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Flurin – profile

I recently finished my PhD in the Department of Physics at Imperial and am now a Post-Doctoral Researcher developing new materials for sustainable energy generation using the power of the sun. I am originally from Switzerland but went to secondary school and then to University in the UK and by now I am so British that I like marmite and baked beans!

Hear from Flurin, who is researching new materials for making sustainable energy solar cells and why he wanted to work in this field.

Hear from Flurin, who researches new materials for solar cells, about why he wanted to work in this area.

Education

GCSE (or equivalent): Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths, Classics, History, Media Studies, English, Latin, French, Italian, German

A-Level (or equivalent): A-levels – Maths, Physics, Biology; AS-levels – Further Maths, Classics, French

Degrees:
• MSci in Physics, University of Bristol
• PhD in Experimental Solid State Physics, Imperial College London

My research

I research new materials for efficiently converting sunlight into usable energy such as electricity or hydrogen fuel. Developing materials that can do this more efficiently is vital for reducing the effects of climate change.

My inspiration

My sixth form physics teacher who told me I should not study Physics at University because I was not very good at it. I wanted to prove them wrong!

Who is your STEM hero?

Rudolph Marcus, a chemist who invented a fundamental theory of how electrons behave in chemical reactions. At 98 years old he is still doing great science research, which I find amazing.

Most significant discovery/invention?

The discovery of atoms, which are the basis of all matter. Without discovering what atoms are made of (neutrons, protons and electrons) no physics or chemistry research in the last 100 years would have been possible.