How a PhD in Physics prepares you for an exciting career in industry

Synopsis

After receiving a PhD in Physics, SFU alumnus Ken Urquhart went on to a long and successful career in data science.  Ken has previously held executive positions at Sun Microsystems, IBM and Microsoft, and is now “Chief Data Alchemist” at the company Luxoft, where he advises startups and larger companies on technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain.  As you will see from his colloquium abstract below, Ken is particularly keen to let our students and postdocs know how their physics-archive training can have important impact in industry. 

A doctorate degree from SFU enables you to carry out original research in Physics…but what else can it help you do? How about creating the world’s first airline ticket sales system on the Internet? Or building new technologies like Java and keeping competitors from destroying them? Or create new business strategies for the world’s biggest technology companies? Add a billion dollars to a company’s bottom line? Or transition effortlessly into the worlds of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and 5G wireless? In short, your PhD in Physics prepares you to be a valuable and lasting contributor in any industry - and sometimes lets you spend some quality time with CEOs, major political leaders, and Hollywood executives because you can explain amazing things like superconductivity to a non-technical person in under 30 seconds. Carrying out research and publishing papers in pursuit of tenure is just one path…come and hear about some of the alternatives…

Pizza lunch provided.