Why I decided to pursue a PhD

It is not going to be easy, but I know it is going to be rewarding.

Why?

Because I have support. I've found during the course of my experiences that, without support, it does not matter if you have the willingness, everything is going to be so much harder, or impossible even. My adviser supports me, my husband supports me, my family and friends, and the company where I work, Lanzatech, supports me. Now I can put my willingness to work. And what does this "willingness" include? Making a difference in the world. I want to be best version of myself. I want to grow. To do the next step. I am ready.

The Project

To be completely honest, I am terrified. Defining the questions and the directions of a project is so hard! I just want it to be perfect, I guess. I want it to be original (of course). A lot of "what ifs" going on at this moment. I want it to have a bit of policy, a handful of biotechnology, I want it to be useful to solve climate change, a massive amount of data that might be useful for a number of different countries (especially developing countries), I want to meet people in the process. Inspiring people. So how to define a project that will include these all?

This is a Partnership (as always)

I have enrolled in the Bioenergy program at UNICAMP (State University of Campinas), Brazil. I will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Goncalo Amarante, competent scientific authority in the field and I will be co-supervised by Dr. Maria Carolina Grassi and Dr. Simone Souza. I am super lucky! The disciplines have been streamed so I can follow them. Professors and colleagues are fantastic.

This site

The idea of this site came from a conversation with my friend Karl Schmider, a great storyteller that truly understands people and science. I came to the conclusion, during this conversation, that 1) I wanted to consolidate my position in the business, bioeconomy, bioenergy, circular economy, and climate change areas; 2) I wanted to have an archive to register my learning process while interacting and providing relevant information to others.

So here we are. How did you experienced your first months in a PhD program?

#PhDlife