Dr Sophie (Jie) Zhao will tour Australia in 2027 as the Women in Physics Medallist, sharing her research on quantum technologies enabled by correlated light.

The tour includes the Marie Curie Public Lectures, as well as research colloquia and school visits. 

“I am very honoured to receive this award, and I very much look forward to embarking on the national tour,” Dr Zhao said.

“It is a valuable opportunity to inspire the next generation to pursue careers in STEM and to encourage EMCA physicists to take on challenging research questions with the potential for lasting impact.”

Dr Zhao is a research fellow in the Department of Quantum Sciences and Technology, a chief investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computing Performance and Integration (QPI), and a former Program Manager at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computing and Communication Technology (CQC2T).

The award includes the Women in Physics Lecturer Medal, which was established to honour the women who are selected to undertake these national tours and to recognise them for their time and dedication to communicating their research to academics, students and the general public.

“I am proud of what I am doing - using quantum light to realise quantum computing and communication unachievable using classical light - and I feel excited about sharing our research, as well as the broader story and future possibilities of optical quantum, with audiences across Australia,” Dr Zhao said.

“Scientifically, we are in an era where deep tech is attracting increasing attention across society, and reshaping economies, societies and political landscape globally. 

“Quantum technologies, in particular, hold enormous promise; their broader impact are coming into sharper focus - e.g. "AI and quantum computers will be frenemies" (Economist, Jul 2026).  

“It is therefore timely and important for physicists working at the forefront of the field to explain the current state of the art, where the field is heading, what we might expect in the near and medium term, and the ambitious long term goals we are working towards.”