So I talked about the how...but why did I choose to go into science in the first place? Relocating to a new country isn't a small decision and not an easy one.
Since I was a kid, I was always captivated by crystals. Their shape, the colour and multiple varieties. I had a small collection going at one period of time. But it was only a passing fancy, one that I didn't think about again until the final year of university.
As I mentioned, I took a solid state chemistry course which introduced me not just the beautiful macroscopic properties of crystals, but the hidden atomic patterns which lay within and how #structure determines materials #properties.
I began studying a class of materials known as A-site deficient perovskites and used X-ray and neutron #diffraction to understand how the structure impacted the #lithium storage ability. Materials which can reversibly store lithium could be used in rechargeable Li-ion batteries!
A real highlight from these early days was seeing that yes, lithium does rapidly insert into this material creating a dramatic colour change. A simple thing but it really blew me away back then. I then had to understand how ions are transported through solid materials. 
I began to construct "batteries" (they were a bit...rough 😅) which enabled simultaneous diffraction experiments to study how the material changed during lithium insertion. (I am happy to say I am much better at designing these batteries now 😁)
The ability to watch how the atomic structure changed during the electrochemical process was fascinating to me. It was a kind of X-ray vision🙃. This was what set the stage for my persistent research theme of studying crystalline materials under change.
The deeper I went into studying how structure influences properties the more fascinating it became. It became clearer how one could modify and engineer new materials for actual applications.
Finally, the raw problem solving that one encounters in research is addictive. I lived for working through a challenging problem, deconstructing the components and putting everything back together again into a coherent story.
After four years of independent research and personally experiencing the joy of discovery, I couldn't just leave it behind. So I took the dive to come to Sweden to continue in research and actually learn a thing or two about batteries.
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