It is
very important for a PhD student to meet different people, research groups, and
labs, in order to gain other work perspectives and develop some
networking. As my second supervisor, Prof. Rein Ulijn, was invited to be the head
of the Nanoscience Initiative in the new Advanced Science Research Center of the City University
of New York (CUNY), I have had the opportunity to go to New
York and enjoy my time at one of the leading universities in the
other half of the globe. I have spent six weeks in a brand new, top
quality research center at the end of 2014.
During my PhD, I
study the development of self-assembled aromatic peptide amphiphiles, and I am
trying to understand their supramolecular interactions and behavior at
oil/water interfaces, as those molecules can be used as a new class of
surfactants. Research at CUNY focuses at Neuroscience, Photonics, Structural
Biology, Nanoscience, and Environmental Sciences that gives a great occasion to meet scientists from different disciplines
and exchanges scientific experience and ideas.
During my time at
CUNY, I had an opportunity to get familiar with brand new characterization
equipment comprising spectroscopic and imaging equipment such as Cryo-TEM. Also, a nanofabrication facility to develop new micro and nanoscale
devices and the synthesis instruments was available.
The visit
was a satisfactory learning experience and one of the most positive aspects was the wide variety of work involved and the diversity of different tasks, which allowed me to develop further a variety of skills such as
communication skills, decision making, time and project
management. Time management was a key skill that underwent major development
throughout the whole duration of the visit.And because it’s not just about work, this has also been an incredible personal experience to spend some time in New York, the city that literally never sleeps. The subway actually runs 24/7! And the timing couldn’t be better since all the ice skating rinks, the snow, the Christmas decorations and windows were just magic.
About The Author:
Inês Moreira-
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