Antonia impressed the jury with her project “Sound-absorbing Leaves – Investigating the attenuation of highway noise by trees and shrubs”, in which she explored how vegetation can contribute to reducing traffic noise. She also developed a measurement system to study the influence of trees and shrubs on noise reduction along highways. With this work, she demonstrated early on her talent for approaching scientific questions creatively and practically.
During her two-week research internship at IKZ, Antonia gained insights into the institute’s various departments. “Due to the framework of the two-week internship, I expected to get an overview of the different departments at the institute and to accompany a few experiments,” the young researcher explained. “My expectations were not disappointed. It was a lot of fun,” she added, thanking the entire team.
She was particularly impressed by the large-scale facilities spanning multiple floors, as well as the opportunity to gain real practical experience. “It was exciting to see how the content from physics classes is applied in scientific practice. One insight that is not so clear from school is that there isn’t pure physics or pure chemistry, but rather that the boundaries are fluid,” the award winner noted
In conclusion, she recommends to other students: “For those facing the difficult choice of which field of study to pursue, I can only advise gathering as many experiences from research and practical/industrial settings as possible.”
Through the research internship, IKZ aims to support young talents like Antonia early on and provide them with hands-on insights into materials research. In this way, a bridge is created between school-level project work and cutting-edge scientific research.
More information about Antonia’s award-winning project can be found here: project page Jugend forscht
Contact:
Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ)
Prof. Dr. Matthias Bickermann
Phone: +49 (30) 246499 102
Email: matthias.bickermann@ikz-berlin.de
Dr. Janet Zapke
Phone: +49 (30) 246499 131
Email: janet.zapkeikz-berlin.de
