A member of the Structured Quantum Optics (SQO) group, Alicia worked on the group’s recent underwater quantum cryptography experiment in collaboration with the National Research Council Canada (NRC). Their goal was to extend their previous efforts in underwater quantum communication to longer distances, but in a more controlled environment, using flume tanks at the NRC facility on Montreal Rd, Ottawa. Alicia helped her team demonstrate the feasibility of secure quantum key distribution using “structured” photons through 30 m of water. They were able to easily vary the length of water through which they sent light via a movable trolley that could be rolled the length of the flume, and thus observe how their transmitted key rate degraded with distance due to underwater losses and turbulence.
In May 2019, Alicia was awarded a highly prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. This award will support her research on urban quantum networks for secure quantum cryptography in Ottawa. Moreover, Alicia has over 18 publications in respected physics journals, with an astonishing combined citation count of 496 (Google Scholar, Jan. 24, 2021). These impressive accomplishments surely only mark the beginning of a promising career in quantum physics research.
During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, while Alicia was confined and away from the lab, she took advantage of the opportunity to focus on writing two book chapters, detailing the applications of structured light in quantum cryptography and underwater quantum communication. She is also currently mentoring an undergraduate student on a quantum communication project. Upon her return to the lab, Alicia pursued testing of the adaptive optics system with the SQO group.
Alicia is thankful for the continued support of her supervisor, the SQO group, her family and her life partner, who have helped her get to where she is today. About pursuing graduate studies, she notes, “There will be obstacles and struggles, but there is time and support to surmount them.”
