“Trust your own ideas!”
With our series #WomeninScience, we will portrait the female scientific staff working on THRILL. They tell us about their roles in our project, what inspires them about their work and their experiences as a woman in science.
Meet our second guest, Zsuzsanna Major, staff scientist at GSI (Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung).
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Zsuzsanna Major. I was born in Hungary, but my educational journey has taken me across Europe. I attended school in Germany, then pursued my first degree in Physics at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. After completion, I continued my academic career in the UK, where I earned my PhD from the University of Bristol.
During my undergraduate studies I got interested in solid state physics, in particular the electronic structure of metals and alloys. My diploma thesis and PhD studies were based on such topics, i.e. the theoretical and experimental investigation of the electronic structure of metallic materials. As a postdoc, I switched fields to high-intensity lasers, developing lasers as well as applying them to high-power laser-matter interaction. Here, I have worked on different aspects over the years, ranging from the generation of few-cycle pulses for intense isolated attosecond-pulse generation to kJ-scale nanosecond pulses for warm-dense matter studies.
“Moving between different countries has been a great experience. While the physics is the same, it allowed me to get immersed into a completely different (working) culture every time.”
How did you find out what your path was after school?
I’ve always been interested in mathematics and physics, already during my time at school, which was probably also influenced by observing my parents’ work, both of them experimental physicists. Rational and logical thinking and problem solving has always given me a sense of joy. While I’m fascinated by the purity of mathematics, I figured that a more hands-on approach was the path for me, which led me to physics as my career choice.
Can you share a specific experience that made you grow?
After my PhD I got the opportunity to switch research fields from condensed matter physics to laser-plasma science. This is quite an unusual step, but it allowed me to see things from a different angle than everybody else – a great experience, from which I gained a lot. This was made possible by a Marie-Curie Fellowship.
“One of the great advantages of the scientific environment is its flexibility.”
What has been your most important learning in your career?
Moving between different countries has been a great experience. While the physics is the same, it allowed me to get immersed into a completely different (working) culture every time – I have had the pleasure of experiencing three different European countries – which broadens the view.
What has been your biggest challenge of working in science so far?
I guess the challenge of juggling the time between work and family are the same for everyone raising children and are mostly independent of working in science. On the contrary, one of the great advantages of the scientific environment is its flexibility. However, during times of demanding experiments or when travelling to conferences, it can be quite challenging at times to fulfil both the role of a scientist and that of a mother of two children.
Your advice to women and girls in science?
Trust your own ideas and don’t be afraid to put them up for discussion alongside to those of others.
Thank you for the interview, Zsuzsanna!
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Photo Credit: Top: Paul Neumayer – GSI, bottom: Thorsten Naeser – MPQ
