Prof Suchitra Sebastian

Biography

Suchitra Sebastian is Professor in Physics and EPSRC Advanced Career Fellow at the University of Cambridge. Her research seeks to discover exotic quantum phases of matter in complex materials. To this end, her group’s experiments involve tuning the co-operative behaviour of electrons within these materials by subjecting them to extreme conditions including low temperature, high applied pressure, and intense magnetic field. Under these conditions, interactions between a trillion trillion electrons, as many as the stars in the observable universe, create surprising and unpredictable collective quantum phases akin to new materials ‘universes’. Emergent quantum phenomena studied by Suchitra’s research group include high-temperature superconductivity and a new unconventional insulating state of matter they recently discovered. Most recent awards Suchitra has received include the New Horizons in Physics Prize (2022) awarded by the Breakthrough Foundation and the Schmidt Science Polymath award (2022). Suchitra is founder director of the Cavendish Arts Science programme, and co-founder of Bread Theatre and Film Company. She participates in scientific research for non-imperialistic, non-militaristic purposes.

Research

Suchitra creates and studies interesting quantum materials – often under extreme conditions such as very high magnetic fields, enormous pressures, and very low temperatures – with a view to discovering unusual phases of matter. Materials families she studies include novel magnets and unconventional temperature superconductors – which have the exciting property of transporting electricity with no energy loss. Read more about Suchitra’s research here:

https://www.quantamagazine.org/20160609-suchitra-sebastians-quantum-explorations/