Alyaa Abdullah (Earth Sciences), Fuad Jamari (Maths), Leo Tay (Physics), and Ain Ahmad Makinudin (Physics) entered the competition with proposals for synchronising clocks across various applications in a way that would resist security attacks. Tom Braithwaite (Chemistry) and Almudena Ravelo Guedez (Chemistry) were part of a team that looked at ways to address the growing gap between the supply and demand of copper. Both teams were awarded an experience day visit to the STFC Research and Innovation Campus at Harwell, where the NQCC is based. The students were hosted by the Director of the NQCC, Aegis Professor Michael Cuthbert.
Prof Cuthbert gave the students a tour of the campus, including the NQCC Lab, the Diamond Light Source – the UK’s national synchrotron, which works like a giant microscope – and the ISIS pulsed neutron and muon source, which enables the study of materials at the atomic level.
Alyaa described the visit as ‘seriously mind-blowing’. ‘Exploring the NQCC opened my eyes to the transformative power of quantum technology,’ she explained. ‘It's not just about the computing power, but the potential to revolutionize fields like medicine, environmental science, and cryptography that excites me the most.’
Fuad was also impressed. ‘I learnt a lot from the trip,’ he said, ‘especially regarding the financial support and workforce needed to develop quantum computing.’
Prof Cuthbert was pleased that the visit had made such a strong impression on the students. ‘It was a pleasure to show the undergraduate teams around the Harwell Campus,‘ he said. ‘Many of the UK’s big physics facilities are based here in Oxfordshire.For the students to see the scale of engineering required to turn physics theory into experimental practice will hopefully inspire them to further develop their careers in physics and also to think more deeply about some of the challenges posed in the Aegis Professor competition. Issues of material supply, resources and sustainability cut across the Aegis challenges and are very real issues when thinking about future user facilities, experimental design, operational performance and their societal impact.’
We’re grateful to Michael and everyone at the NQCC for giving our students such a memorable day.