At home in the world of cold atoms

Physicist Laura Corman is fascinated by the behaviour of electrons in solids. But this up and coming researcher’s other interests give her plenty of opportunities to get out of the lab.

Laura Corman
Laura Corman plunges into the world of cold atoms (Image: Annick Ramp/ETH Zurich).

For most people, the world of cold atoms is likely to be somewhat of an enigma. In contrast, Laura Corman (a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Quantum Electronics) can’t hide her enthusiasm when she explains how atoms suddenly become visible and gather into clouds. For her, this is a unique visual experience – almost magical. The cooling of atoms to near absolute zero allows scientists to draw conclusions about the behaviour of electrons in solids.

Laura Corman enjoys popularising science and succeeded in taking her complex subject through to the finals of the competition “Ma thèse en 180 secondes” (My thesis in 180 seconds). Here, she compared atoms to the spectators in the hall: If they have time, they occupy an even spread of seats. If you stop them abruptly, however, there are gaps here and collisions there. “After that, even my grandmother understood what my work is about,” the 29-year-old says.

Corman discovered her passion for science as a ten-year-old when she visited an amateur observatory during the summer holidays in Provence. She is enormously grateful to her parents – her father is an engineer in the automobile industry, her mother a teacher – for giving her and her younger brother the opportunity to discover different worlds from an early age.

When she went to university, she moved from the northernmost tip of France to Paris. There, whole new horizons once again opened up before her: “As I experimented with my own projects, I increasingly understood how things were connected.” In her spare time, she became involved in an association helping socially disadvantaged children to learn mathematics and physics.

In the minority

When it came to studying for her Master’s in physics, she toyed with the idea of an exchange in the USA. Then some colleagues brought ETH to her attention, and she applied immediately. The interest was mutual: ETH offered Corman an Excellence Scholarship, and her move to Switzerland was settled. To round off her year, she received the Willi Studer Prize for her outstanding mark in her final Master’s examination.

As a woman, she has always been in a minority within her subject. As far as she is concerned, though, this has hardly made any difference – or rather, just once. This was when Corman felt that she was getting less interesting work to do than her male colleagues during an industrial internship. Being a direct person, she refused to accept that. In hindsight, she wondered to what extent the problem really had to do with the fact she is a woman, or whether perhaps prejudices were distorting her perception. “Men probably never ask themselves questions like that,” Corman acknowledges thoughtfully.

Laura Corman
"It’s a bit annoying that women are often the only ones confronted with the issue of reconciling work and family life. Nowadays that’s just as much a matter for men."Laura Corman, Postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Quantum Electronics

When Professor of Quantum Optics Tilman Esslinger invited her to return to his laboratory at ETH after her doctorate in Paris, she did not hesitate for a moment. The team is fantastic, the infrastructure and support superb, says Corman. She is now receiving support from the ETH fellowship programme for promising postdoctoral researchers, although she still finds it a huge challenge to give lectures in German. In order to improve their language skills and make some contacts, she and her partner play handball at the ASVZ. “Whether it’s handball or German, we are total beginners in both,” she laughs.

Corman is adamant that she would continue to pursue her career, even if she were to become a mother someday. In France that’s the norm, she explains, although the conditions there are somewhat different: a single income is not usually enough to get by, but then day care places are affordable and in sufficient supply. Corman gets annoyed that it is often only women who are confronted with the issue of reconciling work and family life. Nowadays that’s just as much a matter for men, and it's mainly a question of organisation.

Where her career path will one day lead her still remains to be seen: “It would be fantastic to establish my own group at a university. But exciting possibilities might be lying in wait in other places too – everything is left to play for.”

Globe: Why ETH needs more women

Admittedly, universities are no longer the sole preserve of men. Nevertheless, women remain under-represented in science,
particularly in technical subjects. In the current issue of Globe, you can read about how and why that should change and what ETH
is doing to make it happen.

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