A fresh start. Not many people dare to make it. However, a change of perspective can be very rewarding as is shown by the example of two people from Campus Adlershof, who went from researcher to business founder and from business owner to researcher.
He earned his PhD, his first post-graduate job, then became team leader, department head, production manager, and head of development – all at the same company. At SiCrystal, a Nuremberg-based company focused on silicon carbide substrates, Thomas Straubinger’s career trajectory was up and up. He was with the company for almost twenty years. He could have stayed.
He did not. Straubinger decided to start anew and became a scientist at the Leibniz-Institute for Crystal Growth (IKZ), where he is currently working as a so-called topic leader. He is responsible for the development of growth and preparation procedures for aluminium nitride semiconductor substrates, which are used, for example, in UV diodes in water sanitation. “Soon I will also be responsible for exploring new crystal-based semiconductor materials and their application,” he says. Why the change of mind? Why does one leave a high-salary, stable job for a two-year contract with less pay? Why does one take the family and move from Bavaria to Berlin, deal with all the paperwork and Berlin’s notorious bureaucracy? The answer is quite simple. He needed a change of air – and he had the courage to go and take it.
By Chris Löwer for Adlershof Journal
Published: 29.10.2018 - Adlershof.de, News
