In August 2025, members of the Quantum Theory Group participated in the 7th International Conference on Quantum Error Correction (QEC25) — a major biennial event focused on advances in both the experimental and theoretical aspects of quantum error correction. Previously hosted by the Quantum Theory Group in Sydney in 2023, this year’s conference was organised by the Yale Quantum Institute in New Haven, Connecticut.
Among those attending QEC25 were Theory Group’s Prof Stephen Bartlett, Dr Robin Harper, Dr Campbell McLauchlan and Dr Georgia Nixon, with Prof Bartlett also serving as Chair of the conference’s Steering Committee. While in-person attendance was limited, the Theory Group’s research had a strong showing in the program. Several submissions were accepted in what was a highly competitive review process, with only ~40% of poster submissions and ~13% of talk submissions selected — underscoring the strength and visibility of the Group’s contributions.
Dr Dominic Williamson was co-author on three accepted talks:
- “Universal fault tolerant quantum computation in 2D without getting tied in knots” — Margarita Davydova, Andreas Bauer, Julio Magdalena de la Fuente, Mark Webster, Dominic Williamson and Benjamin Brown
- “Parallel Logical Measurements via Quantum Code Surgery” — Alexander Cowtan, Zhiyang He, Dominic Williamson and Theodore Yoder
- “Extractors: QLDPC Architectures for Efficient Pauli-Based Computation” — Zhiyang He, Alexander Cowtan, Dominic Williamson and Theodore Yoder
Dr Campbell McLauchlan was co-author on one accepted talk:
- “Single-Shot Decoding and Fault-tolerant logic with Tri-variate Tricycle Codes” — Abraham Jacob, Campbell McLauchlan and Dan Browne
And the Theory Group had four posters accepted:
- “Low-overhead magic state distillation with color codes” — Seok-Hyung Lee, Felix Thomsen, Nicholas Fazio, Benjamin J. Brown and Stephen D. Bartlett
- “Generating Explicit Instances of Quantum Tanner Codes” — Rebecca Radebold, Stephen Bartlett and Andrew Doherty
- “Protected phase gate for the 0-π qubit using its internal modes” — Xanda Kolesnikow, Thomas Smith, Felix Thomsen, Abhijeet Alase and Andrew Doherty
- “Low-Overhead QLDPC Surgery for Logical Measurements” — Andrew Cross, Zhiyang He, Patrick Rall, Dominic Williamson and Theodore Yoder
In addition to the main program, a number of satellite events and affiliated talks were hosted at the Yale Quantum Institute, where Dr Robin Harper and Dr Campbell McLauchlan were invited to present their recent research. Dr Harper spoke on his paper “Characterising the failure mechanisms of error-corrected quantum logic gates”, co-authored with several Theory Group colleagues. Dr McLauchlan presented work from his paper, “Tailoring dynamical codes for biased noise”.
The conference also provided an opportunity to reconnect with Theory Group alumni, whose continued contributions reflect the Theory Group’s broader influence across the quantum research landscape. Former member Dr Thomas Smith, now a Postdoctoral Researcher at Yale, was part of the organising team for QEC25. Iceberg Quantum — founded by Theory Group alumnus — was an event sponsor and maintained a visible presence with its own booth. QCtrl, led by Prof Michael Biercuk, also sponsored the event. These connections speak to the strength of the Quantum Science Group’s research culture, with former members actively shaping the field through leadership, innovation, and collaboration.
Taken together, the Theory Group’s strong showing at QEC25 affirms its research excellence and standing in the global quantum science community. From accepted talks and posters, invited presentations, leadership roles in conference organisation and alumni impact, the Theory Group continues to play a leading role in advancing quantum error correction and theoretical quantum science.