The first half of 2026 has been a busy and rewarding period for the Quantum Science Group. Our members were recognised for their research excellence, secured new funding and published significant work. Below is a cross section of the achievements of our researchers, students and alumni.
Recognition of Research Excellence
Dr Xanthe Croot was selected as a 2026 Westpac Research Fellow for her work in experimental quantum computing; Prof Michael Biercuk was selected for the UNESCO Quantum 100, recognising his contribution to the field during the International Year of Quantum; and Dr Christophe Valahu was one of only nine Australian researchers selected to attend the 75th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting.
Complementing these high-profile wins, the Group also received recognition from within the University of Sydney community for its research excellence, with Group members winning several categories at the School of Physics Research Excellence Awards. Dr Dominic Williamson received the Excellence in Research and Industry Engagement Award for his work on fault-tolerant quantum computing in collaboration with IBM and PsiQuantum. Members of the Quantum Control Laboratory (A/Prof Ting Rei Tan, Dr Christophe Valahu, Dr Teerawat Chalermpusitarak, and PhD candidates Vassili Matsos Maverick Millican) received the Breakthrough Research in Physical Sciences Award for their experiments in quantum-enhanced sensing, published in Nature Physics, whilst Hons student Angus King was recognised for Best Research by an Undergraduate Student. Separately, at the School of Physics HDR Symposium, PhD candidate Samuel McNeil was awarded the runner-up prize for Best Presentation Judges’ and People’s Choice for his presentation, Toward Quantum Levitodynamics.
Funding
Recognition also came in the form of new grants and funding sources. Dr Dominic Williamson and Prof Stephen Bartlett were awarded funding through the Microsoft Quantum Pioneers program for their project, Scalable Fault-Tolerant Magic State Preparation for Measurement-Based Majorana Zero Mode Architectures, whilst Dr Sahand Mahmoodian received School Research Seed Funding for his work on the Deterministic Generation of Non-Gaussian Photon States for Quantum Advantage.
Several members of the Group won Sydney Nano NYU Quantum Collaboration Awards, which enabled a large cohort of our staff, researchers and HDR students to travel to New York University on a research exchange and collaboration trip in May.
Publications
The first half of the year also saw the Group build on its strong publication record.
Dr Dominic Williamson and his collaborators contributed three publications spanning quantum error correction and fault-tolerant quantum computation. Their work included Topological Stabilizer Models on Continuous Variables, published in Physical Review, Low-Overhead Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computation by Gauging Logical Operators in Nature Physics, and Parallel Logical Measurements via Quantum Code Surgery in PRX Quantum. The Nature Physics work also attracted media coverage from the by The University of Sydney, Physics World, and Innovation Aus.
Fellow theorist, PhD candidate Xanda Kolesnikow, and his coauthors had a paper on Protected Phase Gate for the 0-𝜋 Qubit using its Internal Modes published in PRX Quantum, and a number of Theory Group alumni contributed to new publications: Dr Nick Fazio and co-authors published Characterizing Physical and Logical Errors in a Transversal CNOT Gate via Cycle Error Reconstruction in Physical Review X, whilst Maiyuren Skrikumar, Prof Stephen Bartlett and co-authors published How Contextuality and Antidistinguishability Are Related in Physical Review Letters.
The Quantum Control Laboratory also contributed to the publication record, with A/Prof Ting Rei Tan publishing work on Multilevel Electromagnetically-Induced-Transparency Cooling in Physical Review A.
Media Appearances
Finally, and in line with the Group’s commitment to public outreach and sharing quantum science beyond the laboratory, PhD candidate Prachi Nagpal featured in The Solutionists podcast in an episode exploring the quantum threat and the need for new approaches to digital security.
Celebrating our people
The achievements of the Group’s researchers have been matched by an important period of transition and progression for its students and staff.
Four students (Tim Newman, Sam Bartee, Vanessa Olaya-Agudelo and Maverick Millican) were awarded their PhDs, and five students graduated with their Honours degrees: Li Hong Liu, Peter Lavilles, Aruna Sathyanarayanan Balaprabhavathi, Michelle Kazarinov and Angus King. Peter Lavilles was additionally awarded a University Medal.
The period also brought several career milestones. Dr Robert Wolf was appointed to a continuing position in the School of Physics, while A/Prof Ting Rei Tan and A/Prof John Bartholomew were appointed as Associate Professors. Dr Xanthe Croot and Dr Dominic Williamson were appointed as Senior Lecturers.
Welcomes
The Group also welcomed a new cohort of students in the first half of the year.
Among our new Honours students, Remy Nettheim, Austin Lin and Laura Café joined the Quantum Control Laboratory, while Leighton Xia joined the Quantum Theory Group. The Quantum Control Laboratory also welcomed Masters students Leon Liao and Dhruv Hariharan.
Our new PhD cohort included Jaime Pryor in the Quantum Nanoscience Laboratory, Li Hong in the Quantum Information Laboratory, and Jacky Jiang and Hugo Stackhouse in the Theory group. We also hosted a visiting overseas student, Pablos Vinas, for an internship.
Farewells
At the same time, the Group farewelled a number of colleagues as they moved into new stages of their careers. Dr Torsten Gaebel (QNL) has joined Microsoft, while PhD graduates Tim Newman (QIL) and Ben Field (QIL) have both commenced postdoctoral research roles: Tim in the Fundamental Quantum Technologies Laboratory at UNSW, and Ben in the Sydney Astrophotonics Instrumentation Laboratory at the University of Sydney. The Group also farewelled PhD graduates Sam Bartee and Vanessa Olaya-Agudelo, and Honours student Jason Wang.