First ARCNL Talent Fellowship awarded to support PhD research
ARCNL has awarded its new Talent Fellowship for the first time. The fellowship gives MSc graduates the opportunity to develop their own PhD research project together with an ARCNL group leader. Following applications from internal and external candidates and an extensive selection process, the fellowship was awarded to Linda Carano. She will start her PhD research in the Contact Dynamics group on September 15.
Scientific creativity
The ARCNL Talent Fellowship was introduced to give talented MSc graduates the opportunity to pursue their own research ideas at ARCNL. Applicants develop a project proposal together with the ARCNL group leader who would supervise their PhD, with the selection placing particular emphasis on their scientific ideas and research vision.
For Linda Carano, this made the application process feel more like applying for a research grant than for a regular PhD position. “There was a strong emphasis on the project proposal and the ideas I bring to the table, rather than a list of qualifications,” she says. “The whole application process stimulated my scientific creativity, and I really enjoyed it.”
After multiple interviews with both internal and external candidates and a long review process, the selection committee awarded the fellowship to Linda for her impressive academic transcript, strong motivation and cohesive project proposal. “I got the call the day before my master’s presentation,” recalls Linda. “I’m really grateful that my group leader had so much faith in me, and in my scientific vision.”
Fretting, not worrying
For her fellowship application, Linda developed a PhD project on metal-ceramic fretting together with Contact Dynamics group leader Dr. Bart Weber. The project builds on research in the group, together with a collaborator at the University of Amsterdam, on wear at metal-ceramic interfaces, now published in the Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology.
In tribology – the physics of friction, lubrication and wear – “fretting” refers not to one’s worries, but to surface damage that can occur when two seemingly stationary surfaces undergo very small, repeated sliding motions at their interface. For a nanolithography machine, however, fretting can indeed be worrying. Parts of these machines move very quickly, with acceleration up to 32 Gs, while maintaining nanometer precision, meaning that wear can impact their precision.
“The question is, can we predict the type of wear that occurs at a given interface, and what are the parameters that govern those processes?” says Linda. Being able to predict wear processes could ultimately make it possible to design surfaces in such a way that wear occurs at controlled points, minimizing wear at critical locations.
“A PhD was always a dream of mine”
Linda recently completed her MSc in physics in an international Erasmus program. For her thesis, while she was based in Belgium, she came to Amsterdam to do her project with Bart Weber at ARCNL. She had become especially interested in tribology, the physics of friction, lubrication and wear, and in her search for a supervisor for her thesis, she found Bart’s research.
During her master’s project at ARCNL, Linda became connected not only to her research topic, but also to the people around her. “The research group became my scientific family, in a sense,” shares Linda. “I always felt very welcome, and that there was always space for me to express myself.”
This bond with her fellow researchers reinforced Linda’s longtime motivation to pursue a PhD. “A PhD was always a dream of mine,” says Linda. “I really enjoy doing research, but also writing and presenting – packaging what I’ve learned in a way that is easy to communicate. Finding a place like ARCNL cemented this motivation.”
When ARCNL announced the new Talent Fellowship, Bart, knowing that Linda was a highly motivated student and wanted to stay for her PhD, suggested that she apply.
A new direction
Linda’s PhD project explores a different area of tribology than her MSc project, involving different materials, wear mechanisms, and relevant applications. “What they have in common are the measurement and analysis techniques involved,” she explains. “My master’s project prepared me with a toolbox, and for my PhD I’ll be using it for something new.”
The fellowship will give Linda the opportunity to explore what interests her scientifically, while still keeping her work connected to potential industry applications. “I’m motivated by the unknown, from research to industry,” shares Linda. “I enjoy looking for explanations for what is happening, and then trying to turn those into solutions to real-world problems. ARCNL is the perfect place for me to do that.”
Learn more
To learn more about career opportunities at ARCNL, visit https://arcnl.nl/careers.
