Article written by Gabrielle Green, UNSW.
At every stop on Prof Donna Strickland’s quantum tour around Australia, students lined up with questions, excitement, and selfie requests, eager to connect with her research and inspiring story.
Highlights in Queensland included a poster session – a collaboration between Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology, and The University of Queensland, held at the impressive digital venue ‘The Cube’ at QUT. Congratulations to our winner Dr Luis Villegas Aguilar (Griffith) and runners-up Ashlee Caddell and Maarten Christenhusz (UQ). Thank you to our judging panel which included Prof Strickland, Prof Erik Streed (Griffith), A/Prof Dongchen Qi (QUT), Prof Andrew White (UQ), and A/Prof Jacquiline Romero (UQ).
Victorian university students attended a Q&A session, led by Prof Arnan Mitchell and hosted by RMIT University and ARC Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS).
The Australian National University’s (ANU) early career researcher network NECTAR treated us to a guided discussion and questions, hosted by Dr Laura Dawes with Prof Rebekah Brown, Provost and Senior Vice-President, ANU, as MC.
We completed our tour with two days at University of Sydney’s Prof Harry Messel International Science School. Prof Strickland gave two lectures for students and alumni, including a Gala Dinner and discussion sessions for high school students to ask their best questions.
This tour was made possible by the support of our National Tour Partner, Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), and the dedication of our organising partners in each state, the Australian Academy of Science, RMIT University, UNSW, ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS), ARC Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology (QUBIC), and networking partner Quantum Australia.
The enthusiasm we’ve seen from everyone involved reminds us of the ongoing importance of creating opportunities that spark curiosity, foster connection, and celebrate physics in this International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
