Dr. Ionela Vrejoiu, Romania

In her research work, Ionela Vrejoiu is looking for new materials that might be suitable for constructing memory chips for computers. To "build" these chips, she makes use of a pulsed laser: With the help of this light beam, she is able to create ultra-thin material layers that are free of defects.

Ionela Vrejoiu came to the Max Planck Institute as a pulsed laser specialist. She gained a lot of experience and expertise with this technique working in Romania and Austria. She is currently honing the technique at her institute, trying to improve it even more. She hopes that the next step will be the actual construction of the memory chip itself.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Ionela Vrejoiu in Tomorrow Today's interview:

The production of memory chips for computers is a state-of-the-art technology. What do you expect from new materials and new memories?

Well, I guess everyone has a computer at home. And it's annoying when suddenly the power is cut off and the unsaved data is lost. What we are aiming for is to implement non-volatile memories. So if the power is cut off, your written data is saved safely. When you restart your computer, your documents and your e-mails are still there. And that makes life a lot easier.

What enabled you pursue a career in physics?

I owe a great deal to my teachers in Romania. I believe that in my time, when I was a kid, teachers were really demanding, and we had to study hard. My mathematics and physics teachers invested a lot of their free time to teach us and to develop our talents. Of course you have to pick out those kids who show interest and are gifted. But besides that, you need a lot of input, a lot of work. And my teachers always pushed me to work and encouraged me to work.

So as a kid, I already liked to spend time solving problems in mathematics and in physics. And during high school, I took part in national contests in physics. By the age of 17, I already knew that I wanted to go and study physics at university. It was not a conscious decision, but there was something inside me driving me in that direction, saying "go and try that".

In Germany, physics is not a classical female domain. Is it different in Romania?

In Romania, kids are encouraged equally. Being boys or girls makes no difference. At university, in the physics department, there are many girls, I would say that it's pretty balanced, maybe fourty, fifty percents are girls. And some of them are really brilliant. Perhaps we are more encouraged to study that. Physics is not presented to us as something incomprehensive, unachievable.

And now, in your job - how is life as a female scientist?

It is not easy to work in science. You have to deal with many frustrations sometimes, with failures. You can't just switch off, you don't go home and say: I'm not going to think about it. You cannot stop thinking. You still think about your problems, about your failures, what was wrong, what should I change. So you do not have much time for yourself sometimes. Sometimes that must be a bit tough for women. If you have kids waiting for you at home, it can't be easy to manage both equally well.

So what do you do when you are not working?

I love to read, all kinds of things: literature, novels, also studies, essays. I am not a very systematic reader. But if I manage to find a book which I have heard is interesting, I just pick it up.

But I have to say, I am not a faithful reader, I cannot get attached to any writer. But I can praise them, I can value them and I can enjoy their writing. I don´t have any preference. Lately I read a few novels, some of them by Hermann Hesse, a well-known German writer: Demion, a very interesting book, especially for young and rebellious people....

... Sympathy for Rebels...?

They bring changes. They are the source of progress. They change things.

And besides reading...?

I also like to listen to music, classical music. At the moment I am listening to some Bach CDs at home. I also like going to concerts: Here in Halle there is a very good philharmonic orchestra. I like to go to their concerts sometimes, in Leipzig too.

Besides that, I like to keep myself fit. I go for running, five kilometers, I guess, is the average distance. I like the feeling you get after running. Durings running it´s very tedious and you have to fight with yourself to do the next kilometer and the next. It´s not always a pleasant feeling. But after running you have such a good feeling, it's almost addictive.

Let's look to the future: What are your plans career-wise?

I am not carefully planning my future. I let opportunities come to me, so to speak. And you can't know when and how this will happen. Of course, I invested a lot in my education and I want to carry on improving myself, and my career should advance, of course. So the next step is to advance myself by forming a group perhaps, to be a leader in a group and to do my own research...

In Germany?

To stay here, one needs a permanent position or some job that is offered to you, an unlimited contract. At the moment I don't have that. But I don´t need to be specifically in Gemany. I feel comfortable in Europe in general, I think.

So you don't see yourself staying in Halle?

Not really. As I live in a guesthouse I don't have my own flat where I can put my fingerprint and build things and feel at home. This has to do with the fact that I am temporarily here, so I never know exactly when I am going to leave.

I like Halle, because it has very nice architecture in certain parts, is nice located on the Saale river, this park here in the summer is gorgeous, there's so much nature, you can see wild animals you' never expect to see, suddenly a rabbit appears in front of you, or another creature. It is a good place to come and study, to do exactly what I came for, to invest in my own education. But I don't only live here, I travel a lot, go home to Romania a lot.

Which of your characteristics helped you become a successful scientist?

I don't think there's anything in particular. You just have to be open and not overcriticise, because things are good and bad everywhere. You just have to be a balanced person.

I am a person who ultimately aims to improve things. I am a sort of perfectionist. Sometimes it is a bit of defect, I would say, because you may overdo things. But in research you need to do things as well as possible, to push the limits, no boundaries. And I like to do that, it's in my nature.

It is the challenge and the brainstorm. When you have a problem you must gather all your knowledge, all your experiences to solve it. And it´s a really good feeling when you do.