Physicists in the Wild
It might surprise you, but most physics PhD students eventually end up in careers outside of academia. Some leave before graduating, some leave straight after, while others pursue an academic career for years before making the transition. Yet, despite the numbers, current PhD students often find it hard to envision any career beyond the academic horizon. Why? They're simply not exposed to the countless other exciting opportunities available to them.
"Physicists in the Wild" aims to change that.
Join Aggie Branczyk as she interviews physicists who have turned their PhD training into diverse and often unconventional careers. From the corporate world to government, from education to finance, discover the “other” paths traveled by those with graduate training in physics.
Tune in every two weeks to hear the stories of physicists in the wild.
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Aggie works at IBM as a Senior Research Scientist on the Quantum Computational Science team, and the opinions shared in this podcast are her own and are not in any way endorsed by IBM.
- Update frequency
- every 12 days
- Average duration
- 14 minutes
- Episodes
- 11
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2024
Jay Lowell - AMO Physics PhD to Chief Scientist in Aerospace
Aggie Branczyk interviews Jay Lowell, who did his PhD in AMO Physics and is now the Chief Scientist for Boeing Disruptive Computing & Networks. Jay shares with us his winding journey, that started wi…
Amir Feizpour - Quantum Optics Postdoc to AI Startup Founder
Aggie Branczyk interviews Amir Feizpour, who did his PhD in experimental quantum optics and is now the founder & CEO of a company whose goal is to accelerate knowledge discovery for sales teams. Amir…
Cristina Escoda - String Theory PhD to Venture Capital & Angel Investing
Aggie Branczyk interviews Cristina Escoda, who did her PhD in string theory, and is now the co-founder & managing partner of an early-stage biotech venture capital firm, an angel investor, and a writ…
Brigette Oakes - Experimental Physics PhD to Director of Propulsion
Aggie Branczyk interviews Brigette Oakes, who did her PhD in Engineering Physics, and is now the Director of Propulsion in the aerospace industry. Brigette shares her typical, balancing design review…
Riccardo Di Sipio - Particle Physics Postdoc to Senior Machine Learning Developer
Aggie Branczyk interviews Riccardo Di Sipio, who did his PhD in experimental particle physics and now works as a machine learning developer. Riccardo’s academic journey took him to the ATLAS experime…
Emily Petroff - Astrophysics postdoc to Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships, Grants and Awards
Aggie Branczyk dives into conversation with Emily Petroff, a former Astrophysics postdoc who is now the Associate Director for Strategic Partnerships, Grants, and Awards at Perimeter Institute. Emily…
Bety Rodriguez-Milla - Condensed Matter PhD to Software Development
Aggie Branczyk interviews Bety Rodriguez-Milla, a former condensed matter physics researcher who found her niche as a software developer. Bety talks about how she discovered her love of coding during…
Katiuscia Cassemiro - Quantum Optics Prof to PRX Quantum Editor
Aggie Branczyk sits down with Katiuscia Cassemiro, a former assistant professor in Quantum Optics who transitioned into the role of managing editor at PRX Quantum. Throughout the conversation, Katius…
Juan Ignacio Cayuso - Cosmology PhD to Data Science
In this episode, Aggie Branczyk interviews Juan Ignacio Cayuso, a former cosmology PhD student from the Perimeter Institute (Waterloo, Canada) who is now thriving as a data scientist in e-commerce. J…
Rohan Dalton - Quantum Optics PhD to Software, Data & Fin Tech
In this first episode, Aggie Branczyk sits down with Rohan Dalton, a former experimental quantum optics researcher turned data engineer in the fintech industry. Rohan shares his personal journey that…
Ekaterina Babourina-Brooks - Quantum Information PhD to Education
Aggie Branczyk sits down with Ekaterina Babourina-Brooks, a former theoretical quantum information PhD student at the University of Queensland (Brisbane, Australia) who moved to the UK to become a hi…