The love to mathematics
Numbers, formulas, equations: insights into the work of the research assistant Franziska Nestler at the Faculty of Mathematics
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Franziska Nestler is engaged in her research work with the energy calculation of particle systems. Picture: Philip Knauth
LEGO has added the first female scientist character to its product range, equality is very important and it is gendered without end. Is Germany finally ready for more women in science? "Yes. Finally, it`s about time," says Franziska Nestler, a research fellow at the Professorship of Applied Functional Analysis and Eleonore-Dießner-awardee in 2013 and adds: "More is done for women in science, in job advertisements women are increasingly targeted." The 25-year-old studied from 2007 to 2012 at Technische Universität Chemnitz Mathematics with a minor in chemistry. "As a child I participated regularly in the Math Olympiad and usually finished on one of the first places at the regional level. Hence, it seemed logical to start to study mathematics," says Nestler. Her thesis was about the energy calculation in particle systems. "To put it simply, there is system of tiny particles that are located at a specific position in the space and have different charges. Depending on how far the particles are away from each other different forces are at work. With the help of mathematical methods these can be calculated faster. Particularly in the fields of chemistry, physics and materials science, these calculations are of high importance,” says Nestler.
Franziska Nestler has dedicated herself to mathematics completely. She does research at the Professorship of Prof. Dr. Daniel Potts and deepens her knowledge of the energy calculation of particle systems. Additionally she also authors for the students e-learning tests and exercises to the mathematical curriculum, is a guest at conferences from Texas to Bremen, reports about the interaction of particles and publishes publications. Besides once a week she takes care of a maths study group at a primary school in Chemnitz. How one can manage all of this? "I have a lot of fun in what I am doing. It is great to present the current research results at conferences. You get a lot of input and get to know interesting people. My work in the field of e-learning combines mathematical knowledge with creativity."
Just because the enrollments continue to decrease in the subject of mathematics, it is important to approach and to inspire women. "All the great mathematicians from Pythagoras to Adam Ries were men, there might be missing a female role model. If you enjoy mathematics, you should not hesitate. The latter is of course not just for women," says Nestler. To ease girls the decision for the right course of study there is the mentoring program `Girls` Tandem´ at Technische Universität Chemnitz. Schoolgirls can accompany students of mathematics, informatics, natural sciences and engineering in their daily university business, get to know the research working group and will be able to get more information about career opportunities. Perhaps the tender of the Eleonore-Dießner-Prize is an additional motivation for the one or other. The prize is awarded at Technische Universität Chemnitz for outstanding final papers to female graduates of the subjects of mathematics, informatics, natural sciences and engineering.
How the professional future of Franziska Nestler will be like is not yet clear. She wants to do her doctorate and can imagine either to continue to work at the university or at another academic institution later. She is open to further international experiences. "Let`s see what happens in the future. First I concentrate on everything which is directly in front of me - and this is my promotion," says Nestler.
(Author: Damaris Diener, Translation: Jakob Landwehr)
Katharina Thehos
04.02.2014
