In its 2025 February issue, A Természet Világa (The World of Nature) featured an extensive article on ELI ALPS. Why did you choose this topic?
First and foremost, I wanted to find out more about the construction and preparation processes and the work undertaken at the institute. I thought other people would also be pleased to read this story. In addition, I felt challenged to pen a longer piece.
The article was produced with the help of three of our current and former colleagues – Zoltán Leindler, Krisztina Trényi-Sárosi and Károly Osvay. How did you know who to turn to?
I knew Krisztina Trényi-Sárosi from a previous programme, and when it was decided that the research institute would be the topic of the article, she advised me who to contact.
Who is the target readership of this writing?
I gladly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the subject, who wants to look behind the scenes. I think a visit to one of the research centre’s programmes is worth for everyone.
Your personal commitment is evident, as you have attended our programmes on the Researchers’ Night, the International Day of Light, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and you participated in our summer camp too. What brought you to ELI ALPS in the first place, and what is the internal driving force that urges you to come back again and again?
I often saw the building from the outside and wondered what it might look like from the inside. When the opportunity arose, I attended an open day event, more specifically a Researchers’ Night event, and that’s where it all started. I gained positive experiences, so I kept coming back to subsequent programmes. During each visit, I learned new, interesting information.
How did you get involved in science?
I found this world interesting already as a child. When I was little, I was given a star map that I loved to study. I even learned the names of the planets from it. Then, in primary school, I got hooked on science in year six, in my first physics classes. I was shown a lot of experiments and could participate in interesting lessons.
It was during my years at Tömörkény Secondary Grammar School that I became confident that I wanted to study science. My choice was supported by a multitude of exciting programmes I was involved in. During the four years, for example, I could visit the Paks Nuclear Power Plant and the Institute of Physics at the University of Szeged, where we had the opportunity to get an insight into research activities in the framework of laboratory tours.
Being a student in a class with a specialism in humanities, you took up physics as an elective course at school. Why didn’t you apply to a class specialized in science in the first place?
When I applied, I wasn’t quite sure that I wanted to study science in the future. I also liked literature and history and considered it important to acquire general knowledge. I have never regretted that decision. It may seem a bit strange, but it gives me some insight into both worlds.
Do your classmates treat you as an oddball because of your passion for physics, or do they see nothing special about it?
I don’t think they see anything special about it, it is rather my humanities teachers who found it more difficult to accept my interest. However, it was nice to experience that, being a humanities student, I had the same opportunities as everyone else in my year.
What do you expect from a science teacher, in this case a physics teacher?
For me, physics is not just textbook knowledge. I think it is important that teachers too should provide motivation. I believe you can learn a lot from a scientific discussions and experiments. Of course, the process of knowledge transfer also depends on the students’ age, because in primary school, the main thing is to arouse the pupils’ interest and show them that physics is not far from everyday life.
This year’s two big challenges are the school-leaving examinations and university applications. Am I right in assuming that physics will play a major role in your further studies?
That’s right! I would like to take the Physics BSc programme at the University of Szeged. Of course, first I need to pass my matriculation exams.
We interviewed you last autumn when we prepared our coverage of our Researchers’ Night event. Back then, you looked at ELI ALPS as a potential workplace in the future. Do you still hold that view?
Yes, I do. The more I go into the subject, the more information I obtain, the more I am attracted to physics, especially optics. The next few years will tell whether this attraction is mutual.