Study with Us

EQuS is an Australian Research Centre of Excellence grouping some of the best and brightest minds together to unravel the mysteries of the quantum world. This means you will be learning from the best scientists in the field.

EQuS has very strong international ties with quantum physicists around the world. The centre has many visitors throughout the year and students have the opportunity to travel to attend workshops and conferences around the world.

EQuS has five nodes all around Australia so you can chose to live in sunny Brisbane, bustling Sydney, or beautiful Perth. Each centre has its own style and research strengths so it’s best to talk to our supervisors and chose the node that suits you best.

Supervisors

We have 16 Chief Investigators and 30 Postdoctoral Researchers based across five nodes around Australia. Listed below are our Chief Investigators and their areas of interest.

Professor Stephen Bartlett: theory of quantum information, measurement and control.
Dr Michael Biercuk: experimental quantum control and metrology in ion traps.
A/Prof Warwick Bowen: experimental quantum optomechanics.
A/Prof Gavin Brennan: theory of quantum information, many body systems, and atomic physics.
A/Prof Andrew Doherty: theory of quantum information, measurement and control.
Professor Tim Duty: superconducting quantum devices, measurement and control.
Dr. Arkady Fedorov: experiment, superconducting quantum devices
A/Prof Alexei Gilchrist: theory of quantum information and quantum optics.
Dr Ian McCulloch: theory of quantum many body systems.
Professor Gerard Milburn: theory of optomechanics, nanomechanics, quantum optics and superconducting quantum devices.
A/Professor Gabriel Molina-Terriza: quantum nanophotonics.
Dr David Reilly : experimental quantum control of spins in solids.
Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop: experimental quantum control and simulations with cold atoms.
Dr Tom Stace: theory of superconducting quantum devices, and quantum information.
Professor Michael Tobar: quantum control in microwave systems.
Professor Jason Twamley: theory of quantum information, quantum optics and superconducting circuit QED.
Professor Andrew White: experimental quantum optics and quantum simulations.

What will I study?

EQuS has three main programs of research. Elements of each program are conducted at each of the nodes.

Quantum Measurement and Control

The development of techniques for robust and efficient control of quantum mechanical systems is an essential aspect of the production of engineered quantum systems. The utility of exploiting quantum control for accessing new technological capabilities is proven; using quantum control and measurement methods on trapped ions, a new frequency standard has recently been developed in the US with accuracy more than two orders of magnitude better than any competing technology. Methods of quantum control and measurement are at the core of our capacity to construct new technologies from quantum building blocks. The key challenges parallel equivalent problems in the field of classical control engineering but new solutions are required to deal with the special role of measurement in quantum mechanics.

Quantum Enabled Sensors and Meterology

Physical systems that are strongly governed by quantum effects can serve as exquisitely sensitive detectors. Harnessing these effects for ultra-sensitive measurement is the central theme of this program.
“Quantum enhanced” sensing and metrology, including the ability to probe or image single electron and nuclear spins or the measurement of single quanta in mechanical systems, is a fundamental and enabling technology that could lead to breakthroughs including probing of bio and quantum mechanical phenomena in liquids and solids, the noninvasive imaging of proteins and drugs in-vivo and ultimately the development of a deep understanding of our world at the atomic scale.

Synthetic Quantum Systems and Quantum Simulation

This program will make use of engineered quantum systems to enable hard-wired simulations of existing complex materials and to synthesise new materials.
EQuS will develop a variety of optical, atomic, semiconducting, and superconducting quantum architectures to the point where we can strongly couple large arrays of microscopic quantum systems in a coherent fashion up to mesoscopic or even macroscopic scales while maintaining the ability to perform precision measurement and control of the individual quantum constituents. With these capabilities, we can coax the system out of its natural classical state and enter an exotic new regime of large-scale coherent quantum behaviour. This new phase of matter has been dubbed quantum matter, and is the meta-material from which we can build new quantum technologies.

How to apply

Check you meet the entry requirements for the University you wish to be based at. Links to each graduate school are below.
Contact a Chief investigator about a project they have on offer (see available projects below), or about a topic they may be interested in given their current research. Alternatively, you can speak with our Business Manger who can help you find the right Chief Investigator.
Work with your Chief Investigator to develop a research proposal which details all the necessary components for a successful RHD candidature, including:

The significance of the research question appropriate to the degree
The research methodology is academically strong
The expected outcomes are described
The right academic experts are available
There is adequate funding and facilities

Once you have developed your research proposal, complete the relevant application forms for the University at which you wish to be based.

What happens next?

EQuS reviews your application and recommends it to the governing Graduate School. The governing Graduate School makes a decision to admit you as a research student at which stage you will receive a formal written offer. Once you have accepted your offer, you will receive a Confirmation of Enrolment (COE). International students can apply for a visa and make travel arrangements once they receive their COE. Application times vary for each University please allow 6-8 weeks for this process.

The University of Queensland Graduate School

The University of Sydney Graduate School

Macquarie University Graduate School

The University of Western Australia Graduate School

The University of New South Wales Graduate School

Available Projects

Title	Body	Project Level
Quantum phenomena with superconducting quantum circuits	A number of Master and PhD studentships are available in the Quantum Device Laboratory, The University of Queensland in the area of superconducting quantum circuits. The laboratory aims at... Read More	Masters Project, PhD Project
PhD studentship in ultrasensitive integrated optical microresonator based biosensing	A PhD studentship is available in the Queensland Quantum Optics Laboratory, in the area of advanced single molecule biosensing and biomechanics. This project will focus primarily on developing a... Read More	PhD Project
PhD studentship in cavity optomechanics	A PhD studentship is available in the Queensland Quantum Optics Laboratory, ARC Centre of Excellence in Engineered Quantum Systems (EQuS). This project will experimentally investigate macroscopic... Read More	PhD Project
PhD studentship in cavity optomechanical magnetometry	A PhD studentship is available in the Queensland Quantum Optics Laboratory at the University of Queensland (UQ). The successful candidate will develop novel ultrasensitive magnetometers based on... Read More	PhD Project
Adaptive Microscopy for Imaging of Ultracold Atoms	Quantum simulation architectures with neutral atoms rely on efficient imaging techniques. We are currently building up an apparatus for the production of 2-dimensional lattices of... Read More	Honours Project
Quantum Simulation with Neutral Atoms - Experiment	"And therefore, the problem is, how can we simulate the quantum mechanics?...We can give up on our rule about what the computer was, we can say: Let the computer... Read More	PhD Project
Quantum Control Theory	We address the challenge of creating efficient, error-resilient quantum control approaches for use in future quantum technologies. The Quantum Control Laboratory is a research group focused... Read More	Masters Project, PhD Project
Quantum Simulation and Large-Scale Entanglement	Developing techniques for the study of large-scale quantum simulators based on crystals of trapped atomic ions. Our work aims to study the dynamics of large-scale entangled systems and to... Read More	Masters Project, PhD Project
Quantum Enabled Sensing	Development of new quantum-enabled sensors providing unrivalled performance across a range of applications. Trapped ions are exquisite sensors of external forces and fields. Experiments... Read More	Masters Project, PhD Project
Quantum Control with Trapped Ions	This project aims to develop novel techniques for the control of quantum systems using trapped atomic ions. A primary focus of our research on trapped ions is the development of efficient... Read More	Masters Project, PhD Project
Error Correction and Quantum Architectures	Individual quantum systems are very fragile and to be useful in quantum devices (for computation or for other purposes), they must be accurately controlled. In the standard approach one must... Read More	PhD Project
Topological Quantum Science	We traditionally classify order in many body systems through the lens of Landau theory where the symmetry at the microscopic level is broken to a lower symmetry in the ground states, e.g. ordering... Read More	PhD Project
Many body resource states for quantum computation	There are several models for quantum computation which are equivalent in ability to simulate each other but which differ in how they operate. For example, in the measurement based model one begins... Read More	PhD Project