Junior professorship was a joy and a challenge

Prof. Dr Anna Schenk is not a new face at the University of Bayreuth. She has been working here since 2017 and has appeared several times as an expert during this time, for example on Bavarian Radio's Campustalks. Last year, she was awarded the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize. "From my point of view, the University of Bayreuth is a very pleasant size and the atmosphere is familiar and cooperative. It's easy to get into conversation with students and colleagues - even across disciplines. The distances are figuratively and literally short - so as a chemist I can work very directly and effectively with biologists, physicists and engineers," says Schenk. "In my field of work, colloid chemistry, there are also traditionally strong and internationally visible activities in Bayreuth. This results in many points of contact and interaction opportunities for me. I was also able to benefit from the excellent infrastructure in this field during my junior professorship."

Prof. Dr. Anna Schenk studied chemistry at the University of Leipzig, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in 2005, followed by a Master's in 2007. During this time she also gained her first experience abroad, studying for a semester at Uppsala University in Sweden. As a doctoral student, she worked at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, and completed her doctorate in physical chemistry at the University of Potsdam. In postdoctoral stays at the University of Leeds and the University of Stuttgart, she worked on the control of crystallisation processes by "confinement" and (biological) template. In 2017, she joined the University of Bayreuth as Junior Professor of Colloidal Systems, Physical Chemistry.

"The junior professorship was an ideal opportunity for me to get to know the location, but also the different facets of the university teaching profession," says Schenk. "Conducting independent research and setting up my own small working group were a great pleasure, but also a challenge. I am particularly pleased that many collaborative projects with internal and external partners have already come to fruition. A nice recognition for our work in the field of bioinspired functional materials was the award of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize last year. Of course, this motivates us very much to continue pursuing the topics we have embarked on."

In addition to receiving the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize, Anna Schenk has also made a name for herself in the scientific community in 2019 by being accepted into the Young College of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. In addition, Schenk regularly publishes articles in renowned journals.

"But teaching has also been an important aspect for me from the very beginning," she emphasises. "Some of the members of my research group belong to the first cohort of students whom I was allowed to teach as part of the junior professorship while they were still studying for their bachelor's degree. In addition, I also had the opportunity to work on university committees and gain experience in science communication."