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Like the sound of a career in defence and security? Then check out these profiles: 2 2 Page 49 Page 59 Page 80 Physics World  Careers 2020 precision, all of which will require an increase in computing power. “We may be increasing t h e amoun t o f da t a t ha t we t a k e and t h e qua lity of the detectors. But we cannot expect our c ompu t i n g b u d g e t t o b e i n c r e a s e d b y a f a c t o r of 100,” says Carminati. “We are just going to have to f ind new sources of ver y fast computing, and quantum computing is a strong candidate.” While he is clear that none of today’s quantum computers are anywhere near that mark, he believes that quantum computing will mature, partly thanks to investment by industry. “Whenever this happens, I think we have to be ready for it, to exploit it as best we can. We would be able to use a quantum c ompu t e r a c r o s s t h e b o a r d – f r om s i mu l a t i o n and detector construction, through to data analysis and computing speed-ups. It is very important to start developing our programs and sof tware now.” Carminati points out that, were the quantum revolution to arrive, scientists would have to completely rewrite their codes, as he believes there is nothing like a universal quantum computer. “Can we have software that is agnostic of the specific kind of computing that we are using? We will have to develop a new angle, and so this is a large part of our research”. Last November Carminati organized the first ever workshop on quantum computing in high-energy physics at CERN, to get a head start on these very issues. Outside the box All of this means that today’s physics gradua t e s w i l l ha v e a w i d e v a r i e t y o f o pp o r t un i t i e s when it comes to jobs across the fields. “A physicist is trained to creatively solve comp l e x p r o b l ems u s i n g ma t h ema t i c s , w i t h a l o t of thinking outside the box,” says Carminati. “We train so many physicists at CERN, and sometimes it is frustrating to see them leave, but we cannot keep everybody, this we know. Our consolation is knowing that we’re giving them a skillset that it is really applicable to many other research fields, and across industr y.” Today, there is a global hunger for machine-learning and quantum-computing exper ts, with countries from the US to India and China looking to t rain and develop such expertise. Carminati has a very optimistic outlook for today’s graduates who may be considering one of these fields. “Try to have as much constructive fun as you can in doing your research, because it’s a fascinating job.” Tushna Commissariat i s r ev iews and car eer s editor of Physics World In association with brightrecruits
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Fellows, staff and Trustees at the Daphne Jackson Trust 2019 Conference Return to your research career with a Daphne Jackson Fellowship Are you looking for a part-time, flexible and funded retraining Fellowship after a career break? If so, we can help. Daphne Jackson Fellowships enable talented individuals regarding when to return to research in all areas of STEM, social sciences and related disciplines after a career break of two or more years, taken for family, caring or health reasons. We offer flexible, part-time Fellowships in universities and research institutes across the UK. A Daphne Jackson Fellowship consists of: • A challenging research project in a supportive environment • A personalised and tailored retraining programme with approximately 100 hours’ retraining per year • Salary and additional funds for costs associated with attending conferences or training courses • A part-time contract, usually over two or three years at 0.5FTE, in a university or research institute in the UK • Opportunities to attend professional skills retraining workshops, research meetings and networking events • Ongoing contact, support and career guidance from a dedicated Fellowship Advisor To apply, you will need: • A career break of at least two years’ duration, taken for family, health or caring reasons • A good first degree in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) subject • A PhD, or at least three years research experience (academic or industrial) prior to the career break (with evidence of scholarly outputs) • UK residency status / right to remain in the UK indefinitely and based in the UK on application • Good command of English (spoken and written) • Good computer skills We accept applications for Daphne Jackson Fellowships on a rolling basis as well as advertising current opportunities on www.daphnejackson.org Please get in touch with us on 01483 689166 if you would like more information and to discuss applying for a Fellowship. T: 01483 689166 E: djmft@surrey.ac.uk W: www.daphnejackson.org We are the UK’s leading organisation dedicated to realising the potential of returners to research in the areas of STEM, social sciences and related disciplines following a career break. Dr Raphael Shirley, Astronomer at Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias Raphael returned to research after a five-year career break, taken to care for his father and to run the family business. Following a Daphne Jackson Fellowship (2016 -2018), Raphael is now back working as an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in Tenerife. Raphael’s Fellowship was based at the Astronomy Centre, University of Sussex, where he worked on morphology and photometry of resolved galaxy images. “Taking the first step back into academia was challenging but I believe the Daphne Jackson Trust provides a great foundation on which to build a long and successful career in research.” Read Raphael’s story on our website here: http://bit.ly/3002W48

Like the sound of a career in defence and security?

Then check out these profiles:

2 2

Page 49

Page 59

Page 80

Physics World  Careers 2020

precision, all of which will require an increase in computing power. “We may be increasing t h e amoun t o f da t a t ha t we t a k e and t h e qua lity of the detectors. But we cannot expect our c ompu t i n g b u d g e t t o b e i n c r e a s e d b y a f a c t o r of 100,” says Carminati. “We are just going to have to f ind new sources of ver y fast computing, and quantum computing is a strong candidate.”

While he is clear that none of today’s quantum computers are anywhere near that mark, he believes that quantum computing will mature, partly thanks to investment by industry. “Whenever this happens, I think we have to be ready for it, to exploit it as best we can. We would be able to use a quantum c ompu t e r a c r o s s t h e b o a r d – f r om s i mu l a t i o n and detector construction, through to data analysis and computing speed-ups. It is very important to start developing our programs and sof tware now.”

Carminati points out that, were the quantum revolution to arrive, scientists would have to completely rewrite their codes, as he believes there is nothing like a universal quantum computer. “Can we have software that is agnostic of the specific kind of computing that we are using? We will have to develop a new angle, and so this is a large part of our research”. Last November Carminati organized the first ever workshop on quantum computing in high-energy physics at CERN, to get a head start on these very issues.

Outside the box All of this means that today’s physics gradua t e s w i l l ha v e a w i d e v a r i e t y o f o pp o r t un i t i e s when it comes to jobs across the fields. “A physicist is trained to creatively solve comp l e x p r o b l ems u s i n g ma t h ema t i c s , w i t h a l o t of thinking outside the box,” says Carminati. “We train so many physicists at CERN, and sometimes it is frustrating to see them leave, but we cannot keep everybody, this we know. Our consolation is knowing that we’re giving them a skillset that it is really applicable to many other research fields, and across industr y.”

Today, there is a global hunger for machine-learning and quantum-computing exper ts, with countries from the US to India and China looking to t rain and develop such expertise. Carminati has a very optimistic outlook for today’s graduates who may be considering one of these fields. “Try to have as much constructive fun as you can in doing your research, because it’s a fascinating job.”

Tushna Commissariat i s r ev iews and car eer s editor of Physics World

In association with brightrecruits

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