Pete Rigas

Reaching the end of that upcoming #Quantum project. Lol while the #job #market for #Quantum still appears to be extremely bleak, as it has been at least for the past 2 years, these projects are something that helps me meaningfully pass time.

I will probably upload a few talks again soon describing the upcoming work.

#opentowork #recession #failing #economy #jobs #employment #work

2 days ago | [YT] | 1

Pete Rigas

Unfortunately, with the state of the #job #market (ie, #labor #sector) for #Quantum #computing, the prospects for hiring newer talent seems to be diminishing. While my predominant focus in the #arXiv papers that I have been posting and submitting to journals this year has been for my own interest to explore new ideas between #Mathematics and #Physics, often times companies will be far too quick to brand such works as “too theoretical.”

Nevertheless, I continue to strongly believe that exploring #foundations of #Quantum #information, which indeed some industry practitioners may claim as “too theoretical,” determines whether near term #algorithms that they can run can be achieved with at least polynomial speedup. Of course, albeit the fact that #exponential #Quantum advantage was mentioned repeatedly throughout the #NISQ era, there are very few examples of such advantage.

This only goes to show how “pure play” #Quantum companies which have experienced a significant rise in the stock market over the past year could easily be in a #bubble of its own, much like how many speculate that #AI is in a #bubble. Obviously, without a doubt #AI is in a #bubble of some sort. It is completely unrealistic to claim that there will be, along the words of “visionaries” 99% #unemployment. However, at the same time though, #Quantum companies (like Q-CTRL, Rigetti, and others), are relying too much on #AI in their marketing. It greatly waters down what commercial services that they can offer; furthermore, before the #AI hype cycle ramped up, these companies barely mentioned #AI in any of their previous press releases. While other industrial players similarly try to offer #error #correction #software that can be called with a few lines of code, “mainstream” near term applications are still several years away. While many people are enthusiastic for such prospects, including myself, I think that it’s best to wait at least a few years before devoting significant time. It is very speculative as to whether the stock evaluations of the “pure play” #Quantum corporations will hold up.

#opentowork #Quantum #information #theory #quantumphysics #computational #biology #laid #off #work #quantum #jobs

4 days ago | [YT] | 1

Pete Rigas

Made significant progress today on an upcoming #Quantum project. I think that I should be ready for uploading to the #arXiv by next week. Stay tuned!

#quantum #quantum #information #theory #quantumkeys #math #physics #opentowork #unemployed #laid #off #layoffs #masslayoffs #computational #biology #biotech #biotechnology

5 days ago | [YT] | 1

Pete Rigas

🤔 Which #commercial efforts are #Biotechnology #companies taking to incorporate #Computational #Biology into current #product offerings?

Albeit statements from #Biotechnology #executives, specifically those from the #synthetic #biology #industry, it appears that many claims (at least these days) for #product “offerings” in the #Computational #Biology field appeal to #AI #hype with much substance to be desired. For example, claims from #Ginkgo #Bioworks executives pertaining to #AI, and whether related #computational #models would be able to accelerate development of novel #therapeutics, appear to still be a long ways off. While great attention was devoted to #RNA #biology through a #Pfizer collaboration announced with #Ginkgo a little more than 2 years ago, few announcements have since been announced.

Certainly, while it is a prudent #business move for a #Biotechnology #executive to discuss #AI in #quarterly #updates, such discussions are only continuing to fuel speculation of an #AI #bubble. It’s funny to me because some people who are not at all involved in #investing claim that the fact that one speculates that there is an #AI #bubble completely “prevents” one from forming. From my perspective, the stretches that #companies are going to for adopting #AI, and always trying to incorporate #AI, and related buzzwords, into their #quarterly #updates is something that needs to be done with caution. #AI, especially with the concerns of many that a #bubble has formed, is not going to solve every #industrial problem.

That is, there are not only significant #technological leaps that have to be undertaken for #AI and #ML to be adopted into the #commercial mainstream, but also several related questions surrounding its various uses that #executives conveniently always fail to acknowledge. If, as many #executives claim, #AI will in fact make many new jobs, we need to have a better idea of such novel emerging areas. Furthermore, claims that we are going to have “99% unemployment” due to #AI are baseless. No #corporation will be #financially #solvent if 99% of the population is #unemployed. Such claims which are meant to drum up #AI #hype, unfortunately, dilute neighboring fields of #Data #Science, #Data #Engineering, and #Computational #Biology.

#opentowork #biotech #biotechnology #filings #bankruptcies #tariffs #mathematics #computation #computational #studies #data #science #data #engineering #engineer #laid #off

1 week ago | [YT] | 1

Pete Rigas

🤔 It is quite interesting to hear about the thoughts of ordinary people online, particularly in reflecting on the state of the #labor #market. At the most recent update on #interest #rates from the #Federal #Reserve, there was a discussion of many aspects of the #US #economy, along with #immigration and many other topics. Overall, the characterization of the #layoff rate as being ‘low,’ however, is completely wrong.

Even if such a rate was ‘low,’ it discredits all of the #financial #struggle, #hardship, and #disappointment that #job #seekers have had over the past few years. In #2022, when #mass #layoffs began to accumulate, as given by my experience in the #biotechnology #industry as one example, #job #seekers were gaslight into believing that the #economy was strong. Then, in #2023 and #2024, the #job #market progressively became worse; however, the truth about the #slowdown in the #job #market was obfuscated from #public view.

I am very sure that I am not the only one with such a perspective, but it is a complete farce that ~911,000 jobs were subject to #revision. Aren’t we supposed to have accurate #jobs numbers? Why are #ghost #jobs as prevalent now, in comparison to #job #markets of previous years?

Unfortunately, even working very hard, and learning about a #STEM field, say #Biotech, #Quantum, #Math, or #Physics appears to mean very little. We need #change in the #job #market. #Interest #rates, obviously, should have been cut much sooner. The #labor #market, as the #mass #media has finally been acknowledging, is much weaker than expected. #Hiring #managers, and individuals in similar positions of authority should promote #transparency. Generally speaking, if someone on the level of #vice #president, or #director, leaves a company everybody in less #junior positions should be on high alert. Take it from me - I have been unemployed for 3 years this #December.

#opentowork #biotech #quantum #recession #job #market #interest #rates #liquidity #job #hugging #we #need #jobs #lower #interest #rates

1 week ago | [YT] | 1

Pete Rigas

The recent #settling of #litigation, and ultimately a #judgment through an ongoing #lawsuit, against #Ginkgo #Bioworks for the amount of $17.75 Million has been driving an unusual amount of traffic, and searches, to some of my videos that I posted several months if not more than a year ago. In said #videos, I not only questioned as to whether #mass #layoffs are definitely always the answer for a company, but also to whether the #biotech industry truly had strong commercial fundamentals to begin with. It is not only interesting to see what #viewers are searching for recently, but also how it factors into the entire history of #Ginkgo #Bioworks. I still strongly believe that #bankruptcy is over the horizon, even if #Jason #Kelly always tries to ease #investors otherwise. Regardless if #bankruptcy occurs within a year or two, the #cash #burn at #Ginkgo #Bioworks is still unsustainable. For example, within the past year and a half, the ‘cash on the sheets’ amount declined from $800 Million to a little more than $450 Million. This #burn #rate is helpful to keep in mind.

The #Scorpion #Capital report, which was a focal point of the #lawsuit, was extremely thorough. It was absolutely needed insofar as to draw the attention of many to the many shady aspects of how #Ginkgo #Bioworks runs its business. Moreoever, while many tried to dismiss the #Scorpion #Capital report when it came out, as time has passed, its claims have only became more clear, and ultimately, reflective of how #Ginkgo #Bioworks uses several “shell” companies to further its financial objectives. Altogether it is quite odd for a company, such as #Ginkgo #Bioworks, to have “customers” of its #foundry in the SAME exact building 😂😂😂😂 and also with the same investors (often Cascade Investments and Viking Global Investors).

Besides #Allonia, #Motif #Foodworks, and related companies, I have more of an idea of what has been going on at #Ayana #Bio because of my own experience in the #Biotechnology #industry. As a #Ginkgo #Bioworks spin off, this company purportedly wanted to focus on #plant #biology, which has connections to the #sustainability #sector which is surely related to #agriculture. Oddly enough though, a few months before I was impacted by a #mass #layoff (which people at the company that I used to work at had a hard time understanding until they themselves were #laid #off too), many coworkers left to go join this #Agtech “company” (but, in reality, a #shell #company), under #Ginkgo #Bioworks.

In hindsight, seeing so many people leave the company that we used to work at contributed to #mass #layoffs, and #poor #work #culture, that ruined the livelihood of #employees who **actually** want to do their job, and enjoyed doing their job, like myself. It’s disappointing that the #Biotechnology #industry has gotten to this point. Generally speaking, #employees used to be able to stay at a #job if he or she wanted to, not because, as in my case, the #director of #Metabolic #Engineering got into many arguments, became very angry, and suddenly decided to leave, without finishing ongoing projects and telling #employees what really happened. Shortly afterwards, someone else in a #leadership position, who was unfortunately also impacted by the #2022 #mass #layoff with me, had mentioned that the company never liked to see people become very angry, and frustrated, only to suddenly leave after 5 years of service. I completely agree with his statement, but the damage to my #job, #livelihood, and many other aspects of my life had already been done, as it had for many others. It’s funny to me how people think that finding a job is so easy, but here I am, approaching 3 years of #unemployment. We are definitively in a #recession.

#opentowork #biotech #biotechnology #liquidity #crisis #funding #shell #companies #ginkgo #bioworks #settlement #related #party #revenue #quantum #molecular #discovery #recession #ginkgo

1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 1

Pete Rigas

As the majority of the #2025 calendar year is coming to an end, it’s funny to look down “memory lane,” particularly when I thought that the #job #market was going to become significantly worse. Even if the #Federal #Reserve did not cut #interest #rates, it doesn’t matter because the point reduction that they implemented today is not at all consequential enough for companies to rush to hire #candidates and prospective #job #seekers again.

Instead, while millions of #job #seekers are waiting to see how things will play out, this year I have mostly been focusing on my #Mathematics projects. With the exception of three preprints on the #arXiv that I have posted this year, I also devoted significant time towards researching appropriate journals to submit my work to. As I even talked with a professor in #materials #engineering at a nearby school at one of the #Starbucks that I frequent, looking at appropriate journals to submit work to is extremely difficult for groups of researchers, let alone myself.

It’s not only difficult in the sense that someone could, potentially, have to reformat and fine tune #figures, #tables, and several other components of a #manuscript, but also the willingness of potential reviewers to look further into someone’s work. Even in the unfortunate cases that my submitted works have been #rejected, #reports from reviewers have always been of significant value towards improving the #manuscript for submitting elsewhere.

Currently, I have 21 projects submitted across a wide variety of journals. One submitted work is along more of the lines of a #survey, in which I generally talked about several #applications and #adaptations of the #quantum #inverse #scattering #method (it’s not on the arXiv, but generally draws upon a few works on vertex & Solid on Solid models). The other 20 projects are more or less what appears in the #templates that I have been updating throughout this year. I am working on updating the 3 remaining projects on the #arXiv, one of which is a shorter paper on #random #walks.


With an extremely #poor #job #market and #labor #sector where fudging jobs numbers to fit certain narratives is the norm, at least for now focusing on my #Mathematics projects is valuable. If a great #job #opportunity comes up, I would love to hear more about it, but I declined to move to #Texas, particularly around #Dallas, a while ago. #Relocation, in general, appears to be a very risky and speculative move for anybody. 🤔 #Corporations want people to relocate and then, unfortunately, lay them off anyways.

#opentowork #laid #off #job #market #federal #reserve #interest #rates #way #too #late #biotech #bankruptcy #bankruptcies #quantum #quantum #information #entropy #work #industry #failing #companies #ghost #jobs #fake #jobs #job #revisions #bls #biden #job #numbers #trump #tarriffs #inflation

1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 1

Pete Rigas

🤔 What has become of the #Computational #Biology #job #market?

With a looming decision on whether the #Federal #Reserve will #interest #rates (which I personally believe they should), many who were of the persuasion that the job market is “very strong,” have had to come to grips with significant #revisions to the jobs reports from the past year, and several months. Albeit the fact that I did not study #Computational #Biology in college, conceptually for me it was not at all difficult to think of which #computations would be useful for an entry level job that I had, for an extremely short period of time.

In this day and age, interest, along with #hiring #needs for #Computational #Biology has nearly depleted completely over the past few years. This harsh reality makes it all the more disappointing for #professionals like myself, as only people who have been in the field for several years can make use of their expertise. Several #Biotech companies, particularly in the #Pharma and #clinical #trials space, that used to invest in #Computational #Biology are not anymore.

Whether the broader #Biotechnology #industry will face a similar fate as the #Computational #Biologists will remains to be seen. Despite always trying to be as optimistic as possible myself, unfortunately I cannot imagine, long term, that there will be much of a difference as the industry is facing a #liquidity crisis. For years, #Biotech companies were able to secure very large amounts of funding based upon the **promise** of being able to leverage #high #throughput #screens. Ironically though, even with such #screens, #Synthetic #biology companies in particular (like #Ginkgo #Bioworks) are, contrary to their claims, removing #scientific personnel from their facilities as their #hiring needs have significantly slowed.

We need more #transparent #job #postings. The #economy has performed extremely poorly over the past year, especially due to downwards #revisions of 1 MILLION jobs. #Economists which unfortunately had a difficult time predicting the #2008 #crash need to address recent #jobs #revisions.

#opentowork #jobs #nojobs #ghost #jobs #bankruptcies #biotech #biotechnology #synbio #synthetic #biology #molecular #screens #insilico

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1

Pete Rigas

Given recent projects of mine from the #arXiv pertaining to #Poisson #structures for several models of interest in #Statistical #Physics ( arxiv.org/abs/2501.01996, arxiv.org/abs/2411.15188, arxiv.org/abs/2409.05309, arxiv.org/abs/2407.11066, arxiv.org/abs/2310.15181), I have been thinking about whether more #algorithmic and #computational perspectives could be explored and formalized. Generally speaking, while #Poisson #structures have strong connections with #symplectic #geometry, and of course, #dynamics over #Poisson #manifolds, the choice of an appropriate #Hamiltonian function for being able to relate time evolution to the computation of #Poisson #brackets could be interesting to automate.

By and large, I think that #AI could be of great help for such a task, as one could:

1) Identify a suitable #Hamiltonian flow, which in the case of the #6vertex model has been shown to be integrable under domain-walls in previous work of mine on the #arXiv,

2) Determine whether similar #Hamiltonian formulations can be obtained for the #4vertex, #11vertex, and #20vertex models, under, respectively fixed boundary conditions, domain-wall boundary conditions, and domain-wall boundary conditions,

3) Simulate #time #evolution of a test function, which can be expressed in terms of the #Poisson #bracket of the test function against the #Hamiltonian #flow,

4) Construct a “library” of test functions from computations with the #Poisson #bracket that I have formalized in my #arXiv posts.

😂🤔 Given the fact that I have absolutely no idea about #cohomology because I dropped my undergrad #topology course, perhaps there could be more interesting theoretical connections in this area. Not too sure if I will exactly get around to automating ‘dynamics on #Poisson #manifolds’ from #Poisson #brackets as I have been describing here, but I nevertheless thought that it was an interesting general #computational perspective to propose. Unfortunately, many people in #industry these days immediately turn down hard working #job #candidates if their work is “too theoretical,” and I thought that it would be helpful to demonstrate how some of these aspects of computations, or formalisms, from #arXiv preprints can be “abstracted away” to formulate more of an #algorithmic centered problem.

Related topics of discussion are at:


* m.youtube.com/playlist?list=P...

* m.youtube.com/playlist?list=P...

* m.youtube.com/playlist?list=P...

* m.youtube.com/playlist?list=P...

#opentowork #unemployed #layoffs #masslayoff #masslayoffs #recession #bankruptcies #failing #businesses #ghost #jobs #interest #rates #federal #reserve #we #need #better #linkedin #upwork #consulting #nsf #funding #quantum #quantumcomputing #quantum #information #theory #cohomology #topology #probability #poisson #manifolds #geometry

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

Pete Rigas

Several #months ago, I made a series of predictions of what I strongly believed was likely to occur in the #2025 #job #market, ranging from: (1) increased volatility, and accompanying concern, of #investors and #corporations alike; (2) more #mass #layoffs; (3) wider adoption of automated technologies, either through the #tech or #service #sectors which would drive even more #layoffs; (4) more “ghost” job postings; (5) and, ultimately, even more competition for fewer roles with less pay. Fastforwarding into this year from #2024, and all of these predictions, and expectations, have unfortunately came true. I think that it is extremely valuable to look back at different thoughts that I had, as it not only demonstrates how #economic #activity fares with respect to time, but also potential long term impacts of #inflation. In reality, while pursuing a STEM degree is of great importance in being able to determine how #science, #mathematics, and #physics can be communicated to the broader community, very few people have such an opportunity given #business #constraints that have significantly limited hiring. While easily 90-95% of the people who comment to previous videos of mine discussing the great difficulties that many are currently facing in landing a job, I would really like to see what the 5-10% of commenters would say now. In #2025, for anybody to claim that the #labor #sector is on a stable footing is tantamount to ignoring several “warning signs” that have been accumulating over the past few years. While we can hope that things would turn around if #interest #rates are soon lowered, it seems that there would not suddenly be more #emloyment #opportunities to compensate for the several million that have been out of work. And for those who still believe that the #labor #market is sound and resilient, where are the jobs?

#STEM #quantumjob #quantum #physics #opentowork #laid #off #layoffs #biotech #bankruptcy #bankruptcy #filing #recession #bioinformatics #computational #biology #funding #inflation #interest #rates

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 1