Meet the Speakers

Mark Ainslie, King's College London

Dr Mark Ainslie is a Lecturer and Head of the Superconducting Technology + Cryogenics Research Group in the Department of Engineering, King’s College London. He holds B.E. (Electrical & Electronic) & B.A. (Japanese) degrees from the University of Adelaide, Australia, an M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tokyo, Japan, and a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Cambridge. Prior to joining King’s College London, he was a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow (2012-2017), then EPSRC Early Career Fellow (2017-2022), at the University of Cambridge. His research covers a broad range of aspects of applied superconductivity, primarily focused on solving technical challenges related to high-field magnets and superconducting electrical machines. He has won several awards for his research, including the 2011 European Society for Applied Superconductivity Young Researcher's Award; Most Cited Paper 2015 (Modelling of bulk superconductor magnetization) in the Superconductor Science and Technology 30th Anniversary Collection in 2017; and the Institute of Physics Superconductivity Group's Brian Pippard Prize and the International Cryogenic Materials Commission Cryogenic Materials Award for Excellence in 2021.

Thilo Bauch, Chalmers University of Technology

Thilo Bauch earned his physics degree (Diplom) from the University of Tübingen in 1995 and completed his PhD at the University of Cologne in 2000. His primary research focuses on investigating the mechanisms behind superconductivity in High Critical Temperature Superconductors using quantum nanodevices, as well as exploring topological superconductivity in emerging 2D materials. Since 2011, he has served as an associate professor at the Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Stephen Blundell, Oxford University

Stephen Blundell is Professor of Physics in Oxford University, and works in the Department of Physics, based in the Oxford’s Clarendon Laboratory. He is also a Professorial Fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford, and the author of ’Superconductivity: A Very Short Introduction” published by Oxford University Press in addition to various textbooks. His research is concerned with using muon-spin rotation and other magnetic techniques to study a range of organic and inorganic materials, particularly those showing interesting magnetic or superconducting properties.

Lilia Boeri, University of Rome, Sapienza

Lilia Boeri is an Associate Professor in Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Rome, Sapienza, where she also completed her undergraduate and doctoral studies.

Before moving back to La Sapienza, she served as a Staff Member and Minerva Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart (Germany), and as a Tenure-Track Associate Professor at the Institute for Theoretical and Computational Physics of the Graz University of Technology (Austria).

Lilia Boeri’s research focuses on understanding and designing novel materials using first-principles methods, with a special emphasis on superconductors.

Her most focus has been on high-pressure hydride superconductors. On these topics, she has published over 80 papers with more than 5000 citations, and given than 100 seminars and invited talks at international conferences and research and academic institutions, including the APS March Meeting the GRC for Superconductivity and High pressure, the European Conference on Applied Superconductivity, etc.

Since 2010, Lilia Boeri has been a member of the PSIK working group on phonons and electron-phonon interaction. In this capacity, she has co-organized 12 international workshops and conferences focused on superconductivity and electronic structure. Additionally, she has been active in advocating for women's representation in STEM fields. In 2019, she co-founded the Gender Balance Working Group at La Sapienza, which frequently hosts events and initiatives to raise awareness about the challenges women face in science.

Luca Bottura, CERN

Luca Bottura has trained as a Nuclear Engineer at the Engineering Faculty of the University of Bologna (Italy), and was awarded a PhD from the University College of Swansea (Wales, UK) for the physical modeling, scaling and numerical analysis of quench in large-scale, force-flow cooled superconducting coils. He has experience in the design and testing of superconducting cables and magnets for fusion (NET and ITER), as well as accelerator magnet design, manufacturing and testing (CERN LHC, High Field Magnets). He is author of computational methods used for magnet design and anlysis, and from 1995 to 2004 he created the Field Description for the LHC (FiDeL), now an embedded system of the LHC control of field quality and corrections. He presently contributes to magnet R&D at CERN, especially for muon colliders, and the development of accelerators for particle therapy.

Greg Brittles, Tokamak Energy Ltd

Dr Brittles is a Principal Magnet Engineer at Tokamak Energy Ltd, and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow. He leads an engineering team specialising in the development of REBCO HTS magnets for fusion energy and other applications. He has a masters degree in physics from Durham University (2012) and a doctorate in materials science from Oxford University (2016), both specialising in applied superconductivity. His core expertise is in the design, fabrication and testing of high field HTS coils, and related technologies.

Simon Chislett-McDonald, IEEE

Simon received his PhD in Physics from Durham University in 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Damian Hampshire. In October 2021 Simon joined UKAEA’s Materials Research Facility and performed extensive magnetic characterisation of irradiated superconductors for fusion applications. More recently he has joined the STEP team to lead the development of small HTS coil manufacturing and testing capabilities. Simon is a keen member of IEEE CSC YP, IOP and ESAS and hosts an international, 4-monthly informal workshop on the irradiation of superconductors.

Simon J Clarke, University of Oxford

Simon Clarke is a Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford & Official Fellow of Exeter College. The research in his group is geared toward the synthesis of exotic new solids and investigating the interplay of composition, crystal structure and physical properties.

Amalia Coldea, University of Oxford

Amalia Coldea is a condensed matter physicist who explores experimentally superconductivity and emergent electronic phases of matter in Quantum Materials. Amalia is the Group leader of the Quantum Matter in High Magnetic Fields in Oxford Physics, the Oxford Physics co-director of the Oxford Centre for Applied Superconductivity and Senior Research Fellow of the Somerville College.

Amalia was awarded prestigious prizes such as: the Fellowship of the American Physical Society in 2023 for "for pioneering studies of the electronic structure and the nematic and superconducting orders of iron-based superconductors, using quantum oscillations, photoemission, and other techniques", the Brian Pippard Prize 2019 on Superconductivity from the UK Institute of Physics for "significant contribution to superconductivity" and the EuroMagnet Prize 2011 for "research in high magnetic fields to understand iron-based superconductors".

Nathaniel Davies, COMSOL

Nathaniel Davies joined COMSOL in early 2020 as an Applications Engineer specialising in electromagnetism. He studied at Oxford University, completing an undergraduate degree and PhD in condensed matter physics with a research specialism in novel magnetic and superconducting materials.

Prof. John Durrell, University of Cambridge

Prof. John Durrell leads the Bulk Superconductivity Group within the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge where he is also Deputy Head of Department (Teaching). His current primary interests include the materials science and superconducting properties of bulk superconducting ceramics as well as their engineering applications. He has worked extensively on the critical current properties and flux pinning properties of practical superconductors including, in particular, angular dependence and grain boundary properties. Prof. Durrell has authored over 170 publications in the field and speaks regularly at national and international meetings. He is a board member of the European Society for Applied Superconductivity and an Executive Board member of the journal Superconductor Science and Technology.

Dr Martina Esposito, National Research Council, University of Naples Federico II

Dr. Esposito is an experimental physicist, permanent researcher at the Italian National Research Council in Naples, Itay.

Her research focuses on superconducting quantum circuits, specifically Josephson parametric amplifiers, for microwave photonics experiments such the generation of traveling entangled states in the microwave regime.

Francesco Grilli, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Francesco Grilli studied physics at the University of Genoa (Italy) and technical sciences at EPF Lausanne (Switzerland). After working as a postdoctoral researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Polytechnique Montreal, he joined the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, where is currently leading a group focusing on the numerical modelling of superconductors, from materials to large-scale applications. His main research interests include the 2D and 3D modelling of the electromagnetic and thermal behavior of high-temperature superconductors and the characterization of their properties.

Damian P Hampshire, Durham University

Professor Damian Hampshire is Head of a small Superconductivity Group in the Physics Department in Durham University, England, supervising 5 PhD students with 1 Senior Scientist. Hampshire gives 3 or 4 talks/lectures at International conferences, companies and Universities, and ~25 lectures and ~40 classes to ~300 physics students per year. He is co-author on > 140 papers in refereed journals and several patents. He’s supervised > 40 Masters students, > 25 Ph.D students, > 10 post-doctoral scientists, and has been external examiner for > 10 PhD students. He’s currently a member of the IoP Fellows panel (F. Inst. P.), the EPSRC peer review panel, the UK CDT in fusion, the International advisory Board for MEM workshops, and the Executive Board of the British Cryogenics Council (ex-chair). He’s been PI for > £5M in grants; PI for the European ITER Reference Laboratory for Fusion Energy; Chairman of the International Programme Committee for EuCAS19 (Glasgow); Editor-in-chief of the IoP journal Super. Sci. and Techn. (2006-2013) and founding Director of the Centre for Materials Physics in Durham (2010).

D. Scott Holmes, IEEE Council on Superconductivity (CSC) -International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS), USA

Dr. D. Scott Holmes chairs the Cryogenic Electronics and Quantum Information Processing (CEQIP) International Focus Team (IFT) for the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS). He previously supported the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency (IARPA), including the SuperTools program to develop electronic design automation (EDA) tools for superconductor circuits and the Cryogenic Computing Complexity (C3) program that developed technologies for energy-efficient superconductor computing. He served as a DARPA program manager in the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO). Earlier career experience includes large-scale superconductor systems development at what is now the Air Force Research Laboratory, Lake Shore Cryotronics, and a decade as a Learning Strategist. Areas of interest include superconductor electronics and novel computing technologies. Professionally, Holmes is a member of the IEEE Council on Superconductivity as a representative of the Electron Device Society. Holmes received a BSME from MIT and graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Dr M'hamed Lakrimi, Siemens Healthineers

M’hamed Lakrimi is a senior Key Expert at Siemens Healthineers, based in Oxford. He has designed a few superconducting magnets for Magnetom commercial scanners and worked on other products.

M’hamed graduated from Sussex-University with a DPhil degree in Semiconductor Physics in collaboration with Philips Research Laboratories (UK). He worked for more than 10 years in academia as a research scientist with 9 years spent at The Clarendon Laboratory (The University of Oxford). He carried out electrical and optical spectroscopy measurements on semiconductors at low temperatures, very high magnetic fields and large hydrostatic pressures. In 1998, he moved to industry to work in the field of applied superconductivity. At Oxford Instruments (UK), he was in the core team which developed the world’s first persistent 900 and 950MHz NMR magnets. He developed and perfected all the jointing techniques for Nb-Ti and Nb3Sn wires. He designed and validated the quench heaters on the very high field NMR magnets. In 2006, he joined Siemens Magnet Technology (UK) where he continued to develop new magnet technologies, manufacturing processes, and designing superconducting magnets. He has specialised in all processes from coil winding, assembly, termination, and testing. He is a member of the Executive Committee of The British Cryogenic Council, a Fellow of the UK Institute of Physics, and a Chartered Engineer. He has been nominated as a member of the Algerian National Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CNESE).

Prof. David C Larbalestier, Florida State University

David C. Larbalestier is an American scientist who has contributed to research in superconducting materials for magnets and power applications. He is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a member of the Applied Superconductivity Center at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University, and serves as the Interim Chair of the new Material Science and Engineering Department in the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. He also holds emeritus status in the Materials Science and Engineering department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which was his academic home until 2006.

He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2003 for advancing our understanding of the materials science of high-field superconductors and for developing processing techniques that incorporate this knowledge. He is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

His materials research interests include improving superconducting properties of many materials, including NbTi, Nb₃Sn, MgB₂, YBCO, and BSCCO.

Ziad Melhem, Oxford Quantum Solutions Ltd

Professor Ziad Melhem is the Founder and CEO of Oxford Quantum Solutions Ltd (OQS). OQS is an independent Consultancy Business launched in Feb 2021 focusing on Innovations and Advanced Solutions, Strategic Business Development, Executive Mentoring, Strategic Road mapping, and Technical Authority on Superconducting, Cryogenics, Instrumentation in Quantum and Nanotechnology applications for Quantum, Energy, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Transport and Power Applications. From 1^st Dec 2022, Ziad has been appointed as a Professor at the Physics Department, Lancaster University with a particular focus on Business Development and Technology Transfer of Advanced Technologies in Low-Temperature Cryogenics, Condensed Matter, Superconducting Devices, and Quantum Technologies for diverse sectors. Since 1^st Jan 2022, Ziad has been a Non-Executive Director for Intelliconnect Europe Ltd, focusing on product development of solutions for Quantum Technologies. Before retiring from Oxford Instruments NanoScience (OINS), Ziad as the Strategic Business Development Manager managed OINS Strategic Business Development activities, Alliances, and Collaborative R&D projects on quantum, nanoscience, and nanotechnology applications.

Ziad has over 34 years of experience in product, partnerships, alliances, and business development activities in applied superconductivity, Low and High-temperature superconducting (LTS & HTS) materials, cryogenics, advanced instrumentation, quantum, and nanotechnology applications for scientific, medical, physical and life sciences, energy, transport, and industrial sectors.

Ziad is active at the national and international levels and member and leader of a variety of international and national committees and organizations and sits on Advisory Boards for different projects and initiatives on superconducting, quantum, and cryogenic applications.

Jun Ma, University of Bristol

Dr Jun Ma is a Lecturer and Head of Applied Superconductivity Group in the School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol. He obtained a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge in 2020. He was awarded the IEEE CSC IEEE Council on Superconductivity Graduate Study Fellowship in 2020 and the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2021. He was elected as the Early Career Officer and Board Member for the European Society for Applied Superconductivity in EUCAS 2023. His research and interests cover REBCO coated superconductors, HTS flux pumps, HTS magnets and windings, and superconducting industrial applications like electrical machines, MRI, DC induction heater, and electrical power applications.

Joseph V. Minervini, Ph.D. Chief Technology Officer Novum Industria LLC

Joseph Minervini has played a leading role in the field of large-scale applications of superconductors for more than 35 years as a Senior Research Scientist in the Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) at MIT, where he was also Division Head for Magnets and Cryogenics and held an academic appointment in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering until his recent retirement from MIT. In 2018 he co-founded a start-up company, Novum Industria LLC, to commercially exploit superconductor technology for applications in medicine, energy, and research.

His work has spanned the range from laboratory research to management of engineering groups and large-scale projects pursuing advanced superconducting and energy technology goals. Among his recent research interests are the development of very high-field, highly compact, superconducting cyclotron accelerators for medical applications,security applications, and laboratory research in nuclear physics. He is also investigating the application of High Temperature Superconducting materials for advanced fusion magnet applications, for increasing power grid efficiency,and for power distribution in data centers.

He has over 140 publications in these technical fields. He holds Ph.D. and S.M. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a B.S. Engineering degree from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY

Ben Pine, Dassault Systemes

Ben Pine has worked for Dassault Systemes SIMULIA for 5 years. He works on electromagnetic simulations, especially in the areas of particle accelerators, MRI, permanent magnets and superconductivity. Before joining Dassault Systemes, Ben worked at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK for 15 years, as an Accelerator Physicist with the ISIS Spallation Neutron Source. Ben got his DPhil in Particle Physics from Oxford University in 2016.

Irfan Siddiqi, UC Berkeley

Professor Irfan Siddiqi is the head of the Physics Department at UC Berkeley where he is the Douglas Giancoli Chair Professor. He is also a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and a Faculty Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He is known for contributions to quantum measurement science, including real time observations of wavefunction collapse, tests of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, quantum feedback, and the development of a range of microwave frequency, quantum noise limited amplifiers and detectors. He has recently co-authored “Quantum Measurement: Theory and Practice (Cambridge University Press).

Bruce Strauss, IEEE-CSC

Bruce Strauss has been an active member of the applied superconductivity community since 1964. He received his ScD from MIT in 1967 and an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1972. After his degree, he worked for a year at Avco Everett Research Laboratory with John Stekley, followed by a year at the Argonne National Laboratory. In 1968, he began a ten-year career at Fermilab. At Fermilab, he was responsible for testing the development series of the 5 Tesla dipoles. He was also responsible for procuring the strand and Rutherford cable for the Tevatron. This procurement represented about 90% of the Niobium-Titanium made worldwide until that time. His time at Fermilab was followed by several years at the Magnetic Corporation of America. He followed that, working for several years as a consultant. Notable in this effort was the definitive cost estimate for the SSC. He started a 22-year career at the US Department of Energy, Office of High Energy Physics. Major projects were investments in optimizing Nb3Sn from a Fusion Conductor to HEP applications, investment in Bi2212, and chairing the management procurement oversight for the SSC superconductor and dipoles. Since his retirement from the DOE, he has remained active as a consultant and serves as a board member of ASC and the IEEE Council on Superconductivity.

Martin Wilson BSc, DSc, FInst P, MIEEE.

Martin Wilson started work in the Nuclear Power Industry, but shortly moved to the Rutherford Laboratory where he worked on superconducting synchrotron magnets. The Rutherford Group developed fine filamentary NbTi and Nb₃Sn superconducting wires and Rutherford Cable, which have been used in every superconducting synchrotron built so far - most recently the LHC. Moving to Oxford Instruments, Martin supervised two industrial accelerator projects using superconductivity. Firstly Helios was a £10m compact superconducting storage ring X-ray source for use in microchip lithography. Secondly Oscar was a compact medical cyclotron. At CERN, he worked on the stability of Rutherford cables for use in the LHC. Returning to Oxford he spent his final years with the company on the use of high temperature superconductors HTS in magnets.

Martin is the author of 74 scientific papers and the book 'Superconducting Magnets’. He was awarded the IEEE Award for contributions in Applied Superconductivity and (jointly with Al Tollestrupp) the Robert R Wilson Prize of the American Institute of Physics.

Ludovic Ybanez, Airbus

Ludovic Ybanez is responsible for the 2MW cryogenic propulsion demonstrator at Airbus UpNext. After demonstrating with a project called ASCEND the great potential of superconducting technologies for liquid hydrogen aircraft, he took responsibility for the development and maturation of these technologies for electric propulsion systems. He is also in charge of Airbus' roadmap for superconducting technologies. In addition, he is Managing director of Airbus Exo Zero Emissions SAS.