Role: Reader in Physical Chemistry
Can you introduce yourself and a bit about your background?
I’m from Germany, where I did a PhD in physics. I’ve been in Liverpool for 17 years, I became a Brit almost a decade ago. Outside work I’m happiest up a mountain, in our garden, in front of an easel. My latest challenge is to learn Arabic
إسمي حايكة و انا ءالم
My name is Heike and I am a scientist.
Why did you choose the University of Liverpool as your place of work?
You never get much choice in academia! A position was available, the city and the department just felt right so I jumped and am still happy I did.
What inspired you to choose chemistry as your field of work?
It was a slow drift from physics. How small can particles get? What happens to an atom’s spin when I bounce the atom off a surface? Can I sync the vibrations of carbon monoxide molecules on a surface? Can I make a reaction go faster with light?
What are your specific research areas?
My focus is to develop better protein spectroscopies so that research on degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or diabetes moves faster.
Are there any challenges you’ve encountered during your research, and how did you overcome them?
It’s not research when it’s not challenging. I’m happiest when some data contradict my predictions because then I know I’m close to understanding something.
What has been your biggest achievement during your career in chemistry and how did it make you feel?
This year, we got a step closer to understanding how insulin forms inactive aggregates at cell membranes. I’m made up J because I got to work with bright people and used physics, chemistry, biology, computing and some humble PTFE tape to solve the problem.
How important is working in a diverse and inclusive environment for you, and why?
I can only do my best work if I feel I belong. I can grow more as a person when my ideas can bounce off others who have travelled a different path to mine.
How would you describe the current culture of inclusion within the Chemistry department at Liverpool?
I’ve noticed a positive shift since Covid, not just in this department but academia in general. We just don’t know what’s going on in someone else’s life so being mindful of one another has become much more common.
Is there any advice you’d offer someone wanting to pursue a career in chemistry? (Or anything you would have liked to have known before you had?)
Are you curious? Does it make you happy to understand something even when there’s no material benefit to yourself from understanding that thing? Can you admire a flower for its beauty yet still ponder which molecule produces that colour, how to make it in the lab and whether it would make a good ph indicator? Go for it!
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