The quantum physicist and 2018 Australian of the year, Prof Michelle Simmons, has been awarded the top honour at the prime minister’s prizes for science.
Simmons, of the University of New South Wales, was recognised on Monday night for her work in creating the field of atomic electronics.
“It’s a really special and wonderful thing,” she said of the $250,000 prize.
She received the prize in recognition of discoveries that form the basis of a new approach to quantum computing.
Simmons said she was initially drawn to the field by the allure of “building things that have not been made before, with the potential to have a huge impact on computing power”.
Quantum computers, which are based on the principles of quantum physics, are believed to be able to take minutes to perform calculations that would take classical computers thousands of years to complete.
Now in their 24th year, the prime minister’s prizes for science are Australia’s most prestigious awards for scientific research, innovation and science teaching.
Prof Glenn King, of the University of Queensland, was awarded the $250,000 prime minister’s prize for innovation for his pioneering use of peptides from the venom of Australian funnel-web spiders.
King discovered molecules in spider venom that could protect against cell damage caused by stroke and heart attacks.
His company, Vestaron, also uses peptides from the venom of the Blue Mountains funnel-web spider as a sustainable insecticide that is safe for humans, domestic animals and bees.
The insecticide was selective for pests that damage crops, he said, and was one of the only insecticides in the world that does not have a bee warning on the label.
“It’s so safe for humans that you can spray your crop in the morning and harvest in the afternoon – there’s no delay,” he said.
King described the prize as “a bit surreal” and “a reward for not what I’ve done but for what our team has done over many years”.
“Making insecticides, making human therapeutics – it’s a long pathway,” he said. “You have to be very patient.”
Other researchers honoured by the 2023 awards include Prof Chris Greening, who discovered the role of microbes in removing gases from the atmosphere; Prof Yuerui (Larry) Lu, who created the world’s thinnest micro-lens; and Associate Prof Lara Herrero, who developed a world-first drug which could potentially treat viral arthritis.
Simmons, the founder of Australia’s first quantum computing company, Silicon Quantum Computing, and her team were on a mission to create the world’s first error-corrected quantum computer – considered a holy grail for the field.
Quantum computers have been prone to calculation errors, with more errors developing the more powerful a computer is.
“We’re the only company in the world that can manufacture with atomic precision,” Simmons said. “My belief is that precision is what you need to create this error-corrected quantum computer.”
“We’ve been able to put down individual atoms of phosphorus in silicon and encode information on both the electron and the nucleus of the phosphorus atom,” she said. “It’s something that was kind of unimaginable 20 years ago, that we would know how to manipulate and build devices where we’ve got atomic precision … in all three dimensions.”
Judith Stutchbury, who teaches students at Kalkie state school in Bundaberg about the Great Barrier Reef, and Donna Buckley, of John Curtin College of the Arts, were awarded prizes for excellence in science teaching.
