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.