Andrea Morello (born 26 June 1972, in Pinerolo, Italy) is the Scientia Professor of quantum engineering in the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

, and a Program Manager at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (CQC2T). Morello is the head of the Fundamental Quantum Technologies Laboratory at UNSW.

Education

Morello completed his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at the

Politecnico di Torino The Polytechnic University of Turin ( it, Politecnico di Torino) is the oldest Italian Public university, public Institute of technology, technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urba ...

in Italy in 1998. His research career began at the Grenoble High Magnetic Field Laboratory where he investigated the magnetic phase diagram of high

T_c

superconductors. He obtained his PhD in experimental physics from the Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

in 2004, during which he explored the quantum dynamics of molecular

nanomagnet A nanomagnet is a submicrometric system that presents spontaneous magnetic order (magnetization) at zero applied magnetic field (remanence). The small size of nanomagnets prevents the formation of magnetic domains (see single domain (magnetic)). ...

s at low temperatures. Morello spent two years at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

before joining UNSW Sydney in 2006.

Research

Morello's research is primarily focused on designing and building the basic components of a

quantum computer Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Thoug ...

using the spins of single atoms in

silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic ...

. His team were the first in the world to demonstrate the coherent control and readout of the

electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary partic ...

and

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space * Nuclear ...

spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

of an individual

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...

atom in silicon, and for many years they held the record for the longest quantum memory time for a single qubit in the

solid state Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. Solid state may also refer to: Electronics * Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials * Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their u ...

(35.6 seconds). Morello's research also focuses on using highly coherent spin systems to study the foundations of quantum mechanics.

Outreach

Outside of his research Morello is actively engaged in science outreach and education. He has produced a series of YouTube videos 'The Quantum Around You' and 'Quantum Computing Concepts' to bring the fundamental concepts of quantum physics to a wider audience. Morello also starred in a series of videos produced by YouTuber

Derek Muller Derek Alexander Muller (born 9 November 1982) is an Australian-Canadian science communicator, filmmaker, and television personality, who is best known for his YouTube channel Veritasium. Muller has also appeared as a correspondent on the Ne ...

on his channel Veritasium, explaining the fundamental concepts of quantum computing, with the highest viewed video in this series being watched over 4.4 million times.

Honours

* 2011.

Eureka Prize The Eureka Prizes are awarded annually by the Australian Museum, Sydney, to recognise individuals and organizations who have contributed to science and the understanding of science in Australia. They were founded in 1990 following a suggestion ...

for Scientific Research * 2013. Malcolm Macintosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year ( Prime Minister's Prizes) and the

David Syme Research Prize The David Syme Research Prize is an annual award administered by the University of Melbourne for the best original research work in biology, physics, chemistry or geology, produced in Australia during the preceding two years, particular preference ...

* 2014. NSW Science and Engineering Award for Emerging Research * 2017. Fellow of the American Physical Society (FAPS) and the inaugural recipient of the Rolf Landauer and Charles H Bennett Award in Quantum Computing * 2017. Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW and winner of the Pollock Memorial Lectureship *2019.

Walter Boas Medal The Walter Boas Medal is awarded by the Australian Institute of Physics for research in Physics in Australia. It is named in memory of is named in memory of Walter Boas (1904-1982) — an eminent scientist and metallurgist who worked on the physics ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morello, Andrea 1972 births Quantum computing Leiden University alumni Academic staff of the University of New South Wales Polytechnic University of Turin alumni Italian academics Living people Fellows of the Royal Society of New South Wales Fellows of the American Physical Society