EQUS Seminar Series: Ben McAllister
Date: Tuesday 27 August
Time: 10:00am – 11:00pm AWST, 12:00am -1:00pm AEST
Location: Please check your emails for details
Speaker: Dr Ben McAllister
Bio: Ben is an EQUS AI working at Swinburne University of Technology – he has been haunting EQUS since 2015, having completed his PhD with the UWA node in 2019, before moving to Swinburne in 2021. He mostly works on dark matter and quantum sensing, but has recently branched out into the exciting world of driving half an hour down a long tunnel into a functioning gold mine to hide from cosmic rays.
Abstract: Mounting evidence suggests that various quantum systems are impacted by high energy particles from space called cosmic rays. The best prospect for studying and understanding this effect is to remove the cosmic rays, or at least partially shield them. Sadly, this is very difficult, requiring hundreds of metres of rock, or thousands of metres of water overburden. Fortunately, there are no shortage of big holes in Australia, so the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory was opened 1024 m underground in a gold mine in regional Victoria, and recently some EQUS people received funding to install a dilution refrigerator down there to do interesting research in the effects of cosmic rays on various quantum systems. This facility is exceedingly unique, with only ~5 similar facilities in the word. I’ll tell you about the stuff we plan to do, and the prospects for measuring YOUR quantum system in a big hole in the ground.
Recordings of past seminars are available to EQUS members via the Hub (requires login).
Major funding support
The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS) acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present.