Einstein Questionnaire

Angela Gronenborn

 

Please close your eyes for a moment and think about working on your research project. What is the first thing you see?
Networks - cross-links (between atoms in three-dimensional structures - NMR and mass spectrometry)

 

If you had to explain to a child why your research is important. What would you say? 
Because we want to understand how things work. Aren't you curious, too? If you understand how something works, you can fix it if it's broken.

 

What do you think are the three greatest inventions of mankind?
Antibiotics. The printing press. The Internet.

 

With whom would you like to swap working days and what would you like to do?
Daniel Barenboim; but swapping is not really possible. Maybe attending an opera rehearsal would be enough.

 

Is there an extraordinary object that accompanies you in your work or everyday life? 
A little Reclam booklet: Rilke's Duino Elegies and the Sonnets to Orpheus.

 

Is there a particular place in Berlin that you associate with your research work?
I commute between the TU at the old AEG site on Humboldthain (mass spec) and the Berlin-Buch campus (NMR).

 

In which part of Berlin do you feel most at home, and why?
Prenzlauer Berg. The market at Kollwitzplatz. Lots of young people - children walking or driving to school together, and adults sitting in cafes and talking to each other. The old Jewish cemetery.

 

July 2018