Editorial Board Members
Prof. Ziad Melham
Oxford Quantum Solutions Ltd/UK
Prof. Ziad Melhem is the Founder and CEO of Oxford Quantum Solutions Ltd (OQS), established in February 2021, specializing in superconducting, cryogenics, and quantum technology solutions. As of December 2022, he is also a Professor at Lancaster University’s Physics Department, focusing on business development and technology transfer in advanced cryogenics and quantum technologies. Additionally, he is a Non-Executive Director at Intelliconnect Europe Ltd, concentrating on product development for quantum technologies. With over 35 years of experience, Ziad has extensive expertise in superconductivity, cryogenics, and quantum applications and is actively engaged in various national and international committees and advisory boards.
Prof. Lance Cooley
Florida State University, IEEE-CSC/USA
Lance Cooley is a professor at Florida State University’s FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and serves as director of the Applied Superconductivity Center (ASC) and an associate lab director at MagLab. His career in superconducting materials began in 1986 at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he researched the limits of electric current in superconducting wires. Cooley’s work led him to positions at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Fermilab, focusing on superconducting materials and improving superconducting radio-frequency cavities. He joined Florida State University and MagLab in 2017 and manages conductor acquisition for the Large Hadron Collider High-Luminosity Accelerator Upgrade Project and the National Magnet Development Program, with over 120 refereed publications and numerous lectures to his credit.
Dr. Joe Minervini
Novum-Industria, MIT, IEEE-CSC/USA
Joseph Minervini has led the field of large-scale applications of superconductors for over 35 years as a Senior Research Scientist at MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, where he also headed the Magnets and Cryogenics Division until his recent retirement. In 2018, he co-founded Novum Industria LLC to commercialize superconductor technology for medicine, energy, and research. His recent research focuses on developing high-field superconducting cyclotron accelerators and applying High Temperature Superconducting materials for advanced fusion magnets, power grid efficiency, and data center power distribution. Minervini holds over 140 publications and has earned a Ph.D. and S.M. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and a B.S. from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
Prof. Susannah Speller
University of Oxford/UK
Superconductors are a fascinating class of materials that can carry electricity without any resistance. The Superconducting Materials research group focusses on understanding relationships between processing, microstructure and properties of a wide variety of superconducting materials. A major part of our current research activity is associated with the Oxford Centre for Applied Superconductivity (CfAS) and involves working closely with local industrial partners to address materials challenges in the superconducting magnet industry, such as superconducting joints and MgB2 bulk materials. We have a growing activity in studying radiation damage in high temperature superconductors, which are a key enabling technology for commercial nuclear fusion reactors. In addition, we specialise in the processing and characterisation of thin films, and have a new research interest in novel superconducting materials for quantum device applications. Susie has recently published a new book – A Materials Science Guide to Superconductors: and how to make them super – which introduces superconductors and materials science to a general audience
Prof. Stephen Gourlay
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, USA
Dr. Stephen Gourlay was formerly a Senior Staff Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), retiring from the Lab in 2017. He started his career as an experimental particle physicist at Fermilab but soon moved into the field of superconducting magnets as project physicist for the new low beta insertions for the Tevatron. In 1995 he led the Superconducting Magnet Group at Fermilab, working on the design of IR quadrupoles for the Large Hadron Collider. After a year as a Scientific Associate at CERN he moved to LBNL in 1997 where he served as head of the high field magnet R&D program and was Director of the Accelerator and Fusion Research Division for 8 years. From its inception in 2003 until 2006, he headed the magnet activities of the DOE LHC Accelerator Research Program that produced the magnet technology now used for the LHC Hi-Lumi upgrade. In 2015 he led the creation of the US Magnet Development Program and became its first director. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and served on the Executive Committee of the APS-Division of Physics of Beams and as Chair in 2016. He was a member of the ASC Board from 1998 – 2016 and served as chair of ASC 2012.
Dr. Cathy Foley
Chief Scientist for CISRO
Dr Foley has been the chief scientist for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) since August 2018. She was the 9th Chief Scientist of Australia since January 2021. While working at CSIRO, Dr Foley made significant contributions to the understanding of nitride semiconductors and superconducting electronics. Dr. Foley and her team’s most successful application is the LANDTEM sensor system used to locate valuable deposits of minerals deep underground, such as nickel sulphide, silver, and gold.
Dr. Foley’s scientific excellence and influential leadership have been recognised with numerous awards and fellowships, including being elected to the Australian Academy of Science in 2020, being named an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2020 for service to research science and the advancement of women in physics, receiving the Clunies Ross Medal of the Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering in 2015, and receiving the Australian Institute of Physics Medal for Outstanding Service to Physics in 2016. She was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering in 2008.
Dr Foley’s previous roles include membership of the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council, President of the Australian Institute of Physics, President of Science and Technology Australia, Editor-in-Chief of Superconductor Science and Technology journal, and a council member for Questacon.
Dr. Foley is committed to helping Australia realise the transformative potential of critical technologies and meet the climate challenge. She is an inspiration to women in STEM across the globe and focuses strongly on equality and diversity in the science sector.