UCL engineer awarded prestigious quantum fellowship

The Fellowship recognises the most promising early career researchers in the UK and offers a £15 million investment in the development of their careers. 

The Fellowships are designed to accelerate the researchers’ careers and fast track them towards world-leading positions in the future, helping to maintain the UK’s position as a global force in quantum technology. 

The fellows will support innovation activities that will help to deliver growth in the quantum technology sector.  

Dr Seddon will focus on advancing quantum computing, seeking to make it possible to connect smaller quantum computers to a larger system while maintaining their quantum properties. 

Explaining what his Fellowship will involve, he said: “State-of-the-art superconducting quantum computers rely on microwave resonators to form the basis of the quantum bits, a unit of information in quantum computing. But, because they operate in this frequency range, the computers have to be cooled down to temperatures colder than outer space. The equipment used to cool them down has limited power, which can make scaling difficult.  

“My fellowship will explore how we can increase the frequency of the quantum bits so we can operate them at higher temperatures where there is much greater cooling power available and replacing the cables with optical fibres so that we can use light to generate and deliver the signals.” 

On receiving his fellowship Dr Seddon said:

“I’m delighted to have been selected for an EPSRC quantum technologies fellowship, this is an exciting opportunity to pursue cutting edge research by bringing together quantum technologies and THz systems. I look forward to collaborating with the wider community to address scalability challenges in quantum computing.” 

Dr Rob Thompson, UCL Faculty of Engineering Vice-Dean for Enterprise, congratulated Dr Seddon: “UCL is a hub for innovation, with a strong track record in translating quantum research into world-changing technologies. It’s fantastic to see James awarded this fellowship—it highlights UCL’s commitment to fundamental research and to nurturing the talent driving the UK’s quantum economy.” 

EPSRC Executive Chair Professor Charlotte Deane said: "These awards highlight the diversity of our quantum technologies portfolio and amplify the importance of technological integration to deliver world leading capabilities for the UK. 

“The Quantum Technologies sector is rapidly growing and evolving, so building a diverse and thriving workforce that can drive this forward is vital to unlocking economic and societal benefits in the future.  

“By investing in the most promising researchers, not only are we boosting quantum skills, but we are also strengthening the research base and ensuring the UK can realise the incredible potential of new quantum technologies.”  

Links

• Dr James Seddon’s academic profile 
• UCL Electronic and Electrical Engineering 
• UCL Engineering  
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) 
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 

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• Dr James Seddon 

Media contact 

Sophie Hunter

E: sophie.hunter@ucl.ac.uk