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First Impressions I’m a rare example of a student in the international summer student program, who lives already in Berlin. At the first day I was really impressed how many people arrived from different countries with different backgrounds. I was really curious what the others study and where they come from. Can I keep up with these international students? Do I have enough knowledge to compete with them? That were questions I asked myself. But back to my background, I study geological science with the specialization geodynamics and geomaterials at the FU Berlin. In the main part of the study we look on natural systems,Read More →

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What is your motivation to be a scientist? This question has been lingering in my mind during my student career. Of course, the answer is plenty, varying from person to person. I have met many scientists through the years. They shared their personal stories. I have concluded the reasons that attract them in their chosen subject are money, social statue, a raw love, to be most intelligent, a sense of duty and so on, and most commonly, a combination of them. The most impressive one for me is “curiosity”. I got it from a young scientist by an online investigation. He describes science is theRead More →

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In: Energymaterials, Summerstudents

Hard it may be to believe, but the world seen utterly different from two sides: the world of chemistry. TWO SIDES? Argentine and German chemistry. Since I was a child, I have been interested in chemistry, without even knowing what it was, how everything we touch, everything we see, everything we feel could be explained. That led me to insert myself into its study. In today’s world, on alert the planet, renewable energies arose, and something I had to do, join my passion and my commitment to everything that made me study chemistry: simply the world. BUT IF CHEMISTRY IS UNIVERSAL… As I said, chemistryRead More →

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In: Energymaterials

My dear reader, I hope you are doing well and have a wonderful sunny day. I am standing on the quay of Lake Michigan in Chicago, acquiring a bit of sun this foggy day.    Today I have some free time for myself… I am thinking about responsibility for the planet, about humanity who made a big step from the uncontrollable usage of the non-renewable resources turning more and more towards the available wind, water and solar energy. The idea of using solar power is so obvious for me! The sun shines every day and it should not die out in the next billions ofRead More →

Jian Ren and Prof. Brian Paul Schmidt in #LINO19

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In: Conference, Energymaterials, International, Students

Science Without Borders: Impressions from the 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting (2019) Guestpost by Jian Ren As a doctoral researcher in Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, I have been offered many opportunities to expand my horizons by working in an optimal international research environment and by participating in international conferences. Recently, I received another gift from HZB – I was nominated and financially supported by HZB to take part in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. 580 young scientists meet Nobel Laureates The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings have become an event of great importance for the exchange between generations of scientists each summer since 1951. In this year, theRead More →

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In: Careers, Energymaterials

Adopting the reader’s perspective might help to set your proposal into a broader context and suggest relevant potential impact Some weeks ago, EU expert Seán McCarthy gave a workshop at HZB entitled “How to Write a Competitive Proposal for Horizon 2020”. The lecture hall was packed with scientists waiting for instructions and McCarthy delivered plenty. “The secret is understanding the evaluation process”, McCarthy pointed out. In other words: Put yourself into the shoes of the evaluators who will read your proposal and make the decisions. Peer reviewers want facts at a glance, details by further reading Scientific experts who may not be native English speakersRead More →

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In: Energymaterials, International, Lightsources, Summerstudents

Thermoplastic ionomer materials such as Nafion do have many talents: they can be used as membranes for proton exchange in fuel cells, but they have also attracted attention as shape memory materials: Via external stimuli such as heat or an electric field, it is possible to trigger a change in shapes. Applications in textiles, biomedicine, aerospace, sensors and coatings are possible. Nafion: a membrane with shape memory Nafion is one of those materials: as a membrane in a fuel cell, its high proton conductivity allows a fast pass of hydrogen ions (protons). And its internal shape plays a crucial role. Now a team from Brazil hasRead More →

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In: Energymaterials, Students, Summerstudents

Quantum Mechanics Can Be Useful Too! Nowadays, it seems that quantum mechanics is seen more as “spooky” than practical. Thus, I am here to “de-mystify” some of the science behind a fascinating process that’s yet to be simulated properly. My research group investigates the theory behind what is called Interatomic Coulomb Electron Capture (ICEC). This fascinating universal quantum process is yet to be fully understood, and we are here to change that. Someday, this could be an incredibly useful tool to revolutionize atomic and quantum chemical energy transfers. ICEC In A Nutshell The general process includes 3 main steps that occur simultaneously. We’ve got two atoms, atom A andRead More →

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In: Energymaterials, Summerstudents

Far-sighted hydrogen economy During one of the winter nights, while talking in the interior of Granite House, “well lighted with candles, well warmed with coal, after a good dinner”, the settlers of Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island were discussing about the fact that the coal will be entirely consumed. After a roughly estimation, Cyrus Harding, an engineer of great capabilities, concluded that it would happen “for at least two hundred and fifty or three hundred years.” To everyone’s surprise, when he was asked what they will burn instead of coal, he said: “Water”. “Water” cried Pencroft, “water as a fuel for steamers and engines! water toRead More →

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In: Energymaterials, Students, Summerstudents

In chemistry, working up a synthesis route or a method which leads to the favored product is a challenging, lengthy procedure. Most of the time it is based on the concept “trial and error” and a lot is discovered by coincidence. For instance, the today’s industrial processes hydroformylation and the Czochralski process have their roots in accidental discoveries and very precise observation. Before a synthesis method becomes a large industrial process the synthesis must be optimized in a much smaller scale. That happens in the laboratory and is an odyssey that includes varying different parameters. Chemists refer to their work in the laboratory as “cooking”.Read More →