NTNU physicist honoured in Australia
Physicist Sol Jacobsen from QuSpin has been awarded a prestigious award.
Sol Jacobsen from NTNU’s Department of Physics has been awarded the Australian Federal Medal for “Women in Physics Lecturer”.
“It’s quite overwhelming, and a great honour, of course. The previous winners of the award are inspiring role models. At the same time, it’s also a great opportunity to spread the joy and interest in physics, talk to a wide range of audiences, from schoolchildren to quantum experts – and to see a lot more of Australia at the same time,” Jacobsen said.
Jacobsen is a quantum physicist. She is originally from Bergen, but works now at NTNU.
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Working on understanding the mechanisms of quantum physics
In Trondheim, Jacobsen is a group leader at the QuSpin Centre for Quantum Spintronics. This is a Centre for Excellence in Research (SFF). At QuSpin, she works mostly with superconductors and magnetic systems.
“I am working on understanding the quantum physical mechanisms of how materials interact with each other, and in particular how we can combine superconductivity and magnetism,” says Jacobsen.
Superconductivity and magnetism are usually competing material states.
“But once we understand the fundamental physics, combining them can provide new technological opportunities in data processing,” she says.
This fall she will start a new FRIPRO project funded by the Research Council.
“This project is called SuperFlex, which is about understanding the effects of geometry and strain in these materials,” says Jacobsen.
The Australian Prize celebrates women’s contributions to advances in physics. The UN has declared 2025 to be the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, so it is fitting that Jacobsen is among the laureates this year.
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Tour of Australia
Along with the other prize winner, postdoctoral fellow Danielle Holmes at UNSW Sydney, Jacobsen will now go on a tour of Australia, giving lectures and making more than 50 school visits. The journey is sponsored by the Australian Institute of Physics.
The tour will take place between May and August this year. Holmes will take the first part, while Jacobsen will go in July and August. Later there will be a medal ceremony in Sydney.
“I am really looking forward to it, and I think they have planned a nice, tightly packed program. It will be quite busy, but we like it that way! I will bring my three Norwegian-Australian children and husband on part of the trip, so it will be extra exciting to be able to share it with them,” she says.
This is not the first time Jacobsen has had experience with Australia. She received her doctorate at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, and imported her husband from there.
