Alexander Schuckert - TU Munich
Briefly describe your current position, research project, and role within MCQST.
I am working in the condensed matter theory group at TUM with Michael Knap, working on new protocols to probe non-equilibrium quantum dynamics in quantum simulators and describing those experiments with field theory. I am one of the PhD representatives in MCQST and am quite involved in IMPRS-QST, organizing seminars, workshops, summer schools as well as representing PhDs in the cluster's executive committee.
How does a typical workday looks like for you.
I don't like having breakfast so I made it a sport to make it from bed to the desk in the least amount of time (with some freshly brewed coffee though!). The morning is reserved for calculations, paper writing and programming, activities that need a lot of concentration. After a mandatory 20-minute nap to cure the lunch tiredness, we usually have a talk, which is usually followed by some discussions with other students about the topic we just learnt about (before covid that is). The rest of the afternoon is usually filled with discussions with collaborators. In the evening, I try to relax by going running, cycling, playing piano, drawing, writing blog posts and the like.
What was the biggest challenge you faced this year?
Not getting lost in all of the ideas constantly appearing after talks and in discussion with co-workers. There seems to be so much left to explore in quantum!
Tell us about your science communication interest, activities, and motivation.
I founded the science communication platform manybodyphysics.com together with a couple of friends working in various fields of physics around Germany. We want to spread the fascination around everything complex, from quantum physics over environmental to high energy physics with blog posts, podcasts, videos and social media snippets. We would like manybodyphysics.com to be a platform where everyone who wants to communicate their science can do so with the least effort possible - if you want to do so just contact me and we can provide resources and know-how as well as people who read or listen to what you have to say!