Advent calendar - December 3rd - Jennifer Hong

In the Zernike Institute Advent Calendar, we are presenting 24 short spotlights in December. In these specials, we highlight PhD students, postdocs, support staff and technicians of our research groups and team - providing a glimpse in their typical day at work. In Episode 3 meet Jennifer Hong , PhD student in the Nanomaterials Chemistry of Dr. Loredana Protesescu and the Product Technology Group of Prof. Paolo Pescarmona (ENTEG).

I am a PhD student working under the supervision of Dr. Loredana Protesescu from the Nanomaterials Chemistry group, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials and Prof. Paolo P Pescarmona from the Product Technology group, Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen. As a part of two different research groups, I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to work on an interdisciplinary project, combining the nanomaterials field with catalysis.

My research focuses on the development of metal boride nanocrystals for applications as electrocatalyst and heterogeneous catalyst. A typical working day for me usually involves setting up solid-state reactions to synthesize the nanostructured metal boride, performing electrocatalytic tests on the metal boride nanocrystals, characterizing the material and analyzing the samples from the catalytic test. I can normally be found in the hallway, going from one lab to another or simply to the coffee machine.

After a long and tedious day at work, I like to light some aromatic candles and read a non-scientific books to decompress. The last two years have been enriching both personally and professionally and I am excited to continue my research for the years to come.

Contact: Jennifer Hong