“I like to get out of my comfort zone”

Kirsten Moselund first came to EPFL as an Erasmus student studying microtechnology: “I had chosen photonics,” she says. “There were only a few of us students, and the professors were very involved. That made me want to come back to do my PhD, which I completed here in 2008. Who could have predicted that I would stay in Switzerland for so long?”

Moselund’s educational and career path has taken many twists. Her latest move is into the new Laboratory for Nano and Quantum Technology (LNQ) at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), after she was appointed professor of electronics and microtechnology at EPFL’s School of Engineering.

As a teenager, Moselund had no intention of going into science. She was an avid reader, loved languages and dreamed of becoming a painter. But then her plans changed. “After high school, I left Denmark to travel and went to South Africa,” she says. “It was there that I decided to dedicate myself to the needs of developing countries by working on renewable energies. So I did a Master’s degree in climate engineering – although I don’t know why, since I didn’t like it.”

“I love semiconductors”

Out of curiosity, Moselund took a class on solid state physics – the study of the fundamental properties of solid and crystalline materials. “I was so excited, I had found my path: this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life!” she says. “I love semiconductors, they are such interesting materials, I almost consider them living things.” She went on to take classes in microelectronics, mechanics and quantum mechanics.

Applied research, please

Moselund admits that she never plans more than five years ahead. She likes to try new things, explore unknown horizons and seize opportunities. “Joining IBM just after my PhD was one such opportunity,” she says. “I decided to stay there for a while and see how things went. In the end, I worked there for 13 years. I really liked the experience of bringing industry and research together in a permanent quest for new applications and concrete developments.”

She had become a manager and filed over 20 patent applications, but she was starting to feel a bit too comfortable. “I’m dynamic, I get bored easily, and I like to change and explore new things, as you can see by my career. I couldn’t devote myself to one subject and become the world’s expert in it,” she says. “When you move from one area to another – electronics, photonics – you get a more varied picture, you start to think differently, and new ideas emerge. My background in electronics lets me approach things in a different way from someone with a more classical optical physics background. Now just seemed the right time to return to academics.”

Looking ahead

Moselund is giving herself two years to find the right balance in her professional life. In 2023, Switzerland Innovation Park Innovaare will be completed near PSI and will host tech companies and startups, particularly in the field of quantum computing. As she’s getting her new lab up and running, Moselund will also be designing a technology base that can be transferred to Swiss industry. At the same time, she’ll be setting up a new lab – yet to be named – at EPFL and teaching classes.

Moselund doesn’t skirt challenges in her private life either. “My hobby is painting but, since I have two kids, I haven’t really had time to enjoy it. I miss it, and I’ll pick it up again one day, for sure.”