AION: A UK Atom Interferometer Observatory and Network
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: School of Physics and Astronomy
Organisations
Publications
Lellouch, S
(2023)
Polychromatic atom optics for atom interferometry
in EPJ Quantum Technology
Lellouch S
(2023)
Polychromatic atom optics for atom interferometry
in EPJ Quantum Technology
Abend S
(2024)
Terrestrial very-long-baseline atom interferometry: Workshop summary
in AVS Quantum Science
Bason M
(2021)
The atom interferometer observatory and network
| Description | An exhibition stall at the UK Quantum Technology Showcase (2025:88) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | An exhibition stall at the UK Quantum Technology Showcase, presenting activities in quantum sensing from the Unviersity of Birmingham. Led to requests for involvement, and requests for further information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/events/uk-national-quantum-technologies-showcase-2024/ |
| Description | Corporations and the Cosmos event, briefing industry on STFC research activities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Provided talks and discussion on QT and QT for fundamental physics to visitors from industry, leading to follow-on interest. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Engagement with institute focused on research education in schools (2025:116) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Visit from an institute focused on research education in schools to investigate ideas for potential extracurricular activities for secondary schoolchildren, leading to a plan to initiate follow on activities in 2025. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Engagement with institute focused on research education in schools (2025:69) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A remote discussion to investigate opportunities for bringing quantum technologies research into secondary schools via extracurricular activities, leading to follow on plans to engage postgraduate researchers and establish a trial course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Engagement with institute focused on research education in schools (2025:83) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Event with an institute focused on research education in schools to investigate potential themes that could link to the secondary school curriculum, leading to plans for a follow on visit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Hosted DSIT Office for Quantum team for the QT Hub annual review and a visit to QT Hub laboratories |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Welcomed the DSIT Office for Quantum team to join our annual review meeting, hosting them on the university campus and providing tours of the laboratories. This gave them the opportunity to meet a diverse range of researchers from the field, and to present an update on their vision and the National Quantum Strategy. This has helped inform DSIT and build networks of relevance to the QT Missions, with the QT Hub continuing to provide input on the missions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Institute of Physics evening lecture: 'Quantum Sensing - A New Window to the Underground' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Joint presentation with an undergraduate student, providing an introduction on quantum sensing to a general audience. Led to audience members stating an increased interest in pursuing science in their future education. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.iop.org/events/quantum-sensing-new-window-underground#gref |
| Description | Invited talk at BQIT22 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented activities in gravity gradiometry and of the QT Hub, led to new ideas and collaborative discussions |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/qet-labs/documents/BQIT22%20full%20programme.pdf |
| Description | Invited talk at Joint Symposium on Quantum Technologies (NPL) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on quantum sensing activities in the quantum hub, with a focus on gravity gradiometry, leading to requests for further information, and discussions on use cases and commercialisation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.ieee-ukandireland.org/event/joint-symposium-national-physical-laboratory-joint-symposium... |
| Description | Podcast on quantum technologies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A doctoral researcher interviewed collaborating researchers for a podcast describing the AION project and opportunities for careers in physics. The impact on the main audience is not yet known, and the podcast did lead to some changing views amongst researchers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2024/new-podcast-series-launched-as-part-of-institute-of-physics-f... |
| Description | Poster presentation, S Lellouch, ("Circulating pulse cavity enhancement as a method for extreme momentum transfer atom interferometry") at the CoolMe conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This helped build links and inform students and academics of new directions for atomic physics in cavities, and has inspired onward discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Presentation and exhibition to year 10 school students, as part of University of Birmingham summer school |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Speaking and exhibiting to a cohort of school students to increase their interest in STEM subjects, including presentation on new developments in quantum sensing, and exhibiting quantum sensing hardware, and presentations by undergraduate students. This led to several students saying the event had changed their view from physics being an 'abstract' subject to something that everyone could participate in. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | QT National Showcase 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Exhibitor |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Quantum Technologies Networking and ISCF-Consortia Building Workshop. 19 January 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | 19 January 2022. Dr Bennett and Prof. Bongs created and hosted an online networking event using the gather.town platform to allow consortia to self-assemble around posters of potential research ideas. The event was attended by an approximately equal number of industrial participants and academics from across the UK (not just QT Hub Sensing and Timing) plus representatives of RTOs, and government bodies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Talk and panel discussion at the DSTL Future Sensing and PNT Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | A talk followed by question and answer session, delivered to the UK Defence community. This informed people on the current status and future opportunities arising from UK Quantum Sensing activities, sparking discussion and follow-on threads of activity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Technology Roadmap 5th May 2021 Industry Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | 5th May 21. An online workshop was held to present, challenge and identify industry requirements, from supply chain and end-user, to help shape the direction and priorities of the QT Hub. Potential use cases within different research areas which will help accelerate the rollout and commercialisation of quantum sensors were presented and discussed. Synergies, field tests and data validation of advanced prototypes were explored. The QT Hub's sensor development and outlook for prototypes to expect in the field over the next 20 years were presented. Participants were selected individually to represent key industry sectors. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Visit to a local school (2025:147) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Visited a local school as part of an exhibition, to demonstrate practical physics experiments to school children, contributing to changing views and interests of attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Visit to a local school (2025:148) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Visited a local school as part of an exhibition, to demonstrate practical physics experiments to school children, contributing to changing views and interests of attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Visit to a local school (2025:149) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Visited a local school as part of an exhibition, to demonstrate practical physics experiments to school children, contributing to changing views and interests of attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Visit to a primary school (2025:146) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A visit to a local primary school to give a talk to their assembly, and several classroom talks. The talks gave an overview of quantum science and technology, and showed children a laser optics experiment. The school reported many children showing an increased interest in science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Webinar for GCHQ: Gravity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dr Holynksi and colleagues presented a webinar on QT Hub gravity sensing research. This formed part of the QT Sensing and Timing series of talks for CGHQ. The material presented across all talks has been collated and is being circulated more widely within GCHQ. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |