Dr. Natalia Garcia Rey from Spain

Institute of Physical Chemistry


1) Why did you decide to come to Muenster for your research?

I was looking forward to joining the German research scheme since I finished my PhD. In 2017, I found a great opportunity to join the group of a junior professor, who started his tenure track at the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the WWU (Prof. Braunschweig). This position was really exciting to set-up a new ultrafast spectrometer, as well as, learning a completely new research field, broadening my research background.


2) What is your research about (in simple terms)?

We study how foams can be more stable by tuning their molecular properties. To know that, we shoot an ultrafast laser, super cool technique called vibrational sum-frequency generation, on the foam interface, giving us information about how the molecular structure of the foam works and also the charging state (this is a key property for foam stability). This spectroscopy is complemented with other methodologies commonly used in soft matter, which allow to collect the whole picture of how the molecular properties from foam interfaces and films affect the ubiquitous macroscopic foam.


3) Has the research environment in Muenster affected your work? Would you recommend coming to Muenster to a colleague?

Muenster is a great place to live a research, there are a lot of funding opportunities to facilities available. I have developed my research skills, applied for new funding option, as well as opened new networking opportunities in Germany since I moved here. I would definitely recommend a colleague to come to research here.


4) What would you advise other international researchers to do during their stay in Münster? Is there anything you do particularly like about Muenster?

I would recommend to book their accommodation in advance, but not to be desperate, as the house market is moving a lot, and there are a lot of options (International Student website is great). If you come with your family, depending on the age of the kids could be also challenging to find a place in the day care, however, doing this in advance will sort the problem. My experience regarding these topics, I was lucky to find a great place to live and also a day care spot.

My favorite thing about Muenster is the possibility to bike everywhere safely. I can't help but wonder how they manage to build such a good-safe bike lanes. The city is beautiful and full of history. The farmer market at the DomPlatz is a great place to buy and learn about local food, every Wednesday and Saturday mornings. The Aase is a great place to relax and hang out with friends, on Spring is full of people gathering together. There is an infinitive list of great things about living in Muenster!my last recommendation is the 1-1.5 euros ice-cream cone you can buy in many places around the city, that just makes everything even sweeter!

Enjoy Muenster and the great research scheme and life.