> Nathan Zumbusch

For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by complex systems. From sketching aerodynamic structures and writing letters to Airbus in my early years, to engineering multifaceted software systems today: learning, exploring, and discovering has always excited me.

It is this relentless curiosity that led me to complete university-level coursework in computer science, economics, and politics while still in high school, alongside running a web design business. Today, I channel that same energy into a unique dual-path: pursuing concurrent degrees in Computer Science and Classical Music Performance, anchored by a 1st prize at the national Jugend Musiziert competition as well as an award at the first prompt injection challenge at the AIXChange conference 2025.

Most recently, I bridged these two worlds during a research internship at the Digital and Cognitive Musicology Lab at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. There, I was able to combine both of my fields by engineering low-latency C++ and Python pipelines, optimizing memory with custom SIMD-based query routines and designing complex binary data formats for storage of musical fragments, all while never losing the bigger picture and the context my music education gave me.

Through it all, I return to a simple conviction: success is rarely about where you start or what you already know. Instead, it is all about who you could be and what work you are willing to put in to get there.