Xiaoqin Gao

As a young physics student, Dr. Xiaoqin Gao cultivated a profound interest in quantum physics during her studies before obtaining her bachelor’s degree in physics education.

She obtained her Master’s degree in physical electronics in 2015 from Southeast University. Her Master’s degree research was mostly focused on the experimental high-concentration synthesis of colloidal quantum dots and their applications in white-light-emitting diodes. Dr. Gao continued her PhD degree in 2016. She carried out theoretical research on quantum networks and multipartite teleportation under the supervision of Professor Bin Sheng and Professor Zaichen Zhang at the Southeast University. Her research interest shifted toward quantum information theory when she started her PhD program. As a PhD student, she had the opportunity to study and conduct research for two years at the University of Vienna, Austria, and one and a half years in Nanjing, China, with multiple research topics.

In 2017, she joined Professor Anton Zeilinger and Professor Borivoje Daki’s groups at IQOQI-Vienna and the University of Vienna. She studied the Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) of photons, including theoretical and experimental schemes of high-dimensional quantum operations and high-dimensional quantum control. These studies were extremely helpful in developing a thorough understanding of quantum information processing. Upon graduation in 2019 with her doctorate degree, she continued to work in Professor Anton Zeilinger and Professor Borivoje Daki’s groups as a research assistant. Afterward, she received a postdoctoral position offer from the University of Ottawa, Canada, in 2020. Currently, Dr. Gao is a postdoctoral fellow at Structured Quantum Wave Group and continues her research under Professor Ebrahim Karimi’s supervision at the University of Ottawa and Dr. Khabat Heshami (Theory and Simulation group) at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). Dr. Gao’s research interests include experimental and theoretical quantum optics in high dimensions, including quantum communication and quantum computation.