We work among extraordinary people doing extraordinary things; get to know some of them by reading these quick-fire interviews.
Name: Dr Jacob Blackmore
Job title: Postdoctoral Research Assistant
What are you currently working on?
My focus, since coming to Oxford, has been on networking ion trap quantum computer nodes. For a long time this was designing the next generation network but, more recently, I have been focussing on getting the existing apparatus in the Lindemann basement up and running. We are hoping to do some work on improving and detecting the errors in our distributed quantum computations.
Describe a typical day
I get in early and check the read outs from the machine running overnight, trying to figure what (if anything) has broken and what we can do to fix it. On a good day nothing is, and I can spend this early morning time reading the ArXiv. I then mostly assist students in running their experiments on the hardware, tweaking the experiment to keep it going and running calculations or simulations to test new ideas.
What got you into physics?
Like a lot of people here I was always interested in figuring out how things worked, how to put them together and how to solve problems. For a long time, I convinced myself that this meant I was “destined” to be an engineer. However, when I was shown some of the mysteries and possibilities of quantum mechanics I was hooked. Even more so, when I was at university and offered the chance to work in a real physics lab and all of the things that had attracted me to engineering were necessary to keep the hardware going, I was sold.
If you had an entire day at your disposal (not at work/studying), what would be your ideal way to spend it?
Currently most of my free time has been spent painting walls and ceilings but my ideal way to spend a day is probably in the sun, with some friends, watching motorsports.
What is your favourite place in Oxford?
There are too many to choose! Wytham Woods is beautiful year-round and fantastic to spend a day in. Equally, we are so lucky to have the Ashmolean and Museum of Natural History right on our doorstep. Though, by time spent there, it’s probably the Royal Blenheim.
Plan B: what would you be if you weren’t doing the job you are currently doing?
The last job I remember wanting to have before I was set on being a scientist or engineer was a train driver. So hopefully my inner child would win out!