Paolo Molignini

People doing Physics

Intro

We’re joined today by a familiar voice, Dr Paolo Molignini. Paolo will be leaving us soon, so this month we thought we would give a little insight into one of the people behind the podcast. Paolo is a postdoctoral research associate in the Theory of Condensed Matter group here at the Cavendish, bringing together elements of nonequilibrium physics, topological phases of matter, quantum optics and quantum simulation.

Born in Switzerland, he gained his BSc, MSc, and PhD in Physics from ETH Zurich before taking up a postdoctoral position in the Quantum Systems Engineering group at Oxford. His research involves developing several software applications for modelling quantum systems, including UNIQORN, which applies machine learning to model systems of ultra-cold atoms.

On top of this, Paolo has found time to contribute to several outreach programmes; producing a series of videos on superconductors during his time at Oxford, creating a doodle video on topological insulators for the first online Cambridge Science Festival, as well as hosting a monthly podcast looking at the people behind the physics research taking place at the Cavendish.

Today, we’ll talk about his experiences growing up in southern Switzerland, his path from Civil Engineer to Physicist, the work he does as a theoretician working in an experimental laboratory, and where this will take him next.

Stay with us…

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[00:36] – Guest’s intro

[02:02] – Current role at the Cavendish

[03:00] – More about Topological materials

[04:37] – Early interest in Science

[06:20] – Choosing Physics

[11:00] – Gravitating towards Condensed matter physics

[14:30] – Finding the PhD role and finding funding

[18:05] – In the news this month we talk about phase transitions. Whether we boil water or cook pasta, a phase transition is taking place. Matter can appear in many more different phases, some of which have an inherently quantum origin, such as superfluids or ferromagnets. While some of the classical phase transitions have been known for centuries, in recent years we have started to discover and study new exciting kinds of phase transitions at the quantum level which could be soon harnessed for incredible new technologies.

[21:41] – Further News discussion with the guest Dr Paolo Molignini: Extending topological invariants to finite temperatures

[24:23] – Further News discussion with the guest Dr Paolo Molignini: Making an insulator topological by changing the temperature

[25:10] – Perception about research as a whole

[27:37] – Challenges with getting research papers published in journals

[29:41] – Successful way in research is to specialise in a sub-field and become leaders in that field

[31:19] – Experience during PhD and enlarging skillsets (computing)

[32:55] – Next career move as a postdoc and pandemic

[36:30] – Interest in outreach and doing the podcast

[38:11] – What is next?

[41:00] – Outro

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Useful links:

• Visit TCM Group to understand more about the Theory of Condensed Matter research group
• Read the article on this month’s news - Topological phase transitions at finite temperature
• Pre-print link of the Research Paper for this month’s news release - https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.08994
• To learn more about the Cavendish Laboratory, or if you are interested in joining us or studying with us, go to www.phy.cam.ac.uk

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Episode credits

• Hosts & News presenters: Jacob Butler and Simone Eizagirre Barker
• Producer: Chris Brock

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