University of Queensland quantum physicist Jesse Woods has secured a Ramsay Postgraduate Scholarship, allowing him to complete a PhD at Switzerland’s University of Bern.
The young physicist will be exploring the world of quantum chromodynamics – the theory that describes how protons and neutrons are formed.
“Quantum chromodynamics has a particle known as a gluon, similar to the familiar photon of electromagnetism,” Mr Woods said.
“However, unlike photons, gluons interact and clump together to form new particles.
“Determining minimum size of a ‘glueball’ is one of the most notorious open problems in mathematics – the Millennium Problem of the Yang-Mills Mass Gap – and answering it promises a $1 million prize!
“Though solving this problem would be a bit ambitious for a PhD project, I’ll instead be studying the theory in various limits, unearthing dualities with exotic phases of quantum matter, like superfluids or superconductors used in quantum computers and MRI machines.”
During his PhD, Mr Woods will continue to teach classes covering advanced content at the master’s level.
“I really enjoy explaining difficult concepts in a simple way,” he said.
“I also hope to continue to be active, just as I have been at UQ, in volunteering and giving talks to support the science community and its outreach.
“For the past year I’ve also been writing a few small science explainers – I really want to expand on this in the coming years.”
Mr Woods has just returned home from completing a Master of Advanced Study in Theoretical Physics at Cambridge.
Later this year, he will be spending three months in Japan at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology for a research internship with the Qubits and Spacetime Unit.
Though different to his PhD studies, he hopes to learn more about the relationship between quantum information and quantum gravity.
Mr Woods will then be off to commence his studies in Bern in January 2025.
He would like to thank Dr Gabriele Tartaglino Mazzucchelli, his supervisor for the past few years that provided him with so many opportunities to learn above and beyond what’s in the curriculum.
He would also like to thank Dr Arkady Fedorov and Dr Ross McKenzie and their respective groups for supporting research projects during his undergrad, and the UQ Science Leaders team.
Media: UQ Faculty of Science Media, science.media@uq.edu.au, +61 438 162 687.
