Academia Archives

Ching-Ray Chang

Professor Ching-Ray Chang has contributed to quantum science for several decades, playing a central role in building Taiwan’s quantum research and education infrastructure. With over 280 publications and more than 28 patents, his scientific work is matched by a series of popular science books that make quantum concepts accessible to the public.

As former Executive Vice President of National Taiwan University, Chang founded the NTU–IBM Quantum Hub, now one of Asia’s most active academic quantum centers, and introduced quantum computing into NTU’s curriculum. He also Found another quantum information center in CYCU and led national training programs and pioneered high school–level quantum education to cultivate Taiwan’s next-generation quantum workforce.

As the Founding President of the Taiwan Association of Quantum Computing and Information Technology (TAQCIT), he helped shape Taiwan’s national quantum roadmap and strengthened coordination across academia, industry, and government. He also established the Quantum Taiwan Forum—launched at SEMICON Taiwan five years ago—which has since become a major bridge linking Taiwan’s semiconductor strengths with the global quantum technology ecosystem.

Together, his research, policy engagement, educational initiatives, and institutional leadership define a comprehensive approach to advancing quantum science and building the broader infrastructure needed for its long-term development.

Andrew Dzurak

Deepening understanding of qubit control, Professor Andrew Dzurak’s research is helping to make the promises of quantum computing a reality. His research demonstrates that qubits can be created and controlled using the same manufacturing technology underlying today’s semiconductor industry. This is helping to enable the mass production of quantum chips, rather than confining quantum computing to the lab.

In 2022, Dzurak founded Diraq to bring the results of his research to life. The company leads in silicon quantum dot processors designed to scale from thousands to millions—eventually billions—of qubits on a single chip. Diraq’s platform offers significant advantages in cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, and physical footprint, positioning it as a practical solution for sustainable large-scale deployment.

Dzurak actively engages with media, government, and industry to advance understanding of quantum technology’s potential. He has mentored numerous PhD students and early-career researchers who now hold leadership positions across academia and industry. His approach emphasizes rigorous collaboration between theoretical and experimental teams while fostering an inclusive research culture. By connecting scientific innovation with industrial manufacturing capability and strategic communication, Dzurak is helping transform quantum computing from research promise into deployable technology.

Yaseera Ismail

Through her leadership of the QuPhotonics Lab at Stellenbosch University, Dr. Yaseera Ismail is at the forefront of advanced quantum communication systems. Her research combines several quantum disciplines to address critical challenges in secure communication infrastructure.

A defining moment was leading South Africa’s component of a collaborative project with the University of Science and Technology of China, establishing the first quantum satellite communication link in South Africa and across the African continent and the Southern Hemisphere. This collaboration resulted in an 8,000-mile-long intercontinental quantum link, the longest ever reported. During a single satellite pass over Stellenbosch, her team achieved secure key generation among the highest rates recorded under real-world atmospheric conditions.

Ismail’s work advances the experimental development and practical implementation of quantum networks, with particular focus on establishing quantum technology infrastructure in the global south. Through research and mentorship, she is building capacity for quantum science in Africa while fostering collaboration that will extend the reach and impact of quantum communication technology.

Carla Hermann

As a professor of quantum physics at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, and an associated researcher at MIRO (Millennium Institute for Research in Optics), Professor Carla Hermann inaugurated Chile’s first squeezed-light laboratory—and the first quantum optics lab in the country directed by a woman—dedicated to generating intense quantum light and advancing second-generation quantum technologies. Her academic work is complemented by active participation on Chile’s national committee for quantum technologies, helping shape the country’s strategic roadmap.

Hermann’s contributions to quantum go beyond academia. Her Instagram account (@quantumcarla) reaches thousands of Spanish-speaking followers with accessible explanations of quantum physics. As host of the radio program Let’s Get Physical, she leads conversations ranging from cutting-edge science to public policy with guests including research experts and government ministers. Passionate about making quantum concepts accessible to people of all ages, Hermann developed the scientific content for La Caja Cuántica, an interactive and immersive art–science exhibition that introduces audiences of all ages and abilities to the wonders of quantum light.

Hermann has also co-organized Quantum Optics X on 2024, the largest quantum optics conference in Latin America, and has been recognized in multiple settings, including in the Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile (BCN), the UNESCO–L’Oréal For Women in Science Chile Award (2017), and Forbes’s “30 Powerful Women” (2023). She has even been featured in Revista Velvet, a Chilean lifestyle magazine, positioning her as an ambassador for science in spaces traditionally distant from it.

Her dedication to outreach, policy development, and the representation of women in STEM—alongside her commitment to research and teaching—has inspired the quantum community in Chile and beyond.

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Anna Grassellino

Dr. Anna Grassellino is a leading physicist and the director of the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) Center at Fermilab, a Department of Energy Office of Science National Quantum Information Science Research Center in the U.S. In this role, she coordinates a global collaboration of over 300 researchers from 43 institutions, uniting expertise across academia, national laboratories, and industry to advance superconducting quantum devices.

With Grassellino at the helm, the SQMS Center has achieved key milestones in quantum information science, including a deeper understanding of decoherence in superconducting systems, the development of world-leading cavity-based qudit systems, and the application of quantum sensors to fundamental physics, including dark matter research. Her work combines accelerator physics, quantum device fabrication, and materials science to push the coherence and scalability of superconducting qubits, enabling new possibilities in quantum computing and sensing.

Grassellino is recognized for her ability to bring together diverse scientific communities, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and mentor early-career researchers. Her contributions have strengthened the U.S. and global quantum ecosystem, positioning the SQMS Center as a hub for transformative advances in superconducting quantum technologies.

Malak Trabelsi Leob

Malak Trabelsi Loeb is an international business law jurist whose practice sits at the intersection of cross-border commerce, emerging technologies, national security, and global governance, with an emphasis on quantum. She is the founder and president of Vernewell Group and the founder and CEO of Trabelsi Loeb Legal Consultants. Trabelsi Loeb advises governments, frontier-tech companies, innovators, and investors on technology transfer, export controls, foreign investment screening, cross-border data and cybersecurity, and national security governance.

In 2020, she founded the first Vernewell venture focused on emerging technologies. Through Vernewell Group, she has shaped a regional quantum ecosystem by linking policy, industry, research, and capital, creating clear pathways for procurement and scale. With a strategy designed to accelerate responsible adoption and economic outcomes, she spearheaded Vernewell Group’s Quantum Adoption Program. Under this program, she founded the Quantum Innovation Summit as the flagship convening platform and established Vernewell Management Consultancies to drive strategic initiatives and partnerships with enterprises and institutions. Vernewell Academy was created as the region’s first dedicated capability-building arm for quantum, initially focused on executive and technical upskilling.

Trabelsi Loeb is a NATO subject matter expert for the space sector and emerging disruptive technologies. She speaks at international forums, including NATO expert engagements and the Royal Aeronautical Society, and received the Innovation Leadership Award at the Women in Aviation Middle East Conference in 2024. Her initiatives have helped catalyze pilots in finance, energy, logistics, healthcare, and space; de-risk investment decisions; and position the UAE as an active contributor to the global quantum economy.

Claudia Zendejas-Morales

Continuously self-driven in her study of quantum physics, Claudia Zendejas-Morales embodies the spirit of Mexico’s emerging quantum community. She pursued rigorous training in quantum computing through courses from institutions including MIT, the University of Waterloo, and Purdue University, and certifications in group theory and quantum information.

As a teaching assistant at UNAM and coordinator for QWorld’s QClass 2023/24, Zendejas-Morales encourages the democratization of quantum education, making quantum concepts accessible to Spanish-speaking audiences. Her mentorship is cultivating Mexico’s next generation of quantum scientists.

Zendejas-Morales’s combination of software engineering and physics knowledge bridges her between classical computation and quantum science. In an environment where quantum resources were scarce, she not only built her own expertise but is creating opportunities for others.

Cristian Eliecer Bello Reyes

Driven by his goal to increase access to quantum technologies across Latin America, Cristian Eliecer Bello Reyes founded Colombia’s first quantum computing research group at just 19. Now a final-year mathematics student at the National University of Colombia, the research group is a collaborative environment for over 60 students, combining technical rigor with mentorship and support to help advance the country’s quantum industry.

Bello has actively promoted open science and education, creating a YouTube channel with more than 2,000 subscribers and 70,000 views, sharing tutorials, expert interviews, and resources in Spanish. His technical expertise spans quantum error mitigation, optimization, quantum algorithms, and quantum key distribution. He has also represented his university at international conferences and hackathons in Japan, Germany, and Italy.

Through his drive, outreach, and global engagement, Bello is a standout contributor to the quantum community.

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