New Humboldt Fellow in Summer Term
A new Humboldt Fellow joined the Fritz Haber Institute in April. Dr. Victoria C. A. Taylor, home-based at University of Bristol / United Kingdom is now working in the group of Prof Ralph Ernstorfer, department of Physical Chemistry.
Dr Victoria Taylor (Physical Chemistry Department, Humboldt Fellow since April 2022): I completed my PhD at the University of Bristol, in the UK. My doctoral work involved using ultrafast spectroscopy to investigate the non-equilibrium dynamics of photoactive nanomaterials, including hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites and J-aggregates. After my PhD, in September 2020, I moved to Berlin to work with ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) in the group of Prof. Ralph Ernstorfer at the FHI. I found UED an appealing technique to expand my experience in studying ultrafast phenomena, since it directly probes the structural response of materials following photoexcitation. Such data can give powerful insights into non-equilibrium processes, particularly when considered in combination with ultrafast techniques that probe electronic dynamics. During my fellowship, hosted by Prof Ernstorfer, I will use UED to investigate the ultrafast lattice response of twisted van der Waals heterostructures. These 2D materials are a particularly interesting case, in which structural and electronic properties are strongly coupled.
Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from all over the world to spend time conducting research in Germany. So far more than 30,000 fellowships have been awarded across all disciplines to researchers from more than 140 countries worldwide – including 55 Nobel Laureates. In 2020, a total of 955 (out of 3131) applications from researchers from abroad were approved. The Fritz Haber Institute hosted a total of 44 researchers (32 fellows and 12 award winners) in the years from 2016 to 2020. This means that the FHI "hosts" the most Humboldt researchers in Berlin behind the major universities (FU, HU, TU).
“The Humboldt Fellows are always an enrichment, we are very happy to have them here“, Prof. Martin Wolf, Managing Director of the Fritz Haber Institute, says. „It is very important to maintain the scientific and intercultural exchange also in these special times.“ (cf. Institute News from 20 Jan 2022)
