In our last episode of “meet the people” we got to know Linda. She is not the only new co-chair. Today you will get to know Michael Haiduk.
Michael began to study Geoscience at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University in Bonn in 2011 with the study focus Mineralogy. During his Bachelor studies he worked at RWE Power AG in the coal-fired power station in Niederaußem on the thermal behavior of sediments in brown coal. He continued his master studies in crystallography in Bochum and Prague in 2014 working on structural, thermal and elastic behavior of multiferroic Akermanites. Furthermore, he did an internship at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, where he synthesized inorganic perovskites as potential electrocatalysts. In 2017, he started his PhD at the University of Cologne in the Institute of inorganic and materials chemistry in the field of p-type semiconductors deposited by atomic layer deposition.
How did you come in contact with the DGK and its AK young crystallographers?
In my first master semester I decided to become a member of the DGK to start networking in the field of crystallography and to get to know other working groups in Germany. I directly participated on the AK20 Meeting in 2015 and presented a talk the first time in my life in front of an unknown audience. My first contact with the Young Crystallographers was in Berlin in 2016. Again, Linda Hollenbeck and I were the only master students in this meeting. I remember how happy we were that we had participate and we both agreed, that it would be the best for every Master student to get such a chance. The opportunity of meeting PhD students, having a look on their research and talking about their life opened my eyes of an academic career with all its advantages and disadvantages.
What do you want to make your task as a co-chair?
Our focus will be to connect the Young Crystallographers with other „young“ groups in Germany and Europe. Therefore, we are planning our next LabMeeting in cooperation with the young crystal growers (junge DGKK). We have already been in touch with the chairs and it’s a nice exchange of „how things are going“ in the different groups and we are sure that both will benefit from these synergies. The second point is to point out the advantages of the YC and the DGK for master students. Linda and I can state from our own experience that there is no better possibility to gain a first insight in academic life than to take part of one of the YC’s meetings.
Where do you see the „Arbeitskreis“ Young Crystallographers in the future?
We are already one of the most active working groups of the DGK and we maintain very good contact to our industry partners. The focus will remain on the networking for young crystallographers. In the future, I see the YC’s as a mentor for young academics with a network of job offers in industry and academic and a possibility to find researchers for cooperation and scientific exchange. Therefore, we will try to recruit new members and simultaneously we should not forget to integrate our alumni.
How do you want others to remember you as a co-chair?
For me, personally, it is not important that someone remembers me as a co-chair. Of course, we would like to have a successful LabMeeting next year and maybe someone will remember this meeting as his or her first experience in scientific community. My aim will be that others remember the YC, that they feel and take part of the community.