Nicholas Zaunders

I am a PhD student at the University of Queensland, studying within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technologies (CQC2T). Under the leadership of CQC2T Node Director and QuOTh-QI group lead Professor Timothy C. Ralph, and in collaboration with the University of New South Wales and internationally with the Northrop Grumman Corporation, I work towards improving the fundamental viability, practicality and utility of quantum communications technologies such as quantum key distribution. My research also focuses heavily on the practical implementation and real-life problems associated with using quantum technologies in the field, and how these problems can be realistically addressed to create useful fully-quantum or quantum-enhanced technologies that can be feasibly deployed in the real world.

My current research interests focus on near-term-deployable quantum technologies which have the potential to offer real utility at a national or international scale. I place heavy emphasis on the intersection of both quantum and classical information theory and quantum optics in practical applications, with a specific focus on the theoretical behaviour of quantum and quantum-enhanced communications protocols, such as quantum key distribution and quantum cryptography, simultaneous quantum-classical communications, quantum entanglement distribution, quantum amplification and repeater networks, free-space quantum optics and quantum error correction.

2024 International Conference on Quantum Communications, Networking, and Computing (QCNC) 160–167 (IEEE, Kanazawa, Japan, 2024). doi:10.1109/QCNC62729.2024.00033.
arXiv Link

Click on the Publications tab at the top of the page to see a full list of my published works.

Talk
Simultaneous Quantum-Classical Communications
IEEE 2024 International Conference on Quantum Communications, Networking, and Computing

Best Paper Award
Simultaneous Quantum-Classical Communications
IEEE 2024 International Conference on Quantum Communications, Networking, and Computing

Honours Research Scholarship
Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering
Scholarship grant to assist in research performed at the ANSTO neutron-beam facilities (Neutron scattering analysis of time-dependent skyrmion formation within multiferroic chiral magnets)

Undergraduate Research Scholarship
Sydney Quantum Academy
Scholarship grant to assist in research performed with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET), UNSW node (Fabrication of graphene bi- and trilayer vdW heterostructures via mechanical exfoliation)

President / Founding Member, Students of SMP (SOS) HDR Students Association
QuOTh-QI, Outreach Coordinator and Webmaster
Casual Academic with 5+ years teaching experience