Martin Spent a Semester at Columbia University in New York City

As part of my PhD studies at the University of Southern Denmark, I had to visit and work with a research group from another institution, preferably abroad. An exciting opportunity to travel abroad and meet new people and cultures, but also to gain insight into how another research group approaches their work, from which you can learn a lot – at least I did.

I decided to do my environmental change at Columbia University in New York City. My Initial stay was planned from September 2020 to March 2021.  You can probably guess why things did not go according to plan: the Covid pandemic resulted in a postponement and the uncertainty was truly frustrating to me. Would I ever go to New York and Columbia University or would I have to give up on that dream? Fortunately, I received the best support imaginable from Fulbright Denmark throughout the process. I am truly grateful for everything they did since  I am not sure my New York ‘adventure’ would have been realized if I had not received the immense support from Fulbright Denmark. Thanks to them, I departed from Denmark on March 1, 2021, and almost ten months later, I returned to Denmark on December 20, 2021, after an experience of a lifetime in New York City and at Columbia University.

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During my stay in New York, I was working on my own PhD project at Columbia University, with supervision by a world-renowned expert in the field. An extraordinary opportunity from a work point of view, just as being able to have discussions with fellow students, who saw things from another perspective than I was used to.

My PhD research is within materials science and regards amorphous electrodes for rechargeable batteries, which means I study the material structure of batteries on the atomic and nano length scales.  To study material structure on these length scales, various scattering techniques can be used, one of those being total scattering for atomic pair distribution function analysis. My host at Columbia University, Professor Simon J. L. Billinge, is an internationally acclaimed expert within this field, and among other things he and his research group develop novel analysis methods.  During my stay, I got the chance to be a part of this development and be at the forefront of the state of art, which was truly exciting and inspiring.  Along with my own project,  In addition to my own project, I also got involved in a project that my host is doing with the International Union of Crystallography. This project has given me valuable programming skills that I can use when working with large datasets.  Therefore, I already benefit from this as I work on my PhD project, and I expect that I will benefit a lot from this in the future.

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Thinking back, it can be a bit overwhelming, when realizing how much I gained in a rather limited amount of time.

Studying for a semester at Columbia University was my first time living abroad and by myself. A challenge but also an opportunity for great personal development. I value this aspect of my exchange as much as the work-related ones and I am grateful to be able to carry it all with me. Even though my stay in New York City and at Columbia University was anything but ‘normal’, due to Covid I am still very grateful for all the experiences I had and the learnings I did as well as the people I met. If you are considering studying abroad, I urge you to do so, and if you plan to go to the U.S, I would strongly recommend applying for a Fulbright Grant – you will not regret it.

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