Pierre

Pierre is a research and development intern in the Catalysis unit of our Smart Materials division – with his next step being a PhD! On-site in Hanau over the summer, he has been #PartofSomethingSpecial – talking about the meaningful work he does, the team he has been supported by, and, of course… the great canteen.

I'm doing research in a potential growth area. It's exploratory and forward-looking. Specifically, I’m currently working on the development of a catalyst for biomass valorization. This is a very timely topic that’s important to me — I’m helping to promote new avenues for bio-resources.

I knew during my studies that I wanted to work in research and development. At Evonik Catalysts, I have the opportunity to work in research, development, and innovation. This is exactly what I had in mind.

In general, I can divide my work into three parts: reading literature and research, experimenting, downstream analysis and data processing.

I first became aware of Evonik through a guest lecture at my university. I heard Florence, a Catalysts employee, give a presentation on catalyst regeneration. That made me curious about the company. I started looking for contacts in the catalyst industry and eventually met my current supervisor.

What I like most is the atmosphere in the lab. I have an example of this. We couldn't do any analysis for a few days because our chromatograph was broken. So, we sat there for days trying to fix the chromatograph, and a couple of times we felt like we did it, until we actually did it.

That "we" feeling — the community of working on something, even if it doesn't work right away or there are setbacks — the mood is always good. I always like to come to work, and we are always in a good mood.

For me, it's more than just the work. It's the people I spend the day with. I get up every day happy because I know I'm going to have another good day — even if there are problems to overcome.

I feel respected and supported by my colleagues and my supervisor. I've been working for Evonik for a few months, and from the very beginning I've always been able to contribute my ideas; I'm asked and listened to – that makes me proud. 

I repaired the chromatograph myself. That fills me with pride. You don't learn that at university.

I also think it's great when I come up with ideas that save time, for example through a streamlined process or through Evonik's good equipment (parallel reactors, for example). That's really great. I'm also happy that my project is producing good results.

I would like to emphasize:

• Great introduction
• Nice colleagues
• Interesting and meaningful work
• Great canteen
• Room for initiative

Oh, and I can cycle to work. It’s 12-14 km (dependent on the route) and on my way to work I see deer, rabbits and storks – it’s great. Evonik promotes this green mobility by providing employees with bike access to the site, parking spaces, and showers.