From Matfyz Graduate to PhD student at Universität Freiburg: A Candid Talk on Science and Work-Life Balance
Iveta Zatočilová graduated at Matfyz in particle and nuclear physics. After completing her master’s studies, she went abroad to gain further experience and is now in her second year of studying and working at one of the oldest universities in Germany. As a PhD student at Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, she is involved, among other things, in the preparation and testing of a new inner detector for the ATLAS experiment at CERN.
At the fifth oldest university in Germany, located in the historic city of Freiburg in the southwest of the country, a Czech PhD student continues the research she began during her studies in Prague, namely the measurement of silicon detectors for the ATLAS ITk project. “ITk is a new inner detector that will be part of the ATLAS detector at CERN. It is a tracking detector that maps the movement of particles inside the accelerator during and after collisions,” explains Iveta Zatočilová.
ATLAS is the largest particle detector belonging to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) as well as an experiment conducted at the LHC accelerator in Geneva, Switzerland. The aim of the project, involving several thousand scientists from various countries, is to study matter and search for new particles. Thanks in part to a young Czech physicist, the impressive ATLAS apparatus will undergo further improvements in the future.
Precise Insights into Particle Energy
As a member of a ten-person research group in Freiburg, her primary responsibility is detector simulations. “I work on simulations of so-called CMOS strip detectors. CMOS is a technology that allows measuring electronics to be integrated directly into the silicon sensor, thereby minimizing the amount of material in proximity to the collision,” the scientist explains. Particle interactions in the detector do not occur only in the active sensors; particles also pass through materials like plastic or cables. Any additional material inside the detector results in energy loss for the particles, affecting the measurement results. “The goal in the non-active layers is to lose as little energy as possible. Although we can calculate how much energy is lost when passing through a cable or other material, the result will never be perfect. By ensuring that most of the energy is lost directly in the detection layers, the sensors, we can obtain the most accurate data on particle energy.”
Three Offers, One Choice: Freiburg
What brought a graduate of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics to the University of Freiburg? “After school, I was looking for opportunities abroad, and a colleague from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS) gave me around 15 email contacts for physicists working on the ATLAS ITk inner detector. I reached out to all of them; some didn’t reply, but others got back to me and invited me for an interview. In one case, I was even directly offered a PhD position,” she answers.
She went through several online interviews, and subsequently, she was offered to start working either in Canada, England, or Germany. “I chose Freiburg. It mainly won because of its location in Europe,” she laughs. “I was also impressed that, before making a final decision, they invited me to the university, showed me everything, and introduced me to my future colleagues,” the particle physicist explains. She adds that she owes the successful start of her scientific career primarily to her master’s thesis supervisor, Dr. Marcela Mikeštíková from the Institute of Physics (CAS), who introduced her to top international researchers not only in Europe but also in Japan, Canada, and the USA at the beginning of her studies, and gave her the opportunity to participate in a unique international project.
She was very surprised by how much time she was given to adjust to her new workplace. “For the first few months, my supervisor let me do only as much as I wanted. Even now, everything is very calm. In the Czech Republic, I was used to getting tasks and deadlines, but here the pace is more relaxed.” More than focusing on maximum productivity, there is an emphasis on ensuring that employees are happy and maintaining a balance between work and private life. “When I visited my colleagues in the Czech Republic after two years, I realized how calm the atmosphere is at Freiburg University. In Germany, I experience far less stress,” admits Iveta, who visited Prague in July, among other reasons, to attend the largest international conference on particle physics, ICHEP 2024.
In the ten-member research team, she was until recently the only foreigner and remains the only woman. “I’ve been used to being in a male-dominated environment since childhood, and I don’t mind. I feel good in our group, even though the relationships with colleagues are not as warm as they were in the Czech Republic. Maybe it’s because I don't speak German, but the German temperament definitely plays a role as well. Germans are more reserved and keep their distance. It’s rare for a colleague to ask where I spent my vacation, and some topics are completely off-limits, like election preferences.” She also notes that our western neighbours follow academic hierarchy much more strictly.
Overall, she’s happy with her work and life in Freiburg, a city close to both France and Switzerland. “I was in close contact with my current colleagues even before my master’s finals in Prague, so moving to Germany wasn’t such a big leap into the unknown.” Her future supervisor even helped her find an apartment. “He placed an ad in the newspaper, very formally stating that the PhD supervisor was looking for an apartment for his PhD student from Prague. Many Germans responded with offers, so in the end, I had my pick.”
Iveta Zatočilová is expected to complete her PhD in two years and then plans to continue with a postgraduate position. “I’ll see what offers I receive. I’d like to stay in the field and in academia. I want to continue building on my research and, most importantly, do what I enjoy. It is incredibly enriching to work surrounded by inspiring people. Thanks to them, I’m constantly moving forward and can contribute to projects that advance our knowledge.”