Mile Gu is a New Zealand citizen who completed his undergraduate at the University of Auckland with a triple major in mathematics, physics and computer science. His interest in the cross-disciplinary research in these areas propelled him to do a PhD in the field of quantum computation, graduating from the University of Queensland in 2009.

After a 4-year research fellowship at the center for quantum technologies in Singapore, Gu joined Tsinghua University as tenure-track faculty under the Chinese 1000 talent program. In 2016, he moved to the Nanyang Technological University as a National Research Foundation Fellow to establish the Quantum and Complexity Science Initiative – aimed at pioneering a new direction of research that interfaces quantum information and complexity.

During his research career, Gu has established a string of novel connections between scientific concepts that were previously unrelated. Notable contributions include a proof – using the methods of theoretical computer science – that not all properties of a macroscopic system can be determined from microscopic laws (see Nature 459, 332-334) and demonstrate that quantum mechanics may change what systems are considered complex (Nat. Comm 3,76). In addition, Gu jointly demonstrated that the simplest solution to a computational problem can be thought as free fall in some curved space, and discovered that different quantum phases may have different computational power.

Dr. Michél Nieuwoudt is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Chemical sciences and the Photon Factory at the University of Auckland. I She earned a PhD in Physics with a focus on Physical chemistry from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, with topic: Raman spectroscopy of passive film on iron film with electrochemical control. She obtained her BSc (Hons) in Chemistry and Applied chemistry from the same university, and an MSc in Physical Chemistry from the University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.

She specializes in the use of vibrational spectroscopy (Raman and infrared spectroscopies (Mid, Near- and Far-IR) and Chemometrics to analyze a wide variety of materials. She is also an associate investigator in the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, and a principal investigator in the Dodd Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum technologies. Her research interests focus on the use of vibrational spectroscopy (Mid, Near- and Far-IR)), hyperspectral imaging and chemometrics to analyse and characterize a variety of different materials including biological tissues for medical diagnostics, dairy research, foods, art conservation, environmental conservation, geology, anthropology, plants, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and polymers.

She has published over 45 publications in peer-reviewed journals and 21 conference proceedings, is an associate editor for Frontiers in Chemistry, and regularly reviews articles for a number of journals. Her current projects include the application of portable photonic sensors for non-invasive, real time measurements of biological tissues in vivo. She is also consultant chemometrician for Fonterra’s On-Farm Research and Development group. She aims to encourage young women to follow their dream career in science and inspire people of all ages about spectroscopy.

Gabriel Santamaria received his Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Carabobo, Venezuela in 2014 and his Ph.D. from Charles III University of Madrid (UC3M), Spain in 2021. During his Ph.D. studies, he developed theoretical models and experimental demonstrations of THz-to-optical upconversion via resonant electro-optics techniques for high-sensitivity THz radiometry. In 2021 he joined the Microwave & RF Research Group at the University of Colorado, Boulder as a Research Associate, where he worked on microwave sensing techniques using Rydberg atoms and the development of non-invasive radiometers for internal body temperature measurements. His research interests include nonlinear and quantum optics, microwave and integrated photonics, low-noise mm-wave and THz sensing, superconducting circuits, and computational electromagnetics (MLFMM).

Dr Irina Kabakova is a Professor in Optical Physics with the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, UTS. She specialises in developing novel microscopy techniques based on Brillouin light scattering that can be directly applied to map local compressibility and viscoelasticity of cells and tissues at the microscale. She also has interests in photonic integration and miniaturisation of imaging setups that will enable translation of laboratory techniques towards clinical use. 

Irina is an alumna of Moscow State University (2004-2007), where she did her Masters Degree in nonlinear optics, and the University of Sydney (2008-2011) where she undertook her PhD in nonlinear optics, high-Q cavities and all-optical switching. Irina held various research positions at the University of Sydney, Nanoscience Centre AMOLF in Amsterdam, and Imperial College London before moving to UTS in 2017.

In 2018, Irina received a prestigious Australian Research Council Discovery award to construct the first in Australia Brillouin Imaging (BI) Facility and study application of BI to understanding mechanobiology of bone and lung cells. This research aims to explain how pathological processes within these biological systems alter their micromechanical properties and apply BI as a diagnostics tool for various human diseases and conditions.

As a dedicated educator, Irina has contributed to the development of several teaching programs for UTS’s Bachelor of Science in Physics degree (Optics, Medical Devices and Diagnostics, Medical Imaging Technology). She is a core member of the Institute of Biomedical Materials and Devices (IBMD@UTS). To date, she has attracted a combined total of over $70m in research funding – a major achievement in a relatively short scientific career. She is a Chief Investigator in the Australian Research Council Centers of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology (QUBIC) and Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS).

In 2022, Irina received the Australian and New Zealand Optical Society (ANZOS) Award for Mid-Career Scientists and the Mid-Career Researcher Award from UTS in 2023. She has published widely in top tier journals and books including Nature Methods, Nature Communications, Small and Biofabrication. She has also been a keynote, plenary and invited speaker at conferences in Australia, Europe and USA.

Fascinated by her field of research, Irina’s ultimate aim is to increase the speed and bring down the cost of these promising new technologies so they can be used in the diagnostics and treatment of many diseases including cancer, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and fibrosis.

Professor Madhu Bhaskaran is a multi-award winning electronics engineer and innovator. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
She co-leads the Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group at RMIT University which she established in 2010. She is Deputy Director – Research for the ARC Research Hub for Connected Sensors for Health. She is also a Chief Investigator and Node Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence in Transformative Meta-Optical Systems.
Her work on electronic skin and wearable sensors has been patented and her group now works collaboratively with multiple industry and design partners to commercialise the technology for healthcare and aged care.
She is a passionate advocate for equity and diversity and she proudly co-leads Women in STEMM Australia.

Dr Yana Izdebskaya is a Research Fellow at TMOS at the Australian National University. Additionally, Dr Izdebskaya serves as a Research Program Manager at TMOS within Theme 2, “Manipulate”. Dr Izdebskaya is the recipient of several awards and fellowships, including the ARC Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship, ARC Discovery Project, and SPIE Educational Scholarships in Optical Science and Engineering. Some of her publications have been featured in special December issues of the Optics and Photonics News, OSA “Spotlight on Optics,” Physics Today, and Physics World. She also actively participates as a reviewer for prestigious scientific journals and has served as a reviewer for the European Commission’s Research and Innovation programs, including “Horizon Europe – Pathfinder Open 2022”, “Horizon 2020 FET-Open”, “Novel Ideas for Radically New Technologies” and “Challenging Current Thinking”. She has been a Technical Program Committee Member of the Australian and New Zealand Conference on Optics and Photonics (ANZCOP) for 2022 and 2023. Dr Izdebskaya’s current research focuses on the development of dynamically tunable dielectric metasurfaces using liquid crystals for reconfigurable devices that enable efficient light modulation for various applications. Dr Izdebskaya holds a PhD degree in Optics and Laser Physics from Taurida National University in Ukraine.