Classical musician or quantum chemist

Jacob grew up in Tarm in Western Jutland then moved to Copenhagen in 1996 after finishing secondary school. The move from Western Jutland to Copenhagen to study chemistry and physics was a great upheaval for the Jutlander, who was more accustomed to the safe and secure surroundings of a small town:

"It took me a couple of years to feel settled in Copenhagen. In those days, there was no Great Belt Bridge, so it took up to 8 hours to get home to Jutland. It was also hard getting used to being in a city with so many people everywhere. Luckily, I ended up liking living in Copenhagen, and my early career as a researcher started as a PhD student at the University of Copenhagen," recalls Jacob.

Move to Odense

After some years in Copenhagen followed by periods as a postdoc abroad, Jacob and his family moved to Odense in 2009 when he took up a position as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy.

According to Jacob, there were many things which drew him to Odense, but the most important was his wish to establish himself as an independent researcher in quantum chemistry, and there were good opportunities for doing so here at SDU. Since then, things have progressed smoothly with his research group, and recently Jacob was again awarded a major grant, this time from the Independent Research Fund Denmark:

"My biggest research success so far has been that we've managed to develop quantum chemistry in such a way that quantum chemical theories can be used in relevant biological systems. It maybe sounds a bit out there, but if you consider that historically quantum chemistry has only been used on smaller individual molecules it's a great step forward that it can now be used in many different contexts. In this way, we're establishing a quantum chemical field within molecular biology, which is completely new," emphasises Jacob.

Research and family life

When asked how life as a researcher fits in with family life, Jacob is quick to answer:

"My wife and I have three children, and you would immediately think that a researcher would find it difficult to find the balance with a career that demands that you work and travel a lot. But I think we've managed to organise our family life in a way that we're all happy with. For instance, we don't have fixed times for when we eat or when the children go to bed. That alone means we have more time together in the evenings, when we often go to the playground with the children - at least during the summer. I also think it can work well to take the children travelling, like when I attend conferences. Doing it that way means they are part of my life, which is essential if things are to work out. Although you might think it's hard getting things to fit together, I really appreciate the flexibility a career in research provides, and nobody gives you funny looks if you take your child to work one morning or if you have to leave early to pick them up. I just catch up on work later in the day," says Jacob.

Not everything should be put into boxes

Flexibility and freedom in general are things Jacob greatly appreciates:

"I'm at my best when I can take things as they come. I'm like that at home and at work. To be blunt, I hate it when things are too square and when daily life becomes too much of the same. I like to be unserious and even a bit childish because it creates balance in the already very serious world of research, where a lot of the time it's about results and the next publication. It's undoubtedly because of my musical upbringing, which was often about being creative and breaking boundaries," says Jacob.

Doesn't do things by halves

Jacob's slightly relaxed approach to life has sometimes caused him to consider whether he was perhaps a little too unserious. When you talk to him, though, it is quickly obvious that this is not the case. During the interview, he stresses several times that "if a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well". With Jacob, there is no such thing as half-baked solutions:

"When I played music at school, I spent about three hours a day practicing the French horn. It was simply necessary to put in a lot of time and energy if I wanted to be a good musician. That attitude still permeates a lot of what I do. As head of the Faculty's PhD programme, I'm also curious and thorough in my approach because I really want to know what's important for a good PhD programme. I really like working with the PhD students, and I also learn a great deal from working with them. I like that my career is about more than research and teaching, too, and as a result the position suits me very well,"says Jacob.

Jacob has now been Head of the PhD School for nearly two years, and in his experience the PhD students' approach to their studies is different than when he was a student:

"Research is a lifestyle, and I think that some of the PhD students today overlook that. Being a researcher is not a 9 to 5 job. That's why some of the PhD students start off with the wrong impression. Now and then, it can result in conflict between a student and their supervisor if there are different expectations about the PhD project. In such situations, I feel that it is my duty as Head of the PhD School to step in and be a sort of mediator, and I always take the necessary time to speak to both parties. One of the most important things I have learned through my research career is that there are often several solutions to a problem. You shouldn't take no for an answer, because your own solution can be just as good as the next person's. On the other hand, I think that there is a responsibility to do things properly and actively engage with your work once you're underway with something,"concludes Jacob.

Thank you to Jacob for a pleasant, fun and enjoyable interview, which in many ways reflects the person behind the researcher.