Lene Hau 

Lene Hau is an important figure in science that helped to forward ideas in quantum computing. She has a doctorate in physics from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, which led to a post-doctorate at Harvard University which allowed her to further hone skills in theoretical physics (1). Hau then led a research team that slowed light down to 15 miles per hour and later brought it to a stop (2). This allowed her team to then extinguish a pulse of light and revive it at a different location, essentially copying light as a matter copy that can be returned to a light state (2). This research revolutionized quantum computing as well as quantum encrypting for nanoscale applications (1). Recently, Hau’s team has combined these nanoscale based discoveries with synthetic biology to generate proteins that can be used in biofuel production (2). Hau has been a leading researcher in light and how looking at it from a quantum scale can translate to things like fuel production.

Wikipedia Contributors. (2024, September 1). Lene Hau. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lene_Hau 

‌Lene V. Hau. (2024). Harvard.edu. https://www.physics.harvard.edu/people/facpages/hau