Ángel Ferran Pousa
PIER Helmholtz Graduate School
A Graduate Education Program at DESY in Cooperation with Universität Hamburg
Questionnaire for alumni
Name: Ángel Ferran Pousa
Nationality: Spanish
PIER research field: Accelerators
Research topic of PhD project: Development of advanced techniques and theoretical models for improving the beam quality of plasma-based accelerators.
Research group of PhD project: MPY1 - Accelerator R&D (Dr. Ralph Assmann)
Supervisor/s of thesis: Dr. Ralph Assmann, Dr. Alberto Martinez de la Ossa, Prof. Dr. Florian Grüner
Current job: Postdoctoral Researcher at DESY, Plasma Acceleration Theory & Simulations Group.
Benefits from PIER for my career (Cooperation of DESY and Universität Hamburg): PIER offers great support and many opportunities to further develop yourself beyond your PhD research. For me in particular, the German class has been an invaluable resource over the past years. Other courses such as Python classes, project management, or career paths in industry are also great for obtaining useful skills and a broader perspective outside of academia.
My personal advice for all PhD students: A PhD can be hard, uncertain, and easily take over your time, so don’t forget that there’s more to life than this! While dedication and perseverance are keys to success, so is taking care of yourself. Use your vacation, visit your family and friends, and take advantage of the activities that PIER and DOIT have to offer. You will – most probably – only do a PhD once, so make sure you have time to enjoy this special period of your life!
