This summer, doctoral student Robin Rydbergh from the Department of Life Sciences participated in the Forskarskola i Karlskoga, a natural science summer camp for upper secondary school students held at Alfred Nobel's manor Björkborn. For one week, lectures by researchers and doctoral students from different universities were combined with group work and laboratory work. The goal was to give the participants an insight into research and inspire them to continue their studies.
Robin conducts research in molecular biosciences with a focus on antibiotics and was one of eight doctoral students selected to lead a scientific lab project during the week. Here, he shares his experiences from the summer camp.
Tell us about the project you were responsible for and what the participants got to do.
“Although I research antibiotics myself, I also have a great interest in chemistry and am comfortable giving chemistry demonstrations. My project was about crystallography and its importance in everything from protein structure determination to geology and materials chemistry. During four days of laboratory work, the students explored different types of crystals and crystal systems. Among other things, we grew ionic and molecular crystals of different crystal systems and investigated allotropes of sulfur and phosphorus. We also carried out experiments to investigate how the microstructure of metals affects material properties, where we etched an iron-nickel meteorite. At the end, the students grew colorful, funnel-shaped bismuth crystals and on the last day, they presented their projects and what they had learned during the week to each other. Next year, I plan to run a project more directly related to my research in molecular biology.”
What impressions do you take with you from the week?
“The students' curiosity and commitment made the strongest impression on me. There were long days with both laboratory sessions and lectures, during which they asked many questions. When they presented their projects at the end of the week, it also felt like they had actually learned a lot, which was fulfilling as a supervisor to see. For me, the week was also a very good opportunity to develop as a supervisor and educator and to get to know researchers from other Swedish universities. The fact that several of the students afterwards were curious about and asked questions about Chalmers was also fun!”
How did your own interest in research arise?
"I actually participated in the summer camp myself about nine years ago. For me, it was my first encounter with a university-like environment, where many like-minded and scientifically curious people gathered. It was also a unique opportunity in which to talk directly to doctoral students and ask questions about their path to research.
For me, it was especially during the master's programme that I became increasingly determined that I wanted to do a PhD and continue in research. In parallel with my studies, I had the opportunity to work part-time as an assistant in analytical chemistry research, which gave me an insight into how research work is carried out in practice. After that, I did my master's thesis in antibiotic research, which I found very interesting and that I now continue to work with as a doctoral student.”