Girls' Day 2024 - Schoolgirls Explore Laboratories
Equipped with lab coats and protective goggles, nine schoolgirls immersed themselves in the everyday life of a battery researcher on 25 April 2024. Helmholtz Institute Münster (HI MS; IEK-12) of Forschungszentrum Jülich and MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Münster opened their doors to inspire girls for science on the nationwide Girls' Day 2024 career orientation day. Five female technicians and researchers from both institutions showed which career opportunities exist in battery research, what the day-to-day work of scientists looks like and why they are so enthusiastic about working in the laboratory and why she is so enthusiastic about working in battery research.
A Day in Battery Research
The day started with an introduction to the world of batteries: What role do energy storage systems play in our everyday lives? What do MEET and HI MS contribute to making them even more efficient, safer and more environmentally friendly? Once these questions had been answered with Dr Rebekka Tien, the 11 to 15-year-olds were kitted out in lab coats and safety goggles and taken to the state-of-the-art laboratories of the research facilities.
Divided into three groups, the participants had the opportunity to conduct research themselves. With Dr Anna Gerlitz, they learned how to assemble coin cells in the dry room. Specially developed laboratory cells were also built under the supervision of doctoral student Susanna Krämer. Together with Dr Tien, the students examined samples under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to gain a deeper insight into the inner workings of a battery. A special highlight to watch: The high-throughput screening (HTS) system, in which a robotic arm moves the samples. The chemical analyses are carried out fully automatically. Here, Tabea Mildenberger and Susanne Schierz showed how electrolytes are produced, tested and installed in coin cells.
The researchers not only provided insights into their work and the technology used in the laboratories, but also talked about their personal careers and answered numerous questions from the participants about career paths in battery research.
Girls' Day 2025
The next nationwide Girls' Day is planned for 3 April 2025. Further information on MEET Battery Research Center's offers for school students can be found here.