Heike Barlag - From the Lab to Management
What Heike Barlag really wanted to study was mathematics. “I was always very good in that subject, but I didn’t find the career opportunities all that interesting,” recalls Barlag, 40. Instead she studied chemistry at the University of Münster and wrote her doctoral thesis in electrochemistry on the storage of hydrogen. She gathered her initial professional experience at a major German chemical company, but was not able to truly satisfy her yearning for research there. “I wanted to try out my ideas in the laboratory,” she says.
When she heard of a position in solar cell research at Siemens Corporate Technology in 2001, she applied immediately. It turned out that there was a better candidate for this position, but Barlag’s disappointment was shortlived. The Human Resources department suggested a position that better matched her qualifications: conducting research into micro-fuel cells at the Competence Center for Electrochemistry. “I enthusiastically said yes and moved to Erlangen immediately,” Barlag recalls.
The young scientist quickly climbed the career ladder at CT. After three and a half years, she was the head of two biosensor projects. Starting in 2008, she also worked as the program manager, which meant even more responsibility. She headed the research team for biochemical and electrochemical sensors, drafted the future planning, oversaw the budget, and reviewed the use of resources. “This allowed me to still conduct research while gathering management experience at the same time,” she says when describing this job. It was an ideal mix, for here she also learned how to acquire projects from the operating units and how to analyze the market potential of new technologies.
She also registered a patent for a measurement method that is well suited for inexpensive and robust biosensors. She didn’t follow a strict career plan. “You simply need to enjoy research work and be prepared to take on new areas and topics. The rest takes care of itself,” she says. Her research focus changed many times, from fuel cells to biosensors for water analysis to the electrochemical storage of energy.
As her next step, Barlag wanted to work where products are created. She applied for an opening in the Energy Sector, and since June 2010 has been the Senior Project Manager responsible for subsidized projects dedicated to the charging infrastructure for electric cars. “It was very difficult to leave my colleagues at CT,” she says. But her thirst for gathering new experiences once again prevailed. She also says that the new position presents good opportunities to implement concepts: “It’s very satisfying when ideas really do turn into plants and systems.” In 2011, for example, the testing of the first rapid charging station for electric cars in Munich will begin in partnership with BMW.
Barlag never felt isolated among the many male researchers at CT, as the proportion of women in her major field at the university was even lower. She hopes more women will get interested in technology and the natural sciences in the future. Away from work, Barlag still has time for another passion besides sports: her big aquarium with black-and-orange clown loaches.