Anna Knörr completed her Master’s at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Now she is a PhD student at Harvard University’s Quantum Science and Engineering program.
Perimeter Institute alumni have gone on to a wide variety of roles after leaving the Institute. For Anna Knörr, this has meant exploring science both at the level of finely engineered atoms as well as at the macro scale of science-informed decision making for energy, climate and biodiversity policy. We reached out to Anna to learn more about her journey.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
What is your current role, and how are you trying to push boundaries in your field?
Since fall 2024, I’ve been a PhD student in Harvard University’s Quantum Science and Engineering (QSE) program. In the field of quantum computing, there are two big questions, broadly speaking: 1) Can we build large-scale quantum computers? 2) What problems are they useful for, and what are the key algorithms? As part of Professor Susanne Yelin’s group, my first project has focused on the latter question. I am trying to work out the potential and limitations of a quantum machine learning approach called quantum reservoir computing for classical and quantum tasks.
Some friends from Perimeter and I also surprised ourselves by writing a theater play about quantum science and technologies over the past year. It’s called A Quantum of Hope, come check it out soon when it’s being performed at PI!
The QSE PhD program encourages us to connect with groups across departments, so I have also been meeting with an electrical engineering group led by Professor Gage Hills that studies the sustainability of manufacturing computer chips, be it “traditional” transistors, carbon nanotubes, integrated photonics, etc. Think: How much energy is needed to produce them? How much water? Where are PFAS chemicals involved? Ideally, I’d like to take away any lessons that can be learned for the emerging quantum computing industry, at least from a technical point of view. How to incentivize sustainability from an economic point of view is a whole other question, of course.
What brought you to where you are now?
I have received a lot of support, both growing up, as well as over the past few years at university. Perimeter Institute granted me a crucial second year of Perimeter Scholars International and Roger Melko connected me with QuEra Computing Inc., where I was able to do an internship that prepared me well for the QSE program.
Next to quantum research, I have also been involved with sustainability initiatives since my undergraduate at ETH Zurich. This engagement helped me land the opportunity of returning to ETH Zurich for one year after my master’s at Perimeter. Specifically, I supported the SPEED2ZERO research initiative, which focuses on the intersection of energy, climate and biodiversity. My role was to facilitate exchanges between researchers and stakeholders - e.g. representatives from energy companies or from the Federal Office of Energy, and understand what formats are best suited for exchanging knowledge with these different stakeholder groups. I was grateful for the opportunity to learn about the interface of science, policy and the public on the job.
Overall, having a lot of energy, organizational skills and a low inhibition threshold in talking with people has helped bring me where I am today, but equally the support I have received – both morally and financially. I hope I’ve put that privilege to good use!
What are you passionate about?
While living in Waterloo, I became a big fan of Brazilian jiu jitsu. It’s a surprisingly social activity, trying to figure out how techniques work with your training partners. Even though it’s not uncommon to meet physicists at the gym, it’s also a great place to meet non-academics.
Dancing and acrobatics have also always been a major hobby of mine – doing local performances and travelling to hip hop festivals and dance battles with our group were highlights of my time in middle and high school. I still love meeting people through dance groups today in Boston! If you’re ever in town, come check out the freestyle jam sessions, classes and events organized by The Flavor Continues. Or maybe you’ll catch Offbrnd filming kpop videos on the streets of Boston! Or summer salsa socials next to the river. Yeah, I do love dancing...
On calmer days, I like cooking with friends, reading, or digging in dirt at the Somerville Community Growing Center.
How has your work impacted your industry and community?
Tough question! It’s only been two years since I left PI... On the small scale, I hope I’m a reasonably nice person to work with day to day ;p On a larger scale, it’s been satisfying to see involvement with university politics come to fruition, with regards to energy, climate, and biodiversity issues. During my undergraduate at ETH Zurich, I led the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) and helped write a white paper for the university’s Executive Board in 2021, detailing how ETH Zurich can transition towards net zero. When I returned to Zurich two years later, I was thrilled to see the university publicly commit to the goal and solutions being implemented. I figured we might as well have fun with raising awareness on campus about these developments, so I ran a somewhat unusual campaign. Our slogan was “Are you ready to tackle a challenge, literally?”, and it involved attracting students to our net-zero stand via an outdoor martial arts session.
How do you give back to your community?
The sustainability initiatives mentioned above have certainly been part of it, be it running the SSC in a way that allowed students to contribute as their study-free time permits, while ensuring we achieve our goals and have fun. Be it working for SPEED2ZERO and providing relevant scientific expertise at different stages of the political process, such as the Swiss energy law referendum of June 2024.
Further, I learned a lot from co-organizing the Energy Now! Impact Accelerator at ETH Zurich, where we paired student teams with mentors from the Swiss energy industry to work on real-world challenges of the energy transition. Now, I am trying to build on these experiences by helping to design a Sustainable Computing course at Harvard University, that aims to prepare students for the growing job market at the intersection of data centers and power systems.
And let’s see how many people come see that quantum-themed theater play I mentioned! I hope we can share some of the excitement of and uncertainty around quantum research with a broad audience, and also show that scientists are humans, too :) Special thank you to Perimeter Institute and Two Small Fish Ventures for supporting me and four fellow PSIons – Shawn Skelton, Jaime Redondo-Yuste, Manu Srivastava, Anna Brandenberger in this project!