Prodigy explores quantum worlds

Today, she’s a student in the master’s degree programme for quantum engineering—and she herself conveys a deep sense of contentment. She says the programme has fully met her expectations and that the atmosphere is fantastic. “There are about thirty students in my year. We all know each other and we spend a lot of time together.” One downside, she admits, is that the age difference is more noticeable than it was during her school days. Now, the other students are generally three to four years older, as not everyone completed their bachelor’s degree programme in three years. Nevertheless, she feels welcome: “Everyone is very supportive.”

Quantum technology for medical care

Of course, the content of her new study programme is also a never-ending source of fascination. Quantum engineering involves more than just an understanding of quantum physics; it also encompasses the development of new quantum applications. The fact that such applications require an interdisciplinary approach is right up Amitabh’s street. She says she hasn’t lost her interest in electrical and biomedical engineering, and that she began thinking about how quantum electronics could be used in biomedical applications already at the start of her master’s programme.

Within the field of quantum technology, her main interest is quantum sensing. Here, quantum mechanical phenomena are utilised to perform a wide range of ultra-precise measurements. One promising method for creating quantum sensors is based on so-called NV (nitrogen vacancy) quantum systems, as Amitabh explains. These quantum systems are created using point defects in artificially produced diamond lattices.

These systems can be used to measure even the subtlest magnetic fields, and Amitabh intends to incorporate this feature into the next chapter of her studies. She says a research group in Cambridge (UK) is developing medical applications on the basis of NV quantum systems, and she plans to write her master’s dissertation there. “I’m coming along at the exact right time,” she says, explaining that hubs for research groups specialising in biomedical quantum sensing are a very recent development.

Studies abroad thanks to WSS fellowship

The Werner Siemens Foundation Fellowship that Amitabh received from the Swiss Study Foundation last summer has also come at the right time. The fellowships, which are awarded annually to ten outstanding students in STEM subjects, medicine or pharmaceutical sciences, are excellence scholarships that enable ambitious and gifted young people to focus their energies on their education and their personal and professional development.

Amitabh says the WSS fellowship is a huge help: “Thanks to the grant, I can write my master’s dissertation abroad without having to give up my extracurricular activities to earn money.” Indeed, Amitabh pursues numerous interests outside her studies. For example, she began practising karate when she was seven years old, earning her black belt by the time she was thirteen, and has been teaching children the martial art for the past five years.

Vital networks for women

However, her main extracurricular interest lies in encouraging girls and young women to study a STEM subject. As part of this work, she has led electronics workshops for children and teenagers at “mint & pepper”, a project of the Wyss Zurich Translational Center. “We assembled circuits for an electric city that had run out of electricity,” she says. “Seeing how delighted the kids are at the end is a great feeling.”

During her bachelor’s degree programme, she also began working at LIMES—the association whose information event made such a difference in her life. She first contributed by taking on organisational tasks before becoming a member of the board. LIMES organises monthly meet-ups as well as information days for schoolgirls, mentoring services and lab tours. Amitabh says the purpose goes beyond helping girls decide what to study: “It’s particularly valuable to offer young women in male-dominated subjects a space to get to know each other and enter into conversation.”

Such opportunities are essential, as women are still not always taken seriously in these fields. Here, she speaks from personal experience: a male classmate once told her she had only been offered a position as a student assistant because she’s a woman. “When you hear something like that directly, at least you can speak up for yourself,” she says. Often, however, the same message is conveyed in more subtle undertones. “At women’s events, we realise that other women have had similar experiences. At least we know it’s systemic, and not personal.”

Dreaming of a start-up

Amitabh is also very active in a second organisation: the Quantum Engineering Commission (QEC), the student association for the quantum engineering degree programme. “QEC is the glue that holds us together,” she says. There are organised events like hikes, barbecues and excursions to quantum research institutions as well as a Paper Club where published articles are presented. This semester, Amitabh acted as QEC president.

When she begins writing her master’s dissertation, however, Amitabh will have to step away from some of these activities. She intends to use her time in Cambridge to think about ways to serve in future—and to plan her professional future. She’d like to complete a doctorate, she says, but she first hopes to gain experience working at a quantum technology start-up, as this would be useful for writing a PhD thesis. Because her aim isn’t simply to delve into an interesting research question—she also wants to solve problems, just as her parents taught her. “It would be an absolute dream to develop my own product during my doctoral studies and then found a start-up.”