Particle Physicists in Industry

Dr. Tom Barber (Intel Deutschland GmbH)

From Physics to Automotive
Abstract: During his PhD at the University of Cambridge and subsequent postdoc at Freiburg University, Thomas Barber witnessed many exciting steps forward in the field of particle physics: from first collisions at the Large Hadron Collider to the discovery of the Higgs boson. Since 2013 he decided to make the switch from the world of academia to an engineering career in the automotive industry, working first at Vector Informatik in Stuttgart and then Intel in Karlsruhe. This presentation aims to give an overview of how a background in particle physics can lead to a career in embedded software development, including which skills are relevant in both fields and how a PhD is perceived by firms when hiring candidates. This talk is intended to provide guidance to students or post-docs considering making the transition over to the “dark-side” of industry from someone who is already there!

Dr. Arnd Brandenburg (Genedata AG, Basel)

Quantitative biology for better drugs
Abstract: At my company Genedata we develop innovative software solutions that support large-scale, experimental processes in life science research. I will describe the journey from theoretical particle physics towards my current work as a scientific consultant for biotherapeutics characterization using mass spectrometry.