{"id":31965,"date":"2017-04-12T10:59:39","date_gmt":"2017-04-12T08:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/?post_type=kb_magazin&p=31965"},"modified":"2019-09-25T08:10:42","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T06:10:42","slug":"the-light-tamer","status":"publish","type":"kb_magazin","link":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/","title":{"rendered":"The light tamer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stefanie Kroker was a little surprised when she received the job offer. It was only her first job application after earning a doctorate in physics. \u201cBut I was very happy that it worked out right away\u201d, she proclaims. Since April 2016, the 32-year-old junior professor has been leading the Metrology for Functional Nanosystems junior research group at LENA, the joint research centre of TU Braunschweig and the National Metrology Institute of Germany (PTB).<\/p>\n

Until the research centre\u2019s new building is completed, she will be working on PTB premises. On the desk in her office: papers, notebooks, mobile phone and coffee mug \u2013 creative chaos, she admits with a laugh. On the wall is a panoramic shot of her hometown Jena, a gift from her colleagues. At the moment, her team comprises a half-dozen doctoral candidates and students. The working group is still being set up.<\/p>\n

High precision using everyday material<\/h3>\n
\"Junior<\/a>

Junior professor Stefanie Kroker is leading the Metrology for Functional Nanosystems junior research group at LENA, the joint research centre of TU Braunschweig and the National Metrology Institute of Germany (PTB). Credit: Andrea Hoferichter\/TU Braunschweig<\/p><\/div>\n

Kroker\u2019s topic: highly accurate measurements using light and structures on a millionth-millimetre scale. In the future, this could simplify the detection of air-borne pollutants and cancer cells, and improve the accuracy of laser measurement technologies. \u201cWe focus on materials that are readily available and inexpensive, such as silicon\u201d, the physicist says. That semiconductor can for example be found in sand and has been the basic building block of microchips and solar cells for several decades now. Kroker and her team want to investigate how this everyday material will react to light when it is only nanometres in size. \u201cNot much is known about this so far\u201d, she explains.<\/p>\n

A counterbalance to the research work<\/h3>\n

The young professor spends two days a week at TU Braunschweig, giving lectures and attending to her students. \u201cI like being in the lecture hall\u201d, she comments, stressing that she finds it important to make a contribution to well-educated scientists. The days spent at the university provide a good counterbalance to her research work. \u201cI find that focussing completely on the students keeps me grounded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Behind<\/a>

Behind this door will be the laser lab where Stefanie Kroker can conduct highly accurate measurements using light and structures on a millionth-millimetre scale. Credit: Andrea Hoferichter\/TU Braunschweig<\/p><\/div>\n

Stefanie Kroker sees herself as a professor with a bridging function. She wants to deepen the close cooperation between TU Braunschweig and PTB even further. She is also strengthening TU Braunschweig\u2019s ties to Leibniz Universit\u00e4t Hannover, where she earned a doctorate for her work with colleagues on developing optical sensors that successfully measured gravitational waves in early 2016. This marked a milestone in the history of science, the confirmation of Einstein\u2019s theory of relativity and a key to completely new insights into cosmic events.<\/p>\n

Apparently, it is not obligatory to be a physics \u201cnerd\u201d from a very early age to have a career like Kroker\u2019s. \u201cI was in eighth or ninth grade when I realised I was really interested in scientific questions\u201d, she recounts. And she has other interests in life besides science, including travel. Her favourite destination is Italy, more specifically the region around Naples. She even taught herself Italian as a teenager.<\/p>\n

She also likes to play the accordion, the bass guitar, and the piano. Has she joined one of the big bands at PTB or TU Braunschweig? \u201cWell, yes, I\u2019ve heard about them\u201d, the researcher laughs, \u201cbut that will have to wait. At the moment, I am much too busy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Text: Andrea Hoferichter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stefanie Kroker was a little surprised when she received the … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":27827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","class_list":["post-31965","kb_magazin","type-kb_magazin","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","kb_dossier-focus-on-research-quantumfrontiers","kb_cat_magazin-research","kb_tags-metrology","kb_tags-nanotechnology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe light tamer - TU Braunschweig | Blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stefanie Kroker was a little surprised when she received the job offer. It was only her first job application after earning a doctorate in physics. \u201cBut I\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The light tamer - TU Braunschweig | Blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stefanie Kroker was a little surprised when she received the job offer. It was only her first job application after earning a doctorate in physics. \u201cBut I\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TU Braunschweig | Blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-09-25T06:10:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ExIni_04_Portrait-Kroker_Bild3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/en\\\/m-post\\\/the-light-tamer\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/en\\\/m-post\\\/the-light-tamer\\\/\",\"name\":\"The light tamer - TU Braunschweig | Blogs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/en\\\/m-post\\\/the-light-tamer\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/en\\\/m-post\\\/the-light-tamer\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/04\\\/ExIni_04_Portrait-Kroker_Bild3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-12T08:59:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-09-25T06:10:42+00:00\",\"description\":\"Stefanie Kroker was a little surprised when she received the job offer. It was only her first job application after earning a doctorate in physics. \u201cBut I\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/en\\\/m-post\\\/the-light-tamer\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/en\\\/m-post\\\/the-light-tamer\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/en\\\/m-post\\\/the-light-tamer\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/04\\\/ExIni_04_Portrait-Kroker_Bild3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/04\\\/ExIni_04_Portrait-Kroker_Bild3.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"Behind this door will be the laser lab where Stefanie Kroker can conduct highly accurate measurements using light and structures on a millionth-millimetre scale. Credit: Andrea Hoferichter\\\/TU Braunschweig\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/en\\\/m-post\\\/the-light-tamer\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Magazin\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/m-post\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The light tamer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/\",\"name\":\"TU Braunschweig | Blogs\",\"description\":\"Die Blogs der Technischen Universit\u00e4t Braunschweig\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The light tamer - TU Braunschweig | Blogs","description":"Stefanie Kroker was a little surprised when she received the job offer. It was only her first job application after earning a doctorate in physics. \u201cBut I","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The light tamer - TU Braunschweig | Blogs","og_description":"Stefanie Kroker was a little surprised when she received the job offer. It was only her first job application after earning a doctorate in physics. \u201cBut I","og_url":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/","og_site_name":"TU Braunschweig | Blogs","article_modified_time":"2019-09-25T06:10:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ExIni_04_Portrait-Kroker_Bild3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/","url":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/","name":"The light tamer - TU Braunschweig | Blogs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ExIni_04_Portrait-Kroker_Bild3.jpg","datePublished":"2017-04-12T08:59:39+00:00","dateModified":"2019-09-25T06:10:42+00:00","description":"Stefanie Kroker was a little surprised when she received the job offer. It was only her first job application after earning a doctorate in physics. \u201cBut I","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ExIni_04_Portrait-Kroker_Bild3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ExIni_04_Portrait-Kroker_Bild3.jpg","width":1500,"height":1000,"caption":"Behind this door will be the laser lab where Stefanie Kroker can conduct highly accurate measurements using light and structures on a millionth-millimetre scale. Credit: Andrea Hoferichter\/TU Braunschweig"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/m-post\/the-light-tamer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Magazin","item":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/m-post\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The light tamer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/#website","url":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/","name":"TU Braunschweig | Blogs","description":"Die Blogs der Technischen Universit\u00e4t Braunschweig","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb_magazin\/31965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb_magazin"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/kb_magazin"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazin.tu-braunschweig.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}