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Clara Zehe

    • About Me:

      I am a chemistry PhD student and I live in Dublin in Ireland. In my free time I enjoy jumping on trampolines, reading books and playing video games.

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      Hi, I am Clara. I am from Germany, but I moved to Ireland to do do a masters and a PhD in Chemistry. I love trampolining and am taking parts in competitions. I am also a trampoline coach and enjoy helping others.

    • My pronouns are:

      she/her

    • My Work:

      I am a chemistry PhD student and I live in Dublin in Ireland. I am looking at tiny carbon based particles and how they interact with light.

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      I make tiny carbon based particles in a chemistry research lab and study how they interact with UV and visible light. How they respond to light changes if they are close to other materials like DNA or small molecules. I have a big laser that I use to hold single particles in place and look at how they interact with light.

    • My Typical Day:

      In the morning, I wake up and have breakfast. Sometimes I go to trampoline training before work. I start my work day at 9 am. At work, I do lots of experiments in the chemistry lab and look at my results. I sometimes get to visit other labs to do extra cool experiments. In between, I have lunch and coffee with my friends.
      I go home at 6 pm and sometimes do more trampoline training in the evenings.

    • What I'd do with the prize money:

      I would like to use the £500 prize money to bring some fun chemistry experiments to local schools. I would do this either by visiting them in person or making chemistry education videos for secondary schools with one of the local science communicators in UCD.

    My CV

    • Education:

      I went to school in Germany. Lucky for me, my secondary school had a strong focus on science.

    • Qualifications:

      • Abitur (German equivalent of A-levels)
      • Bachelor of Science in Chemistry (FAU in Germany)
      • Master of Science in Nanochemistry (UCD Dublin)

    • Work History:

      • Internships and holiday work in the quality management and physical chemistry quality control laboratory at an automotive supplier company in Germany
      • Mathematics tutor at FAU
      • Temporary chemistry stores manager at UCD School of Chemistry
      • Level 1 trampoline coach

    • Current Job:

      PhD student in Chemistry at University College Dublin

    • Employer:

      University College Dublin

    • My Interview

      • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        Enthusiastic Chemistry Nerd

        What did you want to be after you left school?

        I wanted to be an engineer.

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        Never.

        If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?

        I would be a computer scientist.

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Lana del Rey

        What's your favourite food?

        Cheesy chips

        Tell us a joke.

        I told a chemistry joke once, but there was no reaction.

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