Faglige nøgleord: Material design, solar cells, renewable energy, quantum mechanics, computational chemistry
Oplæg tilgængeligt på: Engelsk, hollandsk og lidt dansk
Since I was little, I've always had a great interest in design and art. When I started to go to high school and learned more about physics and chemistry, I fell in love with both topics, because they gave me the concepts I needed to discover and understand the world around me in a palpable way. Now I had to make a difficult decision: will I pursue an education in design, or one in physical chemistry? I figured I could combine the two, and now I am able to design materials using my knowledge in physics and chemistry.
My research project is all about using a supercomputer to calculate properties of materials, and using that knowledge to discover new materials that are even better than the ones we use today. I am investigating a specific material type (called 'halide perovskites') that show great potential for solar cells. However, halide perovskites have two major challenges: they often contain toxic compounds and tend to fall apart quickly. My research focuses on finding solutions to these issues by using quantummechanical simulations on a supercomputer to study the material properties without needing lab tests. This way, I can find halide perovskites that don't have these two major drawbacks anymore, without using as much time or materials as material discovery in a lab takes!
In my presentation, I will cover the following concepts:
My journey of becoming a PhD student - the education that I took and my personal motivation of why I love to do the work that I do.
A simple and concise overview of concepts in physics and chemistry that form the basis of the work that I do, tailored to the understanding and level of the students (i.e. a very brief overview on how the quantum world (the size scale of atoms) differs from the macroscopic world we live in, and how we use physics to describe these systems).
An overview of my project (finding new materials for solar cells), focussing on renewable energy sources and sustainable design to combat climate change.
I will prepare a kahoot quiz and bring an interactive exercise where I will model a simple material system together with the students, so they can get a real glimpse into the work that I do on a normal workday.