What if the most accurate clocks on Earth could help uncover the invisible? Professor Elina Fuchs of QuantumFrontiers bridges quantum sensing and high-energy colliders to advance some of the biggest frontiers in particle physics, including:
- Turning atomic and nuclear clocks into detectors for light dark matter
- Using quantum sensors to probe physics beyond the Standard Model
- Investigating the origin of the universe’s matter-antimatter asymmetry
In our #PushingTheBoundaries series, we highlight our female QuantumFrontiers professors and draw attention to the challenges women face in male-dominated fields such as physics and engineering. Between International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February and International Women's Day on 8 March, we explore how women shape the field through their expertise, and discuss the changes we wish to drive forward.
Recognition matters
Elina draws strength from pioneers who deserved far more recognition. One of her role models is US astronomer Vera Rubin, whose observations helped advance the hypothesis of dark matter in the 1960s.
Early on, the low number of women in the lecture hall made female peer support essential. The four female physicists from her study group carried one another through exams and became good friends.
During her PhD and first postdoc, she also encountered “invisibility” - from being left out of a group photo due to her independent scholarship to watching an idea gain traction only after a male colleague repeated it. Later came visibility – and at times “over-visibility” – through plenary talks, outreach activities, or reviewing roles. Today, she chooses invitations carefully and rather nominates younger scientists as speakers for the invited talks.
What needs to change?
Elina hopes for more visible female role models at every career stage, explicit encouragement and mentorship from school to the junior faculty stage, and communities where women can share doubts and turn them into strategies. To increase the number of mothers in academia, it must become normal for fathers, regardless of their job, to take an equal share of parental leave.
From the tiniest frequency shifts in a clock to the largest questions about our universe, Elina shows how precision opens new frontiers. We’re glad to have her in QuantumFrontiers - and we’re committed to a future where careers like hers are the norm, not the exception.
