Here you will find semi-randomized thoughts about science and academia.
29 August 2022
The CV of failure
'Keeping a visible record of your rejected applications can help others to deal with setbacks, says Melanie Stefan.'
Quite an interesting concept. Maybe I should add such a CV to this webpage...
The CV of failure
'Keeping a visible record of your rejected applications can help others to deal with setbacks, says Melanie Stefan.'
Quite an interesting concept. Maybe I should add such a CV to this webpage...
29 August 2022
What is a parabolic flight explained by AI
Quite impressive how chatbots evolved... I asked: "What is a parabolic flight?" This is the answer:
A parabolic flight is a type of aircraft flight in which the plane follows a specific flight path that allows it to create periods of weightlessness. This is achieved by flying in a parabolic arc, which is a curved path that changes the direction of the aircraft's velocity. During a parabolic flight, passengers may experience weightlessness for short periods of time, which can be used to conduct scientific experiments or to provide a unique experience for passengers.
What is a parabolic flight explained by AI
Quite impressive how chatbots evolved... I asked: "What is a parabolic flight?" This is the answer:
A parabolic flight is a type of aircraft flight in which the plane follows a specific flight path that allows it to create periods of weightlessness. This is achieved by flying in a parabolic arc, which is a curved path that changes the direction of the aircraft's velocity. During a parabolic flight, passengers may experience weightlessness for short periods of time, which can be used to conduct scientific experiments or to provide a unique experience for passengers.
29 August2022
Artemis1 launch
Everything you need to know about the Artemis1 mission in a nutshell. Thank you kurzgesagt for these beautiful graphics!
Artemis1 launch
Everything you need to know about the Artemis1 mission in a nutshell. Thank you kurzgesagt for these beautiful graphics!
26 August 2022
Last preparation for the parabolic flight campaign
Samples for the parabolic flight with AirZeroG next next week are tested and ready to fly! We will measure viscosity of CuSi in micro-gravity
Last preparation for the parabolic flight campaign
Samples for the parabolic flight with AirZeroG next next week are tested and ready to fly! We will measure viscosity of CuSi in micro-gravity
29 July 2022
Favorite spot in Grenoble
Walking up to the bastille is always a nice experience ☺️
Favorite spot in Grenoble
Walking up to the bastille is always a nice experience ☺️
22 July 2022
Beautiful writings #3
Fantasy and creativity are important qualities of the computer simulator.
Furio Ercolessi: A molecular dynamics trimer (1997)
Beautiful writings #3
Fantasy and creativity are important qualities of the computer simulator.
Furio Ercolessi: A molecular dynamics trimer (1997)
10 June 2022
The cycle of phd...
That's me right now!
How many loops do you usually go until submitting your manuscript? Better your supervisor makes the corrections than reviewer 2, right? 😅
The cycle of phd...
That's me right now!
How many loops do you usually go until submitting your manuscript? Better your supervisor makes the corrections than reviewer 2, right? 😅
10 June 2022
International Workshop of Subsecond Thermophysics
It was fun to talk about the thermophysical properties of CuTi melts this week at the international workshop on subsecond thermophysics.
And there is a super useful database from NIST about thermophysical properties of metals and alloys!
International Workshop of Subsecond Thermophysics
It was fun to talk about the thermophysical properties of CuTi melts this week at the international workshop on subsecond thermophysics.
And there is a super useful database from NIST about thermophysical properties of metals and alloys!
31 May 2022
Very first MD simulation
Just ran my very first simulation: a bi-dimensional Lennard-Jones binary gas.
Simple and super fun! ☺️
And what's more, it's also my first youtube video 🙌🏼🥳
Very first MD simulation
Just ran my very first simulation: a bi-dimensional Lennard-Jones binary gas.
Simple and super fun! ☺️
And what's more, it's also my first youtube video 🙌🏼🥳
25 May 2022
Machine Learning for Physicists
Youtube is a wonderful place with wonderful videos and people!
The lecture series of Florian Marquardt about machine learning is just great!
Machine Learning for Physicists
Youtube is a wonderful place with wonderful videos and people!
The lecture series of Florian Marquardt about machine learning is just great!
20 May 2022
Reunion time!
Teaching bavarian culture to old friends from America. They are fast learners 🍺🥨🧀
Was so great to finally meet again 🥰
Reunion time!
Teaching bavarian culture to old friends from America. They are fast learners 🍺🥨🧀
Was so great to finally meet again 🥰
17 May 2022
Spotted some flamingos in Grenoble 🦩🦩
Spotted some flamingos in Grenoble 🦩🦩
15 May 2022
SciComm at Wikipedia
Thank you, friendly Pi bot 🥰
It's nice to see that my Wikipedia articles are being read and promoted constantly!
SciComm at Wikipedia
Thank you, friendly Pi bot 🥰
It's nice to see that my Wikipedia articles are being read and promoted constantly!
03 May 2022
time for a break
After a few weeks at the DLR in Cologne it feels good to see some mountain!
time for a break
After a few weeks at the DLR in Cologne it feels good to see some mountain!
06 April 2022
twitter gold #1
Everyone: systemic issues
University: resilience training
If you learn one thing in academia, it is how to frame and advertise...
twitter gold #1
Everyone: systemic issues
University: resilience training
If you learn one thing in academia, it is how to frame and advertise...
01 April 2022
April Fools Day at MLZ
Hoax or highlight? For April Fools Day, we have a special for you. Three scientists present their science in videos. One of them is not telling the truth. Can you guess who it is?
Check out the videos on Twitter!
April Fools Day at MLZ
Hoax or highlight? For April Fools Day, we have a special for you. Three scientists present their science in videos. One of them is not telling the truth. Can you guess who it is?
Check out the videos on Twitter!
26 February 2022
SciComm at wikipedia
Wikipedia is great!
So much knowledge is gathered on a single webpage. And everything is curated by the very supportive wikipedia community.
It's perfect for science communication and today I wrote my first article about polysulfobetaines. 🥳
SciComm at wikipedia
Wikipedia is great!
So much knowledge is gathered on a single webpage. And everything is curated by the very supportive wikipedia community.
It's perfect for science communication and today I wrote my first article about polysulfobetaines. 🥳
11 February 2022
Back in the lab
Levitating copper samples comes with a price, especially at high temperatures.
Back in the lab
Levitating copper samples comes with a price, especially at high temperatures.
Small amounts of the sample evaporate and condensate at the electrodes. At some point, the electrostatic field is not stable anymore. Still, kind of beautiful...
08 February 2022
Beautiful writings #2
Beautiful writings #2
'Ich wollte immer Wissenschaftlerin oder Autorin werder, um in meiner Nerdhaftigkeit weitgehend ohne andere Menschen in einem geschlossenen System arbeiten zu können.'
Sybille Berg, NERDS retten die Welt - Gespräche mit denen, die es wissen, KiWi (2021) 🧡
08 February 2022
Back at the DLR 🚀
I am back in the DLR labs to do some more levitation experiments. We have a pretty good idea about the structure-dynamics relationship in the binary CuTi system. Now it's time to look at the properties of ternary CuTi-Si and CuTi-Al systems.
It's fascinating how only a few at% of Si or Al can change the macroscopic behavior of an alloy. Since its so little Si or Al, we don't think it's a topological or packing, but a chemical phenomenon based on attractive/repulsive interactions of the minor additive (Si/Al) to Cu and Ti.
With these studies, we aim for improving algorithms of molecular dynamics simulations, which require reliable experimental data as input. So far, only few ternary CuTi-based alloys were investigated. Probably because performing experiments with these alloys are everything but trivial...
To quote my colleague: All easy systems are already measured. 🤷🏼♂️
Back at the DLR 🚀
I am back in the DLR labs to do some more levitation experiments. We have a pretty good idea about the structure-dynamics relationship in the binary CuTi system. Now it's time to look at the properties of ternary CuTi-Si and CuTi-Al systems.
It's fascinating how only a few at% of Si or Al can change the macroscopic behavior of an alloy. Since its so little Si or Al, we don't think it's a topological or packing, but a chemical phenomenon based on attractive/repulsive interactions of the minor additive (Si/Al) to Cu and Ti.
With these studies, we aim for improving algorithms of molecular dynamics simulations, which require reliable experimental data as input. So far, only few ternary CuTi-based alloys were investigated. Probably because performing experiments with these alloys are everything but trivial...
To quote my colleague: All easy systems are already measured. 🤷🏼♂️
27 February 2022
Beautiful writings #1
'As a results, the special and shortened Al-Cu bond allows chemistry (stable bonding) and topology (dense packing) to work in concert.'
Chen et al., PRL, 102, 245501 (2009)
Beautiful writings #1
'As a results, the special and shortened Al-Cu bond allows chemistry (stable bonding) and topology (dense packing) to work in concert.'
Chen et al., PRL, 102, 245501 (2009)
27 January 2022
17 orders of viscosity
A colleague just gave an update about his research. He had a graph with viscosity data that span over 17 (!) orders of magnitude!
But what does this actually mean? And what actually is viscosity, with this weird unit (Pa s)? I hope I find the time to explain it in the science section...
17 orders of viscosity
A colleague just gave an update about his research. He had a graph with viscosity data that span over 17 (!) orders of magnitude!
But what does this actually mean? And what actually is viscosity, with this weird unit (Pa s)? I hope I find the time to explain it in the science section...
27 January 2022
Hello imposter...
Today I was once again thinking about not releasing this website. It's not professional enough, it's not interesting enough, who cares about my research anyway, why bother with all this HTML coding, and in the end, you might even have to pay money for hosting your webpage...
Well, since you are reading this, it's obvious that I did launch this webpage. Sometimes ideas have to be realized. They have to escape from your imagination and enter existence. My webpage, my party. I like it. It's fun. If you like it as well, be my guest. If you don't like it, I hope you find whatever party you are looking for somewhere else ✌🏽
Hello imposter...
Today I was once again thinking about not releasing this website. It's not professional enough, it's not interesting enough, who cares about my research anyway, why bother with all this HTML coding, and in the end, you might even have to pay money for hosting your webpage...
Well, since you are reading this, it's obvious that I did launch this webpage. Sometimes ideas have to be realized. They have to escape from your imagination and enter existence. My webpage, my party. I like it. It's fun. If you like it as well, be my guest. If you don't like it, I hope you find whatever party you are looking for somewhere else ✌🏽
20 January 2022
Oh wow, I just had a meeting with my former PhD supervisor about a potential scientific future and now I am super excited. It's so important to have a supportive environment!
Definitely something I want to provide for others as well!
And I finally finished the code for this academic diary. Good day!
Oh wow, I just had a meeting with my former PhD supervisor about a potential scientific future and now I am super excited. It's so important to have a supportive environment!
Definitely something I want to provide for others as well!
And I finally finished the code for this academic diary. Good day!
18 January 2022
Read to write...
Reading, reading, reading... and I did some writing, too! Great day, me happy!
Read to write...
Reading, reading, reading... and I did some writing, too! Great day, me happy!
13 January 2022
The reading challenge evolves better than expected. Actually, I found some interesting stuff, which will definitely help me with my manuscript.
Apropos manuscript, I really should finish the first version of the figures...
The reading challenge evolves better than expected. Actually, I found some interesting stuff, which will definitely help me with my manuscript.
Apropos manuscript, I really should finish the first version of the figures...
12 January 2022
Had a nice meeting with the guys from DLR, Cologne! Together, we figured out what is still missing from the first manuscript draft.
Feels good to have a list with boxes to tick off!
Had a nice meeting with the guys from DLR, Cologne! Together, we figured out what is still missing from the first manuscript draft.
Feels good to have a list with boxes to tick off!
10 January 2022
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! 🥳
I am back in the office and already started my ambitious academic resolution:
One paper a day (keeps the imposter away?! Or maybe not, we'll see).
Anyhow, last year, whenever I started to read a paper, I ended up thinking:
'Why are you wasting your time, reading this paper, which is (at best) marginally related to your stuff! You should better write or measure something.'
And of course, whenever I wrote or measured something I thought: 'Damn, you know nothing! You better read some papers, man.'
For this year, I decided to not think about this anymore. I will read one paper (or 45 min if it's a long one) first thing in the morning. Cannot hurt, right?!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! 🥳
I am back in the office and already started my ambitious academic resolution:
One paper a day (keeps the imposter away?! Or maybe not, we'll see).
Anyhow, last year, whenever I started to read a paper, I ended up thinking:
'Why are you wasting your time, reading this paper, which is (at best) marginally related to your stuff! You should better write or measure something.'
And of course, whenever I wrote or measured something I thought: 'Damn, you know nothing! You better read some papers, man.'
For this year, I decided to not think about this anymore. I will read one paper (or 45 min if it's a long one) first thing in the morning. Cannot hurt, right?!
