ML4Q young scientists gathered in Eitorf from all sites for a summer retreat
Eighty young ML4Q scientists spent two days in Eitorf in early July for a summer retreat. PhD students, postdocs, masters students, and undergraduate interns from different ML4Q sites and areas of research came together to participate in a wide range of social and scientific activities.
The event was kicked off with a keynote talk by Lorenzo Maccone, a guest from the University of Pavia, who engaged the audience with the fundamental topic of ‘Quantum Time.’ On the first day, attendees were offered four-hour workshops on any of five topics, ranging from teaching skills to quantum algorithms toolboxes. After an evening barbecue, spontaneous karaoke and games took place.
A highlight of the retreat was the Science Slam event, where three speakers competed to win the audience’s votes with a simplified talk on their research topic. The youngest speaker and ML4Q undergraduate intern from Yale University, Michael Lee, won the slam with his talk on the topic of ‘Thermal Noise.’ He is currently working on this research at the University of Cologne with Prof. Erwann Bocquillon. Michael reports, ‘My talk required careful study of the motivation behind our lab’s research on the Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect. Introducing Kolner Carnival’s parade as an analogy to explain the device physics of our QAHE research helped me. After all, having good cultural education is important for learning physics! I walked out of the ML4Q Science Slam with a better understanding of our research than when I first arrived at the University of Cologne in May.’
Introducing Kolner Carnival’s parade as an analogy to explain the device physics of our Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect research helped me. (Michael Lee, Science Slam Winner)
On the second day, eight talks on current research were presented after morning sports activities. Among the talks, participants had the opportunity to learn about the role of the cluster and the opportunities it offers through a presentation given by Magdalena Baer Radermacher, the Research School Coordinator of ML4Q. Jordan Schwed from the administration team of ML4Q partner ‘Global Quantum Leap‘ also took the stage to introduce potential funding and collaboration opportunities in the United States.
The PhD and Postdoc retreat is an annual opportunity offered by ML4Q to the young members of the cluster to network and introduce their research. The event is made possible through the efforts of volunteers among the students and young researchers themselves.