Howard Wiseman in his Griffith University office

Credit: Michelle Kenna/COSMOS

COSMOS Magazine has named Griffith Professor Howard Wiseman as one of its inaugural Bright Sparks - the top ten brightest scientific minds in Australia under 45.

Professor Wiseman is a world authority on quantum control and in 2004 received a prestigious Federation Fellowship from the Australian Research Council (ARC) for his research into Quantum Measurement, Control and Information: Forging Links to Underpin Quantum Technology.

Professor Wiseman's ground-breaking work has already earned him the Malcolm McIntosh Physical Scientist of the Year Award, the Pawsey Medal for Excellence in Physics Research, and the Bragg Medal from the Australian Institute of Physics and his theories have been tested by collaborators in the United States, Canada and Australia.

He heads a research program in the multi-university Centre for Quantum Computer Technology funded by the ARC and the Queensland Government, and is writing a book, Quantum Measurement and Control, which will be the first published on this rapidly advancing field.

Professor Wiseman is also a member of Griffith University's Centre for Quantum Dynamics which is investigating the motion, energy and momentum exchanges of the tiniest and most fundamental particles of matter. Its research includes the development of laser and collisions atomic physics, quantum optics, quantum mechanics and quantum computing. The Centre promotes the interplay of ideas between its theoretical and experimental physicists and provides a stimulating environment for research and training.

More about the Cosmos Bright Sparks

The 'Bright Sparks' were nominated by the Cosmos Editorial Advisory Board made up of eminent people in the sciences including Robyn Williams, Paul Davies and Judith Whitworth.

All ten of the 'Bright Sparks' are profiled in a special feature in the August/September issue of COSMOS Magazine and will be celebrated at an awards night in August at the ABC Studios in Sydney.

The full list of nominees are

Michelle Simmons - Physicist (Professor of Physics, University of New South Wales)

Howard Wiseman - Physicist (Federation Fellow, Griffith University)

David Sinclair - Medical Researcher (Associate Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School)

Abigail Allwood - Geologist (PhD candidate, Macquarie University)

Doug Hilton - Molecular Scientist (Head, Division of Molecular Medicine, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)

Vikram Khurana - Medical Researcher (Clinical Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston)

Tanya Monro - Optical Physicist (Professor of Physics, University of Adelaide)

Jonathan Carapetis - Epidemiologist (Director, Menzies School of Health, Charles Darwin University)

Stuart Wyithe - Astronomer (Lecturer, School of Physics, University of Melbourne)

Marco Ghisalberti - Environmental Engineer (Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Western Australia)