decisions.”

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