Profile
Manuel Kober-Czerny
My CV
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Education:
Until 2012 I went to public school in Mannheim (Germany);
then I took a year off from learning before going to Uni;
from 2013 to 2018 I studied chemistry at ETH in Zurich (Switzerland);
since 2019 I am in Oxford to work on my PhD -
Qualifications:
2012: German Abitur; 2016: Bachelor of Science; 2018: Master of Science
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Work History:
Teaching Assistent for 1st-year students at ETH (multiple courses);
Quality Assurance Intern at Roche (Pharmaceutical Company)
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About Me:
I live and work in Oxford. I am a PhD student (in my final year) in Condensed Matter Physics, where I work on the next-generation of solar cells. The beauty of my work is that I can study whatever interests me, as long as it moves the understanding of next-generation solar cells forward.
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I live in Oxford with my girlfriend (she is a scientist too 🙂 !). We live in a small flat in the centre of Oxford. In Uni I leaned to cook for and with my friends and I love to to that, whenever I get the chance. I often invite lots of friends and cook with them or for them.
Also, I like to do sports. I tried all kinds of sports already, but now I go running, biking or do short workouts at home and in the gym. There is also a lot of lazy days and evenings, where I relax on the couch and watch a bunch of different series or game.ÂWhen I go for food, I like savoury stuff much more than sweets and anything with lots of cheese! I used to live in switzerland, so I know a lot of recipes with looots of cheese in them 😉ÂIn the end, I also like to read, but mostly non-fiction books and often also stuff that relates to my work. This may be quite nerdy, I know, but after all I am a Scientist and I do this stuff, because I love it! -
My Work:
I am studying the next generation of solar cells to hopefully help with the energy problems of the world. For this, I explore a material called ‘perovskite’.
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A little bit of Backgound
I am sure, you have heard of climate change and how it impacts and will impact our lives. Solar Cells can help to slow down climate change, because they use the energy from the Sun. The newest material for the next-generation of solar cells is “Perovskite” . The solar cells we have today can only use 25% of the energy that comes from the sun. That means there is still a lot of room for improvement and the new material could be one way. Now, perovskites in solar cells are still quite new (only 11 years of research, which is really short, trust me…) and they already caught up to the silicon cells. People expect the new material to surpass the old ones this year or next year (this is super exciting as a scientist I think!!).ÂWhat do I do then?ÂI am trying to make the Solar Cells more efficient.I ask the simple question: “How does the energy from the Sun turn into energy we can use?” I hope that I can find a very simple answer to this question. That would help other scientists around the world to make better solar cells as well! (After all, we need to work together on this one 🙂 ) To do this, I make smaller versions of the solar cells you see on the roofs. I can then try different things to get closer to the answer to my question (I put a picture, so you can see, what the look like). It is interesting, because in only two days I can make a small solar cell that actually makes energy! And then, I can play around with them and see the effects. Now, I still have two years to study this material and there are still a lot of ideas. I can do whatever I want as long as I get some answer to my question in the end. Lets see, what the next two years will bring and if some of you will join me in a few years 🙂
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My Typical Day:
Usually I get up early (around 7 am) and go to the lab, because it is nice and empty in the morning. Here I work for the day and do all kinds of experiments and talk to other people from my team.
In the evenings I often do some sports or go for a nice evening with my friends. But every now and then I like an evening by myself, with a book and a nice cup of hot chocolate! -
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In the morning I like to get up early (usually I am the first person to be awake in the house). I will make myself a cup of tea (I don’t drink coffee) and then bike to my lab (its only 5 minutes away). The lab is old, and this is what it looks like:
Our solar cells should be super clean to be super efficient, so we work in a clean room and we have to wear a full-body suit. It looks a bit ridiculous, but you get used to it and its actually quite fun to draw on the suits of others 😉I stay in this lab for a few hours every day, because it is the lab where we make stuff.
I also work in a second lab, where I look at the solar cells that I made a lamp that we call “Solar Simulator”. This has the same light as the sun, because it isn’t always sunny enough outside. In this lab I don’t have to wear the full suit anymore, a pair of gloves is enough.When we are in the lab (my teammates included), we like to listen to music to make it more fun and we chat a lot. Very often we also work together to help each other with experiments! After 8-9 hours I go home again (its still only 4-5 pm, because I started early… and I think its not much later than the time I returned from school a few years ago). The evening is my free time, where I meet friends, watch movies, cook, read or go out for sports. Then I go to bed after a long day to get some rest, before starting again.ÂThe nice thing is that, even though I go to the lab almost every day, every day is different. Things change very quickly in the world of science and my teammates and me try to keep up with those changes!And here is a video of me making a new Solar Cell ! -
What I'd do with the prize money:
Build something interactive that teaches people of all ages, how a solar cell works and how it can be improved.
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What I do to help Planet Earth:
To help Planet Earth I try to use less energy wherever I can. This often means to reduce my own level of comfort by a little bit. When I leave my room in the morning, I turn off the heating to save energy. It will be cold when I return in the evening, but only for about half an hour and I can live with that.ÂAlso, I try to use my bike as much as possible to go to places. Oxford is a very nice place for that, because everything is nearby and my longest cycle is usually only 30 min. If I cannot take the bike for some reason , I try to use public transport like busses and trains to get there. Many people never realize how much time you can spend waiting around at an airport. Even if it takes me 2 hours more, I’d much rather sit in a train and read or watch a movie instead of standing around and waiting for the boarding of a plane.ÂAnd last, but not least, I pay attention to the food I eat. I am not a vegetarian, but I try to reduce the amount of meat I eat for health reasons. As a student, this is very easy, because vegetables are so much cheaper anyways! But also there I can help a bit, by buying loose veggies rather than pre-packed ones and choosing local products. I really like to be creative with the local food that I get to cook delicious meals from it. You can learn a lot about cooking that way 🙂 -
The CHRISTMAS LECTURE related to my work:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b086t9rn
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Curious, Friendly, Perfectionist
What did you want to be after you left school?
A Chemist, but at that time I didn’t know what that included
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Not too much
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Queen - Oldschool, but brilliant
What's your favourite food?
Ramen
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
1) Do something meaningful in the end. 2) Inspire People. 3) Being able to Fly.
Tell us a joke.
A photon walks into a hotel. The desk clerk says, "Welcome to our hotel. Can we help you with your luggage?" The photon says, "No thanks, I'm traveling light."
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