Who are you?

My name is Paula. I'm 22 years old and I'm from Madrid, Spain. I am finishing my master's degree in telecommunication engineering in the specialty of electronics. I'm doing my master thesis at IBM Zurich thanks to the opportunity that NCCR SPIN INSPIRE Potentials has given me.

What attracted you to take a (quantum) physics career?

Curiosity was the first thing that made me want to approach quantum, followed by the promising future and the great variety of research paths that this field promises. It is relatively new, and like any emerging area, it gives exciting opportunities when starting a research career.

How have you heard about the INSPIRE Potentials Fellowship? In what way did the fellowship help you in your research?

A professor at my university told us about the existence of this fellowship and I quickly searched about it. This fellowship has served me as a bridge to be able to work with other researchers who are a great source of inspiration and support in outstanding labs and projects. In addition, meeting more students and professionals in the quantum field is helping me to expand my professional network.

What is the topic of your master’s project?

My master thesis is focused on electronic control of spin qubits in quantum computing. Dr. Mridula Prathapan is my supervisor at IBM Research Zurich.

What was the biggest challenge in your master thesis? What did you enjoy the most?

My background is in telecommunications engineering, and more specifically, electronics. Therefore, I had never taken classes focused on quantum computing before. But I love challenges and I enjoy learning new things. With the help of my tutor, other researchers, conferences and courses I have managed to get "up to date" in this new topic in order to tackle my master thesis in the best way.

What did you learn through this experience?

This experience not only allows me to learn new technical skills such as physics and quantum concepts, or handling different equipment and instrumentation, but also helps me acquiring many soft skills related to teamwork, communication, creativity, ambition, time management, adaptability to different situations, and self-motivation. All these skills are definitely needed to work in this exciting research world.

How was your experience living abroad? Was it the first time for you?

This is my first time living abroad and I can't imagine having a better experience! I am lucky to be able to meet and work with people of different cultures and ways of thinking. Living abroad is also helping me to mature on a personal level and all together it is enriching me in a unique way.

What are your plans for the future?

Before this project, I was not very familiar with the research laboratory environment, and I had a distant interest in doing a PhD after my master's degree. However, thanks to the good time I am spending here, and how much I am enjoying working in the quantum field, this "next step" that I was hesitating about has now become my next goal.