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After five exciting and eventful years, I have graduated from HTL Bregenz with a focus on mechanical and automation engineering. I am very grateful for everything I have learned during my time there, both academically and personally, and for the many opportunities that allowed me to explore my interests in mathematics, physics and research.

In October, I will begin a new chapter of my academic journey by starting the Bachelor's programme in Mathematics at the University of Vienna. I am looking forward to studying mathematics in greater depth, building a strong theoretical foundation. I am excited to see where this next chapter will lead and to continue developing as an aspiring researcher.

After an intensive two-day training at the University of Vienna, I travelled with the Austrian team to Gothenburg, Sweden, for the 2026 European Physics Olympiad (EuPhO). The competition featured interesting theoretical and experimental problems, including acoustic levitation, hysteresis, a folding board and the motion of a puck on dry ice. I was very happy to receive an Honourable Mention, missing the Bronze Medal by only 0.4 points.

Beyond the competition, the week gave me the opportunity to explore Gothenburg, the surrounding archipelago and Liseberg, while meeting talented students from across Europe and I had even time to catch up with a friend from Sweden. I am very grateful for the experience, the international friendships and the many unforgettable memories I brought home from Gothenburg.

Publications & Press:

1. https://www.physikolympiade.at/schwebende-oeltroepfchen-in-goeteborg

During the Austrian science competition Jugend Innovativ 2026, Julian Übelher and I were very happy to receive first place in the Science category for our diploma thesis project, Analyzing and Overcoming Optimization Obstacles in Adaptive Variational Quantum Algorithms. Our research focused on ADAPT-VQE and the optimization difficulties that can arise in such algorithms.

We are also looking forward to taking this work to CASTIC in China. We are very grateful to our mentors at Virginia Tech: research associate Mafalda Ramôa, postdoctoral researcher Bharath Sambasivam, Professor Sophia Economou and Professor Edwin Barnes, as well as to our HTL supervisors, Prof. Mag. Ing. Dr. Matthias Hirner and Prof. OStR Mag. Gunter Spiegel, for their guidance and support along the way.

Publications & Press:

1. https://www.jugendinnovativ.at/projekt/analyzing-and-overcoming-optimization-obstacles-in-adaptive-variational-quantum-algorithms

2. https://vorarlberg.orf.at/stories/3357049/

During the 45th Austrian Physics Olympiad, I had the opportunity to take part in the Bundesfinale in Judenburg. The two-week training camp beforehand was especially enriching and gave me the chance to work intensively on challenging theoretical and experimental problems together with other motivated students from across Austria.

The final itself was a very rewarding experience, with demanding tasks in mechanics, electricity, thermodynamics and quantum mechanics. I was very happy to receive the bronze medal and to qualify for the European Physics Olympiad in Göteborg.

Publications & Press:

1. https://www.htl-bregenz.ac.at/news/bronze-fuer-jonas-stadelmann-beim-bundesfinale-physik-olympiade/

A heartfelt thank you to Jugend Vorarlberg Forscht for honoring us with the Friedrich Schindler Gold Medal within the Vorarlberg Special Award. It is an incredible privilege and honor to receive this recognition.

Publications & Press:

1. https://www.jvf-award.at/

2. https://www.htl-bregenz.ac.at/news/platz-1-beim-special-award-vorarlberg-und-netzwerk-award-fuer-die-htl-bregenz/

3. https://presse.vorarlberg.at/land/public/Wissenschaftliche-Leistungen-im-Rampenlicht

EUCYS 2025 in Riga was a transformative experience. It was great getting in touch with all these amazing people from all over Europe and beyond.

Publications & Press:

1. https://www.vol.at/htl-bregenz-beim-wettbewerb-der-europaeischen-union-fuer-junge-wissenschaftler-in-riga/

2. http://www.meinbezirk.at/bregenz/c-regionauten-community/htl-bregenz-beim-wettbewerb-der-europaeischen-union-fuer-junge-wissenschaftler-in-riga_a7639033

3. https://www.eucys2025.eu/en/projects/prism/

4. https://voi.at/fileadmin/user_upload/di_2023_03.pdf

During my diploma thesis, I had the amazing opportunity to complete an internship at the Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, USA. It was an incredible experience — both academically and culturally. In our collaboration with the Economou Group, we made significant progress on our diploma thesis project. I’ll keep you updated on my thesis and the ongoing work related to it.

Publications & Press:

1. https://www.vol.at/zwei-htl-schueler-forschten-in-den-usa-an-quantenalgorithmen/9718409

2. https://www.vol.at/zwei-htl-schueler-schreiben-einen-code-in-den-usa-weiter/

3. https://voi.at/home/verbandszeitschrift/archiv/ - Ausgabe 2025 | 3

Instagram Blog: www.instagram.com/diploma_thesis_quantum

I participated in Jugend Innovativ 2025 and — together with my team PRISM — won the Science category. In our project, we developed a quantum chemical simulation capable of designing novel molecules for advanced laser media. These molecules can absorb a broad spectrum of polychromatic light, paving the way for more efficient and versatile laser technologies. Winning the Science award was an incredible honor!

Publications & Press:

1. https://www.jugendinnovativ.at/projekt/prism

2. https://www.htl-bregenz.ac.at/news/htl-team-ist-jugend-innovativ-sieger/

3. https://www.aws.at/service/foerdernews/pressetexte-medienberichte-rundschreiben/detail/zwei-jugend-innovativ-sieger-projekte-schaffen-erneut-teilnahme-bei-der-em-der-nachwuchsforscherinnen/

4. https://voi.at/fileadmin/user_upload/di_2023_03.pdf