Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

Daria Mazur wanted to study science since she was 13, when she realized in seventh grade that she was good at physics. In an interview with the Young Scientists of the Higher School of Economics project, she talked about theoretical research on the double electric layer, speed reading, and the MGMT song “Little Dark Age.”

Why I started doing science

I was a very unpopular child at school, no one really made friends with me, I existed on my own. And so, when physics started in the seventh grade and I started doing well, I found an outlet in it. Since the seventh grade, that is, since I was 13, I wanted to do science, and only science. I have never doubted it and since then I have been following my own path.

For a long time I didn’t understand what scientific direction to choose. I knew it would be technical sciences, but I didn’t understand which ones. That’s why I enrolled in applied mathematics. There’s a lot of freedom there: you can do development, or fundamental research.

In my third year, I met my academic supervisor. Yuri Alekseevich Budkov, and since then I have been engaged in science continuously, already in a specific direction – physical chemistry. This is a science in which chemical phenomena are explained with the help of physics. That is, it is physics and chemistry in one bottle.

What am I studying?

Double electric layer. This is a structure that forms at the metal-electrolyte boundary. It consists of a dense layer and a diffuse layer of ions. In a first approximation, the double layer can be represented as a flat capacitor with a capacitance C, which can store energy by accumulating a charge. Double electric layer is the main technology used in supercapacitors. These are new modern energy storage devices. Existing classical double layer models do not take into account many physical factors that prevent the application of these models to real physical and chemical systems, so there is a need to create new theoretical models that would allow for the correct assessment of, for example, the capacity of the double layer, since it is quite difficult to measure it experimentally.

My first scientific work…

…happened in the third year. During industrial practice, and then in my bachelor’s thesis, we studied a porous carbon material of the CMK-3 type: we estimated its differential electrical capacity and elastic deformation, then we compared our developed model with the experiment, and obtained good agreement.

In the next work, already a master’s thesis, we came up with another model of the double electric layer. If earlier we did not take into account the influence of the solvent, that is, our permittivity was constant, then the next time we used an explicit polar solvent – water. This means that an equation was solved for the permittivity, and it changed with the distance from the electrode.

We approximated the experimental data on differential electric capacity using our model. In it, we took into account all modern aspects of the theory of the double electric layer. For example, the hydrate radius, specific interactions, dielectric decrement, the effect of excluded volume. And based on the obtained parameters, we predicted the differential electric capacity for other concentrations.

We also found out the influence of specific interactions on the differential electric capacity. Specific interactions are either repulsion or attraction of the hydrated ion and water. We found out that when the specific interactions change from repulsion to attraction, the peak of differential electric capacity decreases. This result was obtained for the first time.

What I am proud of

My bachelor’s and master’s degrees, because they resulted in publications in scientific journals – Europhysics Letters and ChemPhysChem respectively. In the second publication, devoted to the modeling of the double electric layer within the framework of the self-consistent field theory at the metal-electrolyte interface, I am listed as the first author for the first time in my scientific career.

I am very proud of myself – that despite all the trials and difficulties that I had to overcome, I still retained the desire to do science and achieved results that are significant for me. I am very persistent.

I have been living on my own since I was 18, and I had to work a lot during my entire bachelor’s degree. The first two years were especially hard because I had to combine studying with a hard, low-paying job. It got easier in my third year because Covid started. Everything was closed, there was no work, but I was paid a small salary. In addition, in my third year, I received my first money for science. This raised my morale. And I didn’t have to study in person: until the end of my fourth year, I studied completely online.

I am currently studying on a single track “Master’s degree – postgraduate study”, and I am paid a stipend. In addition, I work as a research intern at the Laboratory of Computational Physics of MIEM HSE and teach physics in the educational programs “Applied Mathematics” and “Informatics and Computer Engineering”.

What I dream about

I don’t really believe in dreams. For me, it’s something unrealistic and unrealistic – like riding a unicorn. I believe in setting goals and achieving them. Actually, that’s how it works out for me in life. But if you really need a dream, then have a funny one. I want no scientist to have to write reports according to GOST.

What is my goal?

Defend a PhD dissertation.

I would like to defend my thesis in physical chemistry, not applied mathematics. I am still working on it, because studying chemistry is very difficult. There is a lot of new knowledge, especially in quantum chemistry and physical chemistry. But I try to constantly learn something new. For example, I recently went to Veliky Novgorod for a workshop on quantum chemistry, where I built my first molecules.

Science is a system of values that can help you live a good life.

I believe that the fundamental principle of scientific knowledge is honesty.

Few people can live without love. It doesn’t matter what kind – romantic, friendly, family. For me, science is love. Every person lives for happiness. Jung, I think, also wrote that happiness is the highest value. And in order for me to be happy, I need to study science.

If I hadn’t become a scientist

It’s hard for me to imagine myself as anything other than a scientist. But if I had to choose, I’d probably become a doctor. I really like helping people, and I also like chemistry. Or I could become a chemical engineer, for example, in pharmaceuticals.

Who would I like to meet?

With Marie Skłodowska-Curie. She is the first woman to win the Nobel Prize. And the first person in history to receive two Nobel Prizes – in physics and chemistry. I would like to know the secrets of her ability to work. She had a rather difficult life, especially at the beginning of her career. I would like to know how it affected her, what her strength is. She impresses me so much that I visited her grave in Paris, and I always have a book with her biography at home.

How my typical day is structured

I wake up not very early, walk the dog. And then I go to work. My working day usually lasts at least 10 hours. In particular, I devote a lot of time to preparing for seminar classes. We need to publish a scientific article soon, and the calculations for it take a lot of time. They have to be done 10-15 times, double-checking every letter in the code, because if you make a mistake somewhere, the results will be non-physical or illogical.

Do I get burnout?

Yes, and often, but I don’t fight it. I have too many obligations. It’s gotten a little easier lately because I turned to my supervisor for help: he gives me the opportunity to rest. Although I don’t really believe in rest. I believe that you need to work constantly and that work is the meaning of life.

What conferences have I attended?

Recently I went to the Chinese city of Qingdao. I wanted to limit myself to a poster, but I was invited to give an oral report. For the first time I did it in English. It was so scary that the paper in my hands was visibly shaking. But everything went well. After the presentation, Chinese colleagues came up to me and asked questions.

I was also in Portugal, in Costa da Caparica, at a small conference of a small scientific community. It was very warm. I have amazing memories of it. On the last evening, the organizers brought a big cauldron, poured moonshine into it, set it on fire, stirred it and read a spell in Gallic. It was against witches, evil spirits and simply for happiness. You drink a glass and become a happy person for a year.

What else am I passionate about?

Now I spend a lot of time studying theoretical chemistry. I also take speed reading courses. I read with a metronome and have already become faster – two touches of the line with my gaze are enough for me.

I’m also studying French. So far, quite unsuccessfully – I speak with an accent and forget that I can’t pronounce the endings. Again, this is connected with my dream of living and studying in Paris.

What was the last thing I read?

“It’s Me, Eddie” by Eduard Limonov. I really like Limonov – his ambiguity. I accidentally bought his book “Taming the Tiger in Paris”. I periodically buy a huge number of books and do not read them, because there is no time. But Limonov immediately captivated me. It is very difficult for me to read a lot, because my attention floats, and I swallowed “Taming the Tiger” in two days. I liked the style so much that now I am reading a book on theoretical chemistry, which is written in a style similar to Limonov’s. The author of this book is Denis Tikhonov, a fairly well-known scientist, the founder of the public “Theoretical Chemistry” on VKontakte. There is also a chat for chemists, mainly quantum chemists. I am a member of it, read articles that colleagues send there, reasoning. I do not understand anything, but I hope that one day I will.

Advice to a young scientist

You need to find yourself not just a scientific supervisor, but a teacher who will pass on to you not only his scientific knowledge, but also the values that he shares, knowledge about life and will be able to support you morally. Everything depends on the scientific supervisor: where you publish, what and how you do, what conferences you attend. Of course, you also have to be persistent. For example, all the foreign conferences that I attended, I found myself, applied for them and paid for them.

Also, don’t be afraid to promote yourself wherever you can. Don’t be afraid to seek out scholarships, opportunities, conferences – anything that will help you in your scientific career.

Favorite place in Moscow

The “World of Vinyl” store in Kitay-gorod. I love vinyl, I have a very large collection of records. It is very diverse – from Vivaldi to “Ranetki”. I love going to this store and usually do not leave without buying anything. Everything I buy, I then regularly listen to, except for the special edition of Radiohead’s “OK Computer”, which I feel sorry to unpack.

Lately I’ve been listening to Ariana Grande’s album “Eternal Sunshine” and the band MGMT. They have a song called “Little Dark Age”. It’s a little mainstream, but I still like it.

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