Helene Hagemann Jakobsen (she/her) very recently graduated with a Ph.D. in Physics from the Section of Surface Physics and Catalysis at DTU.

Helene is a chemist who was introduced to the world of surface physics via working with methanol catalysis during her MSc thesis at Topsøe.

During her Ph.D., her focus was split into the use of model systems to understand the science behind the industrial methanol synthesis, as well as the development of new catalysts for hydrogenation of CO2. She is trained in all aspects of catalyst development: Syntesis of potential catalyst candidates, evaluating their performance by testing under different operating conditions, and characterization of materials using surface-sensitive and bulk methods.

Why methanol? In a future fossil free society, there will still be a need for the liquid fuels we know and use today, as some processes cannot be fuelled solely by electricity. We will therefore need to convert electric energy into chemical energy in the form of fuels and chemicals. In this context, methanol is considered an important chemical.

Helene is not quite ready to give up on working with analyzing and optimizing the industrially important process of methanol catalysis. She is now looking for job opportunities in the industry where she would love to work with catalysis, surface science, CO2 neutrality, climate change mitigation, product development, and customer service.