Marie Brøns

Describe your field of work and current role.
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). I work with structural dynamics, researching especially bolted joint connections and characterization of dynamic systems. My research is directed towards real applications such as wind turbines and other large engineering structures likely to be exposed to dynamic effects.

What has your path been from starting at university until today?
I completed my B.Sc. in civil engineering at DTU, followed by an M.Sc. in mechanical engineering in 2017. I also pursued my PhD at DTU, with shorter research stays at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Imperial College London. I was awarded the PhD degree in late 2020. In 2021, I received the 3-year Villum International Postdoc grant and spent nearly 2 years in Munich at the Technical University of Munich. There, I had the pleasure of working with leading researchers in my field. In the fall of 2023, I returned to DTU to continue my research.

What can be done to strengthen applied STEM research & innovation in Denmark?
My experience is that industry and academic institutions are very interested in working together as we bring different things to the table, giving both parties a broader understanding and more innovative solutions. The challenge is that our goals sometimes differ. With new networks and communication, we can better understand each other's motivations, making collaborations easier. Also, bureaucratic processes when establishing collaborations can be tiresome for both parties, and we can work on making that much smoother.

What will you use your YATSI membership for?
I hope to use my YATSI membership, with the help of the other ambitious young researchers in YATSI, as a platform for communicating how great science is. I believe YATSI is a unique network of young tech talent, and together, we can show that the young are at the forefront of innovation in Denmark. How we talk about science and scientists in society today is not always nuanced, and I believe clichés keep talent away from pursuing careers in technical science. With my YATSI membership, I hope to contribute to modifying the perception of technical sciences in Denmark.

Who's the person behind the member?
I enjoy trying new things. I believe it is never too late to learn something new, so I recently started playing football and making pottery, both with great joy and mediocre success. I'm also a great fan of the outdoors. After my time in Munich, I've fallen quite in love with the Alps and am always looking for an excuse to go there.