In our new article series we present Nikolina Brati\u0107, a graduate who conducted her experimental diploma thesis within the Center for Neuromorphic Photonics (CNP) as part of the Palace of Science.
Nikolina shared her journey from theory to practice, the challenges of experimental research, and her path toward a master\u2019s degree at ICFO within the Atomic Quantum Optics Group, supported by Optica Women Scholar and SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics Scholarship.
Read the full story \ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019d say most people would describe me as energetic. I love adrenaline sports and spending time in nature. When I\u2019m not outdoors, I enjoy painting, it\u2019s my way to unwind and express creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I learned how to handle laboratory equipment, which wasn\u2019t as simple as it seemed, especially with optical components. The experiments helped me fully understand what I had learned in theory and showed me how essential it is to combine practical work with solid theoretical grounding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working in the lab also gave me a real sense of how complex and dynamic this field is. Although I used to avoid programming, the work here encouraged me to master MATLAB, which turned out to be a very rewarding skill. All of this has been crucial for my future studies and research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We relied heavily on theory, and everything began to make much more sense once I saw it applied. I was amazed by how much reasoning, creativity, and effort go into experimental research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our theoretical knowledge guided us in predicting what results to expect when we changed system parameters. Sometimes, the outcomes didn\u2019t match, and those \u201cunexpected results\u201d often taught us the most. I realized that theory and practice are inseparable, one doesn\u2019t hold full meaning without the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unexpected or confusing outcomes happened quite often, sometimes frustrating, sometimes fascinating. In my experiment, we faced an interference issue where we didn\u2019t expect it, forcing us to redesign the setup almost completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a long process of testing and reasoning, we identified interference as the cause. Solving it required creativity and persistence. The result led us to completely new insights into optical phenomena that hadn\u2019t been documented in literature, which made the discovery even more significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Curiosity, high standards, and a genuine love for what we do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Immeasurably! The lab experience wouldn\u2019t have been the same without the amazing people around me. Our mentors supported us endlessly, motivating, including, and guiding us, while always being patient with what we didn\u2019t know. They challenged us with complex experiments, which turned out to be the best way to learn. The atmosphere was always positive and collaborative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Very few students at our level get the chance to work on this type of research so extensively during their undergraduate studies. That\u2019s something I consider a major advantage for my future career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working in the lab helped me understand what research truly looks like, from designing experiments to teamwork and understanding where the field currently stands. These insights and skills will be incredibly valuable as I continue my academic journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The list is endless. You gain deep and lasting knowledge, confidence as a young researcher, and a clear sense of how theoretical concepts work in real-world settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They can expect an amazing atmosphere, a lot of hard but fulfilling work, valuable skills, and results that will matter, both for science and for their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because the work we do here goes far beyond what\u2019s usually expected from undergraduates. We deal with complex systems and gain knowledge that gives us a real competitive edge for graduate studies and future research positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re genuinely interested in science and ready to commit to research, CNF is the place for you. I knew this experience would be important, but I didn\u2019t expect it to be this transformative. It\u2019s been truly rewarding, and I\u2019m deeply grateful for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikolina will continue her academic journey at ICFO<\/a>, within the Atomic Quantum Optics Group, supported by two prestigious awards: Optica<\/a> Women Scholar and SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics<\/a> Scholarship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In our new article series we present Nikolina Brati\u0107, a graduate who conducted her experimental diploma thesis within the Center for Neuromorphic Photonics (CNP) as part of the Palace of Science. Nikolina shared her journey from theory to practice, the challenges of experimental research, and her path toward a master\u2019s degree at ICFO within the… Read More »\u2728 \ud835\udde0\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddf2\ud835\ude01 \ud835\udde1\ud835\uddf6\ud835\uddf8\ud835\uddfc\ud835\uddf9\ud835\uddf6\ud835\uddfb\ud835\uddee \ud835\uddd5\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddee\ud835\ude01\ud835\uddf6\ud835\uddf0 \u2013 \ud835\uddd4 \ud835\ude06\ud835\uddfc\ud835\ude02\ud835\uddfb\ud835\uddf4 \ud835\uddff\ud835\uddf2\ud835\ude00\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddee\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddf0\ud835\uddf5\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddff \ud835\ude00\ud835\uddf5\ud835\uddee\ud835\uddfd\ud835\uddf6\ud835\uddfb\ud835\uddf4 \ud835\ude01\ud835\uddf5\ud835\uddf2 \ud835\uddf3\ud835\ude02\ud835\ude01\ud835\ude02\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddf2 \ud835\uddfc\ud835\uddf3 \ud835\uddfd\ud835\uddf5\ud835\uddfc\ud835\ude01\ud835\uddfc\ud835\uddfb\ud835\uddf6\ud835\uddf0\ud835\ude00!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orca-lab.etf.bg.ac.rs\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orca-lab.etf.bg.ac.rs\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orca-lab.etf.bg.ac.rs\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orca-lab.etf.bg.ac.rs\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orca-lab.etf.bg.ac.rs\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=472"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/orca-lab.etf.bg.ac.rs\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":474,"href":"https:\/\/orca-lab.etf.bg.ac.rs\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472\/revisions\/474"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orca-lab.etf.bg.ac.rs\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orca-lab.etf.bg.ac.rs\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orca-lab.etf.bg.ac.rs\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orca-lab.etf.bg.ac.rs\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}