Black, White, Pink, and Qubit: Our ailing Coral Reefs, and a New Frontier in Quantum Technology for Microelectronics

Black, white, pink, and brown. Coral reefs are colourful, but these are signs of disease! Why are they getting sick? What can we do about it? Samantha Burke adds a new perspective on the need to save our coral reefs and slow climate change.

Before moving to Australia in 2020, Samantha Burke graduated with a BSc from Cornell University in the USA. There, she completed her Honours on how fishes’ dentition reveal their evolutionary relationships. Samantha now studies threats to corals worldwide.

Quantum computers are set to revolutionise technology by efficiently solving certain problems. Spins in silicon make excellent qubits due to their long coherence time and compatibility with the existing microelectronics industry. These qubits can be created by implanting single donor ions.

Danni Holmes is a postdoc at UNSW, researching the fabrication of quantum computers using implanted spins in silicon. She completed her PhD in Physics at the University of Melbourne. She is passionate about scientific outreach, having appeared on ABC Radio National and their YouTube channel.

In this talk you will share a journey through the world of computational materials discovery. Using high performance computing, you'll see how we are searching for new materials with superior optoelectronic properties. Through simulating numerous perovskites, Yongxin's research aims to uncover patterns and trends that could help guide experimental research and accelerate discovery of new materials.

Yongxin Lyu is a third year PhD candidate in School of Materials Science and Engineering, UNSW. She is selected as one of the Champions for the UNSW Women in Maths and Science Champions Program.