Contact
| Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, UK | |
| e.a.laird@lancaster.ac.uk | |
| Website | http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/physics/about-us/people/edward-laird |
Employment
| Aug. 2022-present | Professor of Experimental Physics, Lancaster University, UK Co-director of the Quantum Technology Centre |
| Mar. 2018-Jul. 2022 | Lecturer in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, Lancaster University, UK |
| Apr. 2013-Feb. 2018 | Senior Fellow, Department of Materials, University of Oxford, UK |
| Oct. 2009-Mar. 2013 | Postdoctoral Researcher, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands (Advisor: Leo Kouwenhoven) |
| Aug. 2002-Sep. 2009 | Research Assistant, Department of Physics, Harvard University, USA |
| June-Sep. 2001 | Summer Student, DESY, Hamburg, Germany |
| June-Sep. 2000 | Summer Student, UKAEA Fusion, Culham, UK |
Education
| 2009 | PhD in Physics, Harvard University, USA (Advisor: Charles Marcus) |
| 2005 | MA in Physics, Harvard University, USA |
| 2002 | MPhys in Physics (1st class hons.), St John’s College, Oxford, UK |
Teaching and supervision
| Oct. 2013-present | Supervisor of 6 DPhil students |
| Summer 2013-present | Supervisor of various undergraduate summer students. |
| 2018-present | Lecturer, “Classical Mechanics”, Physics Department, Lancaster University |
| 2017 | Lecturer, “Quantum and Statistical Mechanics”, Materials Department, Oxford University |
| Oct. 2015-Jul. 2017 | Undergraduate physics tutor, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University |
| Aug. 2006- Jan. 2007 | Teaching Assistant, “Introduction to Laboratory Research”, Department of Physics, Harvard University |
Awards
| 2019 | Fellow of the Higher Education Academy |
| 2013-2016 | Non-stipendiary Fellow, St Anne’s College Oxford |
| 2009 | Royal Commission of 1851 postdoctoral fellowship (declined) |
| 2009 | Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (declined) |
| 2006 | Newcomb Cleveland Prize of the AAAS |
| 2002 | Purcell Graduate Fellowship, Harvard University |
| 1999-2002 | Casberd Scholarship, St John’s College, Oxford |
Other professional activities
| 2022 | Chair of committee, Condensed-matter quantum technology on the hunt for dark matter minicolloquium at CMD29 conference |
| 2021 | Chair of organising committee, Quantum matter at ultra-low temperatures conference |
| 2018-19 | Chair of organising committee, UK Quantum Dot Meeting 2019 |
| 2017-18 | Oxford Innovation Society Fellow |
| 2016-17 | Co-organiser, UK Quantum Dot Meeting 2017 |
| 2015-present | PhD examiner at Oxford, Lancaster, Cambridge, Sheffield, Copenhagen, ICFO (Barcelona), Delft |
| 2015-18 | Consultant, Oxford University Consulting |
| 2012-present | Reviewer for several grant agencies |
| 2011-present | Reviewer for Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Communications, Scientific Reports, Science Advances, Physical Review Applied, Physical Review B, Nano Letters, Journal of Applied Physics, Review of Scientific Instruments, Physica E, Cryogenics, etc. |
Presentations
Invited seminars and colloquia
| 2023-10-11 | University of California, San Diego (online seminar) |
| 2023-05-03 | King’s College London, UK |
| 2023-03-27 | CAPP, Institute for Basic Sciences, Donjeong, South Korea |
| 2023-01-31 | University of Bordeaux, France |
| 2022-10-25 | Warwick University, UK |
| 2021-11-17 | University of Central Lancashire, UK |
| 2021-11-05 | Purdue University, USA (online seminar) |
| 2021-11-03 | Durham University, UK |
| 2021-05-25 | Warwick University, UK (online seminar) |
| 2020-10-26 | Sheffield University, UK (online seminar) |
| 2020-06-29 | Aalto University, Finland (online seminar) |
| 2020-02-07 | ICFO, Barcelona, Spain |
| 2019-05-16 | University of Oxford, UK |
| 2018-11-06 | University of Regensburg, Germany |
| 2018-04-27 | York University, UK |
| 2017-12-03 | University College, London, UK |
| 2017-10-11 | National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, UK |
| 2017-03-31 | IST Austria |
| 2016-11-07 | Basel University, Switzerland |
| 2015-10-28 | Strathclyde University, UK |
| 2015-10-26 | Heriot-Watt University |
| 2014-11-7 | University of Stuttgart, Germany |
| 2013-11 | University of Cambridge, UK |
| 2013-06 | Lancaster University, UK |
| 2013-05 | RWTH Aachen |
| 2012-11 | Eötvos University, Budapest, Hungary |
| 2012-05 | University of Oxford, UK |
| 2010-10 | Materials Colloquium, University of Oxford, UK |
| 2009-05 | Delft University of Technology |
| 2009-05 | University of Oxford |
| 2009-05 | University of Cambridge |
Invited conference and school presentations
| 2024-01 | Quantum Devices for Ultra-Low Background Particle Detection Experiments, SNOLAB, Sudbury, Canada |
| 2023-04 | (Quantum) Physics and Machine Learning Workshop, Obergurgl, Austria |
| 2023-04 | Hybrid Quantum Technologies Workshop, IST Austria |
| 2023-03 | UK-Korea Bilateral International Meeting 2023, Yongpyeong, South Korea |
| 2022-09 | “Superconducting quantum technology and the search for dark matter” European Microkelvin Platform User Meeting, Strbske Pleso, Slovakia |
| 2022-06 | “Cold quantum technology and the search for dark matter” IoP Low Temperature Group workshop: Quantum Technologies for Fundamental Physics, London, UK |
| 2022-05 | “An atomic clock in your pocket” How is small different from big?, Oxford, UK |
| 2021-01 | Frontiers of Nanomechanical Systems 2021 (online) |
| 2020-10 | “Colder, quieter, faster: electronics at millikelvin temperatures” Quantum Technology Innovation Network: Cryogenic Electronics (Online event organised by the Knowledge Transfer Network) |
| 2020-09 | CMD2020 (Condensed Matter Division of the European Physical Society), Madrid, Spain (postponed because of Covid.) |
| 2019-12 | Workshop on Molecular Quantum Technology, Puerto Natales, Chile |
| 2019-09 | Testing the large-scale limit of quantum mechanics, ICTP Trieste, Italy |
| 2019-07 | NT19: International Conference on the Science and Application of Nanotubes and Low-Dimensional Materials, Würzburg, Germany |
| 2019-05 | “Optomechanics with carbon nanotubes”, British Optomechanical Research Network Kickoff Meeting, Nottingham, UK |
| 2019-04 | “A coherent nanotube oscillator driven by electromechanical backaction”, Conference on Quantum Measurement: Fundamentals, Twists, and Applications, ICTP Trieste, Italy |
| 2019-01-16 | “A coherent nanomechanical oscillator driven by single-electron tunnelling”, Quantum Networks and Non-equilibrium Systems, Obergurgl, Austria |
| 2018-11-22 | “A coherent nanomechanical oscillator driven by single-electron tunnelling”, Zurich Instruments Quantum User Meeting, London, UK |
| 2017-04-11 | “Resonant optomechanics with a vibrating carbon nanotube and a radio-frequency cavity”, Nanomechanics at Low Temperature: from classical to quantum, Nottingham, UK |
| 2017-04 | “Towards microwave-to-optical conversion in molecular ensembles”, Networks: From Classical to Quantum, Obergurgl, Austria |
| 2016-02-17 | “Electrical Readout for Quantum Devices”, CDT Quantum Technologies Spring School, Windsor, UK |
| 2015-10-05 | “Nanomechanical resonators built from carbon nanotubes” Experimental Tests of Quantum Reality conference, Oxford, UK |
| 2014-03-14 | “A spin-valley qubit in a carbon nanotube”, IWEPMN Kirchberg, Austria |
| 2013-10 | “A spin-valley qubit in a carbon nanotube”, Oxford Quantum Science and Technology conference |
| 2013-05 | “A valley-spin qubit in a carbon nanotube”, Spins in Saclay, France |
| 2013-02 | “A valley-spin qubit in a carbon nanotube”, S3NANO Winter School, Windsor, UK |
| 2012-10 | “A valley-spin qubit in a carbon nanotube”, Physique Quantique Mésoscopique, Aussois, France |
Contributed conference presentations
| 2022-09 | “Coherent oscillations of a vibrating carbon nanotube”, Oral presentation (selected), Photon 2022, Nottingham, UK |
| 2021-04 | “A coherent mechanical oscillator driven by single-electron tunnelling”, Oral presentation (selected), New Physics at Low Temperatures (online) |
| 2021-03 | “A coherent mechanical oscillator pumped by a suspended quantum dot”, Oral Presentation (selected), Quantum Dot Day 2021 (online) |
| 2019-09 | “A coherent mechanical oscillator driven by single-electron tunnelling through a suspended carbon nanotube”, Oral Presentation (selected), Quantum, Atomic, and Molecular Physics (QuAMP), Birmingham, UK |
| 2019-07 | “The spin resonance clock transition of the endohedral fullerene 15N@C60“, Oral Presentation (selected), Condensed Matter and Quantum Materials, St Andrews, UK |
| 2018-01-24 | “Spin and valley transport through carbon nanotube double quantum dots”, Oral Presentation (selected), UK Quantum Dot Day 2018, Sheffield, UK |
| 2017-09 | “Spin resonance clock transition of the endohedral fullerene 15N@C60”, Oral Presentation (selected), International Conference on Quantum, Atomic, Molecular and Plasma Physics (QuAMP), Glasgow, UK |
| 2017-09 | “Spin and valley transport through carbon nanotube double quantum dots”, Oral Presentation (selected), Advances in Quantum Transport in Low Dimensional Systems, London, UK |
| 2009-03 | “A few-electron triple quantum dot incorporating two fast charge sensors”, Contributed Presentation, APS March Meeting, Pittsburgh, USA |
| 2008-03 | “Hyperfine-mediated gate-driven electron spin resonance”, Contributed Presentation, APS March Meeting, New Orleans, USA |
| 2006-03 | “Effect of exchange interaction on spin dephasing in a double quantum dot”, Contributed Presentation, APS March Meeting, Baltimore, USA |
Other invited talks
| 2023-05-23 | Pint of Science, Kings Arms, Morecambe |
| 2022-05-10 | Pint of Science, Crafty Scholar, Lancaster |
| 2022-01-19 | Solihull Sixth form College |
| 2021-10-01 | Furness and South Lakeland Astronomical Society |
| 2021-07-02 | Lancaster University Condensed Matter seminar (online seminar) |
| 2021-04-14 | Faculty of Science and Technology Science Week, Lancaster University |
| 2020-06-20 | Oxford Instruments NanoScience Virtual Roadshow |
| 2019-11-05 | Materials Science Institute Colloquium, Lancaster University |
| 2019-02-07 | County College Shorts series, Lancaster University |
| 2018-12-18 | Faculty of Science and Technology Christmas Conference, Lancaster University |
| 2015-11-19 | Oxford Instruments Quantum Computing Webinar |
| 2014-11-26 | Subject Family Talk, St. Anne’s College, Oxford |
| 2013-10 | Presentation to Oxford Materials Undergraduate Society |
| 2009-02-10 | Kids’ seminar, Harvard University |
Grants
| 2022-24 | ParaPara: A quantum parametric amplifier using quantum paraelectricity STFC as PI |
| 2021-24 | Sub-miniature atomic clock LocatorX, Inc. as PI |
| 2021 | Electron-beam fabrication for quantum devices Lancaster University Material Science Institute as PI |
| 2020-24 | Quantum Sensing for the Hidden Sector STFC as co-I |
| 2020-21 | A magnetic resonance imaging microscope Joy Welch Educational Charitable Trust as PI |
| 2020-24 | A portable condensed-matter atomic clock Future Aviation Security Solutions Industrial PhD Partnership as PI |
| 2019-24 | Vibrating carbon nanotubes for probing quantum systems at the mesoscale ERC Consolidator Grant as PI |
| 2018-19 | A carbon nanotube force sensor for magnetic resonance microscopy Royal Society Research Grant as PI |
| 2018 | Quantum control of electronic and electromechanical devices from room temperature to millikelvin Lancaster FST fund as PI |
| 2018-23 | From Nanoscale Structure to Nanoscale Function (NS2NF) EPSRC as co-I |
| 2017-21 | Efficient quantum device tuning using machine learning NQIT DTP studentship as PI |
| 2017-20 | The Nature of Quantum Networks John Templeton Foundation as co-I |
| 2016-17 | A miniaturised atomic clock based on endohedral fullerenes EPSRC institutional sponsorship as co-I |
| 2016-18 | Bench-top experimental test of gravitation as an observer of quantum states FQXi as co-I |
| 2016-19 | An extensible simulation and test platform for quantum and quantum enabled technologies EPSRC as co-I |
| 2016-17 | Electronics for nanodevices EPSRC-IAA as PI |
| 2014-15 | Fast, sensitive electrometry using quantum devices in optimized circuits EPSRC Institutional Sponsorship as PI |
| 2014-18 | Fast, precise electric field sensing using quantum single-electron devices DSTL PhD studentship as co-I |
| 2014-18 | An atomic clock based on endohedral fullerenes DSTL PhD studentship as co-I |
| 2013-16 | Experimental tests of quantum reality Templeton World Charity Foundation as co-I |
| 2013-17 | Marie Curie Career Integration Grant European Union as PI |
| 2013 | Electrical readout and control system for carbon-based spin qubits EPSRC Institutional Sponsorship as PI |
| 2013-18 | RAEng postdoctoral fellowship Royal Academy of Engineering as PI |