“I am a proud ambassador of CERN; it’s one of the greatest places on earth” declares Markus Pflitsch, whom I met, as is the current trend, via a popular video conferencing platform, during the COVID-19 confinement. As is the case for numerous CERN alumni, Markus’ first experience with the Organization was as a summer student, in 1996.
Back in CERN’s Underground facilites
Alongside his activities within Terra Quantum, Markus is heavily invested in the German entrepreneur ecosystem, thanks to which he recently had the opportunity to come back to CERN. Just over twenty years since leaving CERN, Markus returned with a group composed of some of the most influential German business leaders, with the Baden-Baden Entrepreneur Talks group.
“Back in January of this year, I brought 70 entrepreneurs to CERN. They were blown away by their visit and by CERN’s cutting edge research. Not only were they impressed that CERN is seeking answers to the most profound and relevant questions but the sheer scale of project management of such a gigantic endeavour left them in complete awe. After the visit, they told me that the humility and openness of those working at CERN was remarkable. CERN is truly an emblem of ‘Science for Peace’”.
Clearly, Markus feels a profound attachment to CERN. “CERN gave me so much!” Realising early on in his career the power of networks and how being connected can aid in, amongst other things, securing one’s desired job, Markus is a seasoned networker. Without hesitation, he became a proud member of the CERN Alumni Network, therefore opening up an exclusive community of CERN Alumni with similar professional interests. He also reveals that he is in close contact with the CERN Entrepreneurship team, in the Knowledge Transfer group.
The pride of returning to Science
Our conversation closes with me asking Markus what he is most proud of in his impressive career. With so many successes to choose from, he replies without hesitation:
“It’s definitely founding and building Terra Quantum. We are building quantum technology for a better future, breaking down the barriers between science and industry and laying the foundations of a real quantum tech ecosystem and value chain. Quantum physics has for decades been at the very core of my ultimate interests and bringing real world Quantum applications to life is a thrilling prospect.”
Source: https://alumni.cern/news/285721?network_id=cern-alumni