Andrew Akbashev

About

Academia defines how science advances, and science defines the progress of humanity.As a scientist, I am deeply concerned about the state of science, education and the academic system. On LinkedIn and in talks, I discuss the issues, challenges and advances in academia and how they affect students, senior researchers and the overall scientific progress. Today, it's very important to improve the quality and impact of research, quality of PhD education and the satisfaction of students and researchers.As for my own research, my team searches for new, unconventional and interesting questions in materials science and chemistry. We explore the fundamental nature of various phenomena and employ a wide range of sophisticated facilities ranging from atomically precise synthesis to synchrotron / neutron techniques and transmission electron microcopy. In our small team the creativity and enthusiasm of each member is a crucial component of the joint success. By cultivating “out-of-the-box” thinking and personal development, we are constantly pushing the intellectual horizons of the lab and looking for new and exciting research directions.Personal research skills and hands-on experience:1. Research project leading and management. Strong organizational skills.2. Extensive experience in oxide thin film deposition by Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD, 6 years), Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD, 5 years), Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD / PVD, 12 years). 3. Explicit use of materials characterization techniques: RHEED/XRD/XRR, XPS, SEM, Raman Spectroscopy, Spectroscopic Ellipsometry. FIB SEM for the preparation of nanostructures.4. Cs-corrected TEM/ETEM, EELS, Electron Diffraction. Preparation of cross-sectional specimens by mechanical grinding/polishing. FIB preparation of specimens for TEM.5. Liquid-cell in-situ AFM, single-frequency and band-excitation PFM.6. Synchrotron radiation: X-ray scattering and spectroscopy (XAS, RIXS, single-crystal diffraction), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy / photoemission (ARPES, XPS).7. Scientific coding and data analysis: Python, Matlab, Igor Pro