Von der Mongolei in die Pfalz: Dr. Azzaya Tumendelger ist Gastwissenschaftlerin am Campus Landau. Seit August vergangenen Jahres forscht sie im Fachbereich 7 Natur- und Umweltwissenschaften im Bereich Umweltphysik zu Treibhausgasemissionen. In ihrem Heimatland arbeitet sie an der Mongolian Academy of Sciences. Im Uniblog spricht die Wissenschaftlerin über kulturelle Unterschiede und berichtet, warum sie die Arbeit der deutschen Forschungsinstitute so schätzt.
From Mongolia to the Palatinate: Dr. Azzaya Tumendelger is a visiting scientist in Landau. Since last August she is undertaking reasearch on greenhouse gas emissions at Faculty 7, Natural and Environmental Sciences. In her home country the scientist is working at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. In an interview with the Uniblog she talks about cultural differences and tells us, why she appreciates the work of German reasearch institutes.
Since when have you been working in Landau and in which position and department?
I have been working here at the Environmental Physics group in Faculty 7, Natural and Environmental Sciences as a visiting scientist since August, 2015.
Why did you decide to come to Landau?
I had a good opportunity to come to Landau through scientific cooperations between Mongolian Academy of Sciences and DAAD in Germany. To receive a scholarship provided by DAAD, it was required to find a suitable professor, who can supervise during my research stay. I was studying environmental chemistry, especially on the research topic with greenhouse gas emission during my doctoral course in Japan. And I could find a good professor who is working with almost same topic at the University of Koblenz-Landau.
What is the focus of your research? What are you working on at the moment?
My research aims are to study the greenhouse gas emission from wastewater treatment plants and to elucidate how those gases are produced and reduced during the treatment systems.
What do you like about Germany and, in particular, about Landau?
It was the first trip to Germany for me. As seen from first view, the very organized streets, ancient buildings and good-designed houses with almost same-colored roofs were amazing to me. Landau – I absolutely will miss this small town because it is really safe to live here and I can go everywhere on foot. It is convenient that all the necessary services including shops, hospital, bank and post office are located near to each other. Also, I meet many people with a smile on their face, greeting me in the street even if I do not know them.
Did you use the Welcome Center’s offers and support?
Yes, definitely. Without any of the support from Welcome Center, especially very kind assistance from Ms. Marion Kraft, it would be quite difficult to do everything alone.
Living in Germany, what do you miss the most from home?
Yes, it is rather difficult to live without my family. I miss my daughters and mum a lot.
What do you think is the biggest difference between Germany and your home country?
Of course, there are some differences. I really like German people who are doing everything on time and very honestly. Germany has many famous and presentable research institutes and universities which have good working areas equipped with highly rated and efficient experimental equipment. This gives more inspiration, more efforts and more interest for the researchers. On the basis of this main factor they can get good results from their experiments and can publish the result in highly ranked international journals.
Interview: Katharina Greb