Please introduce yourself

By education (and at heart), I am a chemist, but when it comes to my career, I find it rather difficult to define myself. I completed my doctoral studies at the Department of Thermal Engineering, focusing on oil shale pyrolysis and the application of thermal analysis. Alongside this, I also worked on the general chemical analysis of oil shale. Since then, mineral resources and their valorisation have been a recurring theme throughout my career.

I have been working at the university since 2014, although for the past three years I have also worked at the Geological Survey of Estonia as a technology expert in a phosphorite research project. One of the new challenges within my professorship is establishing a research and experimental laboratory for high-energy materials. So, overall, I simply consider myself a scientist and a curious person.

What experiences and knowledge will be useful to you in your role as a professor?

My educational and career background is rather diverse, and in the past I have worried that this might become an obstacle for me in the future. Now, however, I am happy to acknowledge quite the opposite – all my experiences so far have greatly broadened my horizons and given me opportunities to develop in new fields. Therefore, I am not afraid of new challenges, and I believe that my hard work, genuine interest, enthusiasm and curiosity are among the main driving forces in science and the keys to success.

What would you like to accomplish as a professor?

As a professor, my main focus will be on developing the field of high-energy materials. From the perspective of chemical analysis and research, this is currently a new field in Estonia, which means there is a lot of work and many challenges ahead. I will focus both on building my own research group and on developing teaching, so that young people will also become inspired and interested in the field. I also want to contribute to promoting the field more broadly.

In Europe, the community working with high-energy materials is well established, but relatively small. Therefore, putting Estonia on the world map in yet another field is certainly one of my main goals.

One surprise in your new position?

Having worked at the university for more than ten years, surprises have generally been rare. However, I have only been in my new role for a short time, so I believe and hope that the real surprises are yet to come.