Tatjana Lenz (Germany)
| Hello, my name is Tatjana. Last year I finished my diploma thesis in high energy particle physics at the University of Wuppertal, and I am now working towards my PhD. |
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During my childhood I became interested in science. It began when my mother took me to her school where she was a chemistry and biology teacher. I was fascinated by all the things she showed me in her laboratory: a human skeleton, crystal models and so on. The model of an NaCl crystal remained in my mind, because I knew it was related to something in the everyday life, namely, table salt.
My father studied chemistry and later worked as a mineralogist. He also took me to his institute. I can remember long corridors with a lot of doors and behind the doors there were lots of exciting things. He allowed me to play with a microscope and to investigate everything I could find in his laboratory like crystals, flies and so on. He allowed me to weigh these things with his supersensitive electronic scales. I was very proud to have the opportunity to explore all these exhibits. My father is also a passionate gatherer of codes and riddles and he was always setting me problems and riddles to solve.
But it was at school that I really got interested in science. At first, I was more interested in mathematics but ended up studying physics because it seemed fundamental to all the sciences.
When I started to study, I was not sure what I was going to do after completing my degree, until I attended the particle physics lectures and then spent a few months working in the particle physics group at Wuppertal. After that I was asked if I would like to stay for four weeks at the European Institute for Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva, which hosts the biggest particle accelerator. There I got a good overview of the work of particle physicists. And one year later, I started my diploma thesis there.
Now I have been working in particle physics for two years and I still enjoy it! I travel a lot - meeting and working with colleagues throughout the world. I am developing software to reconstruct and analyse data from experiments. I am working in a small group, which is a part of large group working on software projects. We meet regularly at CERN to discuss progress and new ideas.
After work, I still have time for my hobbies. I like to be outdoors: jogging, rollerblading and diving are my favourite hobbies, or going shopping with my sister! In winter, I enjoy skiing or to dive in warmer waters.