It was quite challenging to make my brain work in a completely different way than what I am used to do with theoretical problems.
Interview with Anna Efimova, INSPIRE Potential SPIN Master’s fellow 2023
Who are you?
My name is Anna. After having completed my Bachelor in Physics at the Faculty of Physics at the M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, I am now a Master’s student at ETH Zürich.
What attracted you to take a (quantum) physics career?
I found that there are many paradoxes and unclear phenomena which look like magic! However, they can actually usually be explained in the most elegant way, and even proved experimentally, which is what I was doing during my Master’s thesis!
How have you heard about the INSPIRE Potentials Fellowship? In what way did the fellowship help you in your research?
I have seen it first on the NCCR SPIN website and the group mailing list that was sent to the students. The fellowship helped me to complete my thesis while being financially supported. This way, I was able to fully focus my attention on science. I also met a lot of talented people in the NCCR SPIN community, particularly during the PhD retreat in April 2023.
What is the topic of your master’s project?
I am working on quantum Information Processing with superconductive circuits. I am supervised by Dr. Simon Storz, in the Quantum Device laboratory led by Prof. Wallraff.
What was the biggest challenge in your master thesis? What did you enjoy the most?
It was my first time working with experiments. It was quite challenging to make my brain work in a completely different way than what I am used to do with theoretical problems. But I found it extremely interesting.
What did you learn through this experience?
I learned that nothing is impossible. It is very important to understand what you are very interested in and work hard to realize it in the best way!
How was your experience living abroad? Was it the first time for you?
Yes, my master's is the first time for me leaving abroad for so long. It is an amazing time, I enjoy it a lot, I've learned a lot and made an amazing thesis.
What are your plans for the future?
I am going to do my PhD in Geneva University and I would like to stay in science and explore the world :)