Featured Graduate Student, November 2008
Sven Dorosz

Interview:

How would you describe your area of study to your grandmother?
Last summer I was at my grandparent's house when I listened to a conversation in the next room. My grandpa asked about me and what I was doing. He sounded so proud when he was talking about water freezing solid and melting back to water, metals heating up and deforming and that all these phenomena are described by a large number of interacting atoms. I was so surprised and happy in that moment.

What is your primary motivation for persevering through graduate school?
Graduate school is giving me the freedom to chose my own research projects and to spend as much time as I need to study theories that I find interesting. So in the end I might even come up with my own theory. I am enjoying this time of my career without teaching duties and administrative deadlines that will probably take most of my time if I'm offered a faculty position.

Do you think there is any value in social networking with other graduate students in non-related fields?
I definitely think social networking is very important. Graduate school enables you to interact with people of different cultural as well as academic backgrounds. This is a great opportunity here at Virginia Tech. For future projects, that might ask for more than just one's own expertise, this will be a great advantage.

How do you think earning an advanced degree will change your role in society?
An advanced degree should not change my role in society. Based on the equal status of all citizens I will avoid to consider my judgment more valuable to society than the judgment of anyone else. And the Graduate Life Center is providing a great platform for it.

If you were able to merge another discipline with yours, what would it be?
Theoretical physics does confront me with a great amount of math every day. I try my best to progress in this field and to understand or accept new things. Mathematics has my full admiration.

What is your favorite stress-reduction technique?
I used to run a lot and do other sports with friends or by myself. I neglected this in the past months but I will be spending more time on sports again in the future.

What is the last book you read strictly for pleasure and how long ago was it?
The book that I carried around for almost half a year was the Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse. I read different books for pleasure during this time by Kafka and Popper but somehow I really related to this book.

Please describe your most meaningful academic relationship.
Professor Jan Krueger from the Saarland University was the main organizer and co founder of the translational physics course. His passion for research even after 30 years as a physicist inspired me as well as his ability to network in science and in politics across national borders. His vision to establish a new level of integration between different university systems still stands out as an effort towards a European Integration in the region.

What do you feel is the greatest challenge that graduate students face and how have you dealt with this challenge?
A definite challenge for a graduate student is to make the transition from a student to a junior researcher. You have to develop the confidence in your own work and believe in your career in research. You have to stand through drawbacks when your project failed or went for months in the wrong direction. I am still struggling with it and work as hard as I can to become a scientist.

If travel to Mars happens in your lifetime, would you want to be one of the scientists on board? If yes, what would you contribute to the mission?
I have to admit that I tried to get in touch with the European Space Agency for astronaut training already twice. I am not sure how serious I was about it but it was definitely on my list. But there is always the question on why they should have a theoretical physicist performing a Gedanken experiment on board of the spaceship.

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Currently enrolled VT graduate students can be nominated for a variety of reasons -- academic or personal accomplishments, service to the department or the university community, or any other reason that makes them a unique and valuable member of academe. Students, faculty, or staff can submit nominations by completing a short nomination form.