Physics at ETHZ, Google Quantum AI & MIT. Meet Alexander.

Born in Switzerland, Alexander studied physics at ETH Zurich before starting an MIT PhD. In parallel, he joined Google Quantum AI, where he aims to make breakthroughs in quantum computing research.

Studies: PhD Theoretical Physics @ MIT, MSc Physics @ ETHZ ‘22, BSc Physics @ ETHZ ‘21
Experiences: Student Research @ Google Quantum AI
Origin: Zurich
Links: LinkedIn

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Growing up & high school

Where did you grow up?

My mother is from Belarus, from Minsk, and my dad is from Germany, from Munich. I was born in Switzerland, but we moved a lot during my youth within Switzerland and to Munich, Aarhus, and Minsk. But I definitely spent most of my childhood in Switzerland, which is also where I went to school, high school, and university, and where I feel most at home.

What kind of student were you in high school?

I was certainly not a model student. I was always curious and I started reading a lot from an early age - about history, ancient cultures, stuff like that - but that interest did not necessarily carry over to the corresponding classes in school. In high school, I was more focused on spending time with friends, doing other stuff like playing sports and video games.

But I was always very interested in math and physics though, and I was fortunate to have had a fantastic math teacher, Eric Fitze, who allowed me to further develop this interest in class as well.

Studying Physics at ETH Zurich

Why did you choose to study physics at ETH Zurich?

Studying physics always felt like the natural path for me. For as long as I remember, I wanted to better understand how the world around me works, why things function the way they do, and the deeper meaning behind all of that, if there is one. Another option might have been Philosophy, but it seemed to me that they only had tools for asking questions, not for answering them.

As for ETH Zurich, it was the perfect fit. My high school was in Zurich, and having one of the world's top universities essentially in my backyard, and practically free, made it an easy decision. I love living in Zurich, and ETH's physics program is exceptional - I still benefit from the rigorous education I received there.

How was your experience at ETH?

I loved it. To be honest, I didn't spend that much time at university during the semester - I was more occupied with traveling, meeting up with friends, getting new experiences. But I work very well with ETH's system of having big final exams at the end of the semester. I would shut myself off from the outside world completely for some weeks before the exams to study the course ''Skript'' from scratch in great detail until I understood all of it.

At least in Physics, once I understand something in depth, it's hard to forget it, because the different subjects are closely connected and build on each other. That study system always worked well for me. Another reason my experience at ETH was so positive is due to the the long-lasting friends I made there.

Master's Thesis at MIT

How did you complete a master's so quickly after bachelor's?

I had done most of the credits for the master's already during my undergrad, although not intentionally. At that point, I was starting to get interested in more abstract math and quantum information theory subjects. I took a bunch of those courses, and it turned out some of them counted towards the master's.

So for my actual master's degree, I only spent half a year at ETH Zurich to finish the required courses. I wrote my master's thesis at MIT for the other half year, so my master's was one year total.

How was the process of getting into MIT for your PhD?

I had actually applied to MIT directly after my undergrad, but I didn't get in. After doing my master's thesis with a PI there, I applied again to a bunch of US schools, and suddenly got into every single one.

I think the US admission system is a bit biased against people from Europe because the education system here is very much focused on taking demanding classes and learning the fundamentals very well. Your figure of merit is what grades you get. Whereas in the US, grades are highly inflated so people are evaluated mostly based on their research experience, which is hard to get at ETH for example during undergrad.

I should emphasize that I am incredibly happy that I did my undergrad at ETH, because it provided me with a rigorous education and allowed me to focus on the fundamentals. But this difference in emphasis bothers me a lot, because I know a lot of amazing people that would really thrive and do amazing work at MIT but didn't get in because they get evaluated the wrong way.

Working at Google Quantum AI

How did you get the opportunity at Google?

During my Master's thesis at MIT, I wrote a paper on a new kind of quantum algorithm. Turns out Google was working on pretty much the same stuff at the same time. Because of that paper, we got in contact and I got hired basically.

It probably helped that Google Quantum AI is a research division within Google, so the hiring process works differently than say if you apply as a software engineer. It's more personal and more based on your actual research work.

How was the experience working there?

It was and still is amazing. I got lucky with my manager because they were working on exactly what I'm interested in, which meant I was more or less completely free to do whatever I wanted - I could pick my own research directions and projects. I just had to convince my boss that they were valuable directions, but usually that's doable. So I had a lot of freedom and at the same time got to collaborate with amazing people and learn from them.

Of course, Google is a great employer in terms of facilities and work environment. Everything you need to work efficiently is provided, including amazing food, so you can really focus on your work.

The Quantum AI theory group is located in Venice Beach in Los Angeles, right by the beach, and I really enjoy living in that part of west LA. Google has surfboards in the office that you can just take and head to the beach to surf, which I did a lot. Coming from Switzerland, there are of course things about LA that I had to get used to at first, like the level of crime and homelessness, but still, there are a definitely many good reasons for why so many people want to move to California.

Pursuing a PhD at MIT

Why did you decide to do a PhD after working in industry?

Well, in terms of money, it's definitely a terrible decision. It was mostly about personal growth for me.

At Google, even with a good amount of freedom, you're still only working on what a certain company is interested in. At MIT, it feels more like science is your playground. You can dive deep into the fundamentals or explore the really 'out there' stuff that might not have any immediate commercial value.

And honestly, just on a personal level, being a PhD student at MIT is very rewarding. The academic freedom, the mentors, the students and other people you meet... it all helps you to push yourself even further beyond your own boundaries.

From a practical perspective, I feel like if you do an MIT PhD, you can always go back to a place like Google later, but the other way around isn't as easy.

How do you feel about the ambitious environment? Can it become too competitive?

I think it's simply amazing and inspiring. I've never once felt anything negative about being surrounded by such driven and ambitious people.

What does a typical day look like for you at MIT?

Most of my day is spent meeting with principal investigators, other students, collaborators. I spend probably 90% of my time on research and discussions, and only maybe 10% actually in classes.

The PhD really becomes all-consuming. Even if you go out for dinner, it's often with your research group. At ETH, university was just one part of my life. Here, it IS my life.

I enjoy this, because I'm passionate about what I do. But it can get intense and sometimes I need to consciously take a break and do something completely different to avoid burnout.

What bothers you most about MIT?

Probably that they banned kitesurfing in the Charles river. I’m actually currently organizing a petition to legalize it again, we already have over 300 signatures!

But on a more professional note, there are a lot of bureaucracies associated with studying and working in the US, some due to the government and some due to MIT, that I have to fight with a lot as an international student.

How do you juggle a longer term commitment like a PhD when things are moving so fast in e.g. AI?

There's a slight fear of missing out when I see the recent developments happening in AI. But it doesn't bother me too much because I'm very motivated and fascinated by my own research in quantum computing. I'm quite confident that if I focus on it, it will lead to great things.

What are your future goals?

Right now, I'm trying to push hard to make a research breakthrough in quantum computing. I want to figure out how to make quantum computers to do something actually useful.

There are only very few applications of quantum computing so far, and for most of them, it's not clear if they are actually useful yet. Over the past two years, I've published a few papers on new useful quantum algorithms, with much more to come. That's my main academic goal at the moment.

In the next few years, I can definitely see myself starting a research-focused startup. But I'm not focusing on that right now, because I think for it to be successful, you first need a lot of good research ideas that I'm currently trying to develop.

Super long term, when I settle down somewhere, I definitely want to move back to Europe, very likely Switzerland. Career options are very good in Switzerland, maybe not quite as amazing as in the US, but the quality of life is just orders of magnitude higher in terms of healthy food, good infrastructure, public safety, etc. So that's the eventual plan, but probably only a few years after my PhD.

Comparing ETHZ & MIT

How do you compare the academic environment at MIT vs ETH?

One thing I love about the academic environment in the US is how approachable everyone is. You're surrounded by Nobel laureates, people who literally founded the field you're working in, and you can just chat with them, ask questions, they'll invite you over for dinner. There's a real openness. At ETH, I always felt there was more of a hierarchy that made it harder to connect with faculty beyond your immediate teachers and advisors.

Regarding courses, I have to say that I found the classes at ETH to be way more rigorous, well structured, and challenging than at MIT. Maybe I have a biased view because I mostly took undergrad classes at ETH, whereas at MIT I took grad classes, but I would say that most of the grad classes I took so far at MIT were actually already contained within the first two or three years of my undergrad at ETH. The one exception are the research-centered grad classes at MIT, typically taught by the professor that invented the field. Those are excellent!

What about the talent density?

By virtue of having a much tougher and very different admission system, I would say on average, the people at MIT are more talented, more ambitious, and definitely pushing themselves more.

But I never felt like the top talent at ETH is much different from the top talent at MIT. Some of the best students in the world gravitate towards ETH, especially for undergrad from Europe and the German speaking part.

MIT will probably always have a slight edge because it attracts people from all around the world, whereas ETH mostly attracts Europeans for undergrad.

But you definitely have unlimited potential for personal development at ETH. It's an amazing place to be, with so many opportunities. Here at MIT, a lot of people speak very highly of ETH and want to study or do research there.

Reflections and Advice

How do you deal with imposter syndrome in such competitive environments?

I don't really get that anymore. Something that happened to me quite a lot is that, whenever I entered a new field, I was initially awestruck by how much deeper the other researchers's knowledge seemed to be and how much quicker they were able to piece together new insights and ideas.

But then, once you actually sit down and spend a few weeks or a month reading through the literature and trying to think yourself about the open problems in the field, you start to realize that even the level of most of the experts in your field is actually way closer, more reachable, than what you initially thought.

There are exceptions to this, and this is something I also learned more recently. I have met a few people where it seems to me that, no matter how hard I try, I will never be able to keep up with their intellectual speed. But this is rather inspiring than intimidating, I think.

What do you ultimately want to achieve in life?

I'm honestly not sure yet. I think I might be a little bit too ambitious at the moment, in the sense that whenever I set myself an ultimate goal, as soon as I say it out loud, it doesn't seem good enough anymore. On the other hand, I am genuinely very happy and satisfied with the way my life is going right now.

Right now, my focus is on making a real breakthrough in quantum computing research. But longer-term, I'm sure my goals will continue to evolve and expand.

What advice would you give to your younger self starting university?

Well, since I'm giving this advice to my younger self, it will come with some survivorship bias. But with that in mind, I would say that if you have one thing that you are extremely passionate about, which for me was theoretical physics, and also good at, then you should go and pursue that interest and not worry about things like salary expectations or chances of getting certain employers. From what I've seen from myself and my friends, the advantage you get by being passionate about what you do will almost always pay back many times over.

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Closing notes

Hey, Arnie here :) Has a busy Summer, but going to aim for a more frequent posting (also did some cool automation work which I’ll share soon to my LinkedIn & Twitter :))

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