Inspiring the Next Generation: Stories of Women in Physics

Science shapes our world—but without the voices, ideas, and discoveries of women, it’s missing half the conversation. As we are going to celebrate International Women’s Day, we want to shine a light on the innovative, determined female researchers who are doing groundbreaking research in their respective fields.

Inspired by the message of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, this blog series shares the inspiring stories of prominent scientists to recognize the critical role women play in science and technology. In this first part, we present the stories of Prof. Xueyue (Sherry) Zhang from Columbia University, Dr. Aziza Suleymanzade from Harvard University, and Prof. Eve Vavagiakis from Duke University. They share their experiences, professional journeys, current research endeavors, and discuss the significance of societal expectations, equal opportunities, role models and supportive communities in fostering the determination of future generations of scientists to pursue their passions.

With women making up only 33.3% of researchers globally, and strong gendered stereotypes still limiting opportunities in the STEM fields, amplifying the examples of these scientists is of great importance. Science needs women just as much as women need science—tackling some of the greatest challenges of our time requires tapping into all sources of knowledge and talent.

Finding a Place in Science

Sherry developed an interest in scientific disciplines during her junior year of high school. Her interest was sparked when she got to build her own little home lab for hands-on experimentation. “My parents and my teacher encouraged me to build a small chemistry lab at home. Having that little home lab was really interesting and motivated me to go into scientific research.”

Sherry was raised in a smaller city in China, where there were limited role models for girls in fields such as physics and chemistry. However, her experience highlights the significant impact of role models, even those that are imagined, in motivating and encouraging future scientists. “At one point, I mistakenly thought one of the most successful students at my school was a girl because of their name. Even though I later realized I was wrong, I was still encouraged. There were so many voices around me saying that girls couldn’t study physics well, but believing that a girl had already achieved so much helped me see that those limitations were not real.”

“In the end, I became the first girl in my area to participate in the Physics Olympiad and achieve things that hadn’t been done before by female students. I ended up majoring in physics and engineering”, Sherry continues. As Sherry gained experience in research, her curiosity grew. “I worked in at least four or five different research groups during my undergrad years. That gave me a taste of different research areas and helped me discover what I was truly passionate about.”

Building a Career in Research

Eventually, Sherry joined a research group doing nonlinear optics research, where she got the chance to lead an experiment despite being an undergraduate. “I was responsible for designing the experiment, performing fiber pulling to create key components, and executing the experiment myself. That experience encouraged me to focus on every detail, analyze the results, and think critically about how to improve the experiment. It helped me develop a sense of ownership in scientific research.”

Sherry has always enjoyed solving problems, making research a meaningful career path for her. “When I started doing research in my undergraduate years, I was drawn to the idea that I could be one of the first—if not the first—people to observe certain phenomena and try to explain them. That feeling of working at the forefront of human knowledge is incredibly rewarding. I also believe that scientific and engineering research are what drive real breakthroughs that improve human life. That makes research both meaningful and satisfying for me.”

After researching classical optics, nonlinear optics, and nanophotonics, Sherry expected to continue in those fields. However, she ended up venturing into new territories. “During my graduate school visit in the U.S., I was exposed to many groups working on quantum optics. I was fascinated by the idea that quantum mechanics could be used to build devices and hardware with capabilities beyond anything classical physics could achieve. That prospect, despite the challenges and unknowns, convinced me to shift my focus to quantum research.”

Researching the Next Generation of Hardware

Currently, Sherry works in experimental quantum research and started to lead her own research group in January 2025. “I’m building my new group at Columbia University, which is a very exciting experience—starting something from scratch together with my students. My research focuses on two platforms: superconducting circuits and color centers in silicon.”

Regarding superconducting circuits, Sherry’s work on coupling qubits to microwave waveguides has helped introduce tunable long-range interactions between qubits. “Most multi-qubit architectures today rely on nearest-neighbor interactions, but our research opens up new possibilities for connectivity, which is crucial for quantum error correction and fault-tolerant quantum computing”, Sherry adds.

“In my work on color centers in silicon, I’ve been exploring how they interact with silicon photonic structures. By leveraging silicon photonics, we can implement ideas from waveguide QED using color centers instead of superconducting qubits. This is a fascinating direction that could lead to new ways of studying open quantum system dynamics.”

Sherry’s research contributes to the long-term goal of using quantum mechanics to build new types of useful hardware. “Instead of only focusing on short-term demonstrations, I want to explore new possibilities that could become foundational elements in quantum technologies. The goal is to help push forward quantum devices that can address problems beyond the reach of classical computers. The ultimate goal is to develop quantum devices that could revolutionize areas like chemistry, materials science, many-body physics, and even pharmaceuticals”, Sherry explains.

Overcoming Bias and Building Opportunities

When asked about what would best support and encourage future generations to pursue science, Sherry highlights three things: addressing and letting go of stereotypes, promoting equal opportunities, and increasing the visibility of role models.

“One of the biggest barriers is the invisible bias and societal assumptions about the roles women should play in their careers and families. Many young girls are implicitly told that science is not for them, which is discouraging. Later in life, there might be expectations for women to take on more family responsibilities than their male counterparts, which can make it harder to pursue ambitious research careers. Addressing these biases—both at the educational and professional levels—is key to creating a more inclusive scientific community.

“All in all, from an early age, we should avoid treating girls differently in STEM education. Instead of reinforcing stereotypes, we should present science as equally accessible to everyone. Additionally, increasing visibility for female role models in science is crucial. I believe having role models at different stages of a career is very important, which is also highlighted by my own experience.”

Growing Up with Science

Aziza grew up in Dubna, Russia – a town known for its scientific heritage. Dubna has a proton accelerator and an official “science town” status. Being surrounded by research and hearing about discoveries as part of the town news made it easy for Aziza to see science as part of everyday life rather than just a subject in school.

“Getting inspired was less about famous scientists and more about seeing everyday people around me—teachers, family, local researchers—who made science feel normal and attainable. Watching them work or talk about their projects made me think, ‘Hey, that could be me one day.'”

Early on, Aziza was drawn to every opportunity that let her explore math and physics. “I was lucky to have really supportive teachers and friends who also loved math and physics. We’d talk about problems, do experiments, and join science competitions. Having that circle of people who enjoyed figuring things out kept me excited.”

Path from Student to Scientist

Aziza’s career as a researcher led her to intriguing experimental settings. Initially interested in high-energy experimentation, she spent a summer at CERN as an undergraduate researcher. To her surprise, she later transitioned to the quantum field. “As I was graduating from college, I got a Harvard-Cambridge fellowship to spend a year at Cambridge University. I decided to take the opportunity to explore a new field and joined Zoran Hadzibabic’s cold-atom group. It was absolutely amazing! I got to build a BEC (Bose-Einstein Condensate) machine from scratch. I loved the idea that one person could design the experiment, choose the research direction, and handle both data acquisition and analysis. I came back to the U.S. and switched to AMO/quantum.”

In her PhD, Aziza worked on an innovative hybrid experiment – interfacing optical and microwave photons using Rydberg atoms. “This meant building a cryogenic system where neutral atoms and superconducting devices coexist. These systems really don’t like each other, so it wasn’t easy. There were very few setups combining them—some early ones from Serge Haroche’s group, which won the Nobel Prize in 2012.”

Aziza highlights perseverance and curiosity as the crucial skills that have been essential in her research career. “Also, not being afraid to learn something new and build something crazy.”

Aziza has continued her work as a postdoctoral researcher in the Lukin research group at Harvard University. The group uses solid-state defects in diamond nanocavities, cooled in dilution refrigerators, as nodes in a quantum network, doing proof-of-principle entanglement distribution experiments. “Recently, we managed to entangle matter qubits across 35 km of deployed fiber in the Boston area and perform blind distributed gates across our system. It’s a lot of fun, and we’re learning so much about what’s possible in quantum technology.”

“My hope is that we accomplish two things: learn new physics and push the frontier of technology. Neither is easy, but I think we’re heading in the right direction”, Aziza says.

Aziza is also working on starting her own research group – the Suleymanzade Lab will be starting up in the Physics Department at UC Berkeley in July 2025. The group works on building hybrid quantum systems with light-matter interfaces to advance quantum technology and probe fundamental science.

Thoughts on Inclusion and Progress

To support future progress, Aziza hopes that people would genuinely focus on being inclusive – also beyond gender. “It’s not just about gender but also about different backgrounds and personalities. Also, at more advanced stages, we need to make being a mom less complicated in academia— by sharing responsibilities more evenly, we wouldn’t lose brilliant researchers because they had to choose between academic goals and family. We’re improving, but there’s still a long way to go.”

“I think early on, it’s more of a culture problem; later on, women start hitting institutional barriers lingering from the past. It’s hard to overcome everything in such a short time. I mean, we had a theory of evolution and electromagnetism before we figured out that women should be allowed to vote (at least in the U.S.)—that’s pretty weird. Those are some complex theories!”

“We have come a long way, but it would be nice to speed up a bit. I’m grateful to past generations who knocked down obstacles I haven’t had to face. Hopefully, we’ll clear more hurdles for those who come after us.”

From Curiosity to Cosmology

From a very young age, Eve was fascinated by the natural world. “My parents encouraged this curiosity by taking me to the local library, where I would check out stacks of books. I found real-world science to be just as exciting as fiction, if not more, because it was all around me”, she says.

Eve’s curiosity in science was sparked by hands-on experiences. “I loved conducting experiments at home or at science camps. I remember creating a vacuum in a beaker and then watching an egg get sucked in. Today, we work with similar vacuum systems! We don’t put eggs in them, but the concept of vacuum is the same one.”

“In high school, I was torn between studying space or the brain—both seemed like final frontiers. Ultimately, space won because physics was challenging for me, and solving physics problems gave me an exciting rush. In college, I knew I wanted to work on experiments, and cosmology felt like the perfect fit. It allows me to work with cryostats, superconducting materials, and extreme environments while studying the entire universe at once.”

The thrill of investigating open questions drove Eve to pursue research. “Academia offers a diverse workload—I get to mentor, teach, conduct experiments, write, and travel. It’s demanding but rewarding.”

Initially, Eve thought that being a scientist required natural talents in mathematics and physics but did not necessitate skills in communication or teamwork. However, that wasn’t the case. “I realized that research requires diverse skills—coding, mechanical intuition, and collaboration. Large-scale projects thrive when people with different strengths work together,” Eve highlights.

“Challenges are mandatory in research. Although they can be overwhelming, I remind myself that every challenge identified is one more that had been lurking ahead of me all along. Getting through the challenge is one more step towards achieving the goal, and they can improve your skill set and resilience as well.”

Exploring the Cosmos with Innovative Instrumentation

Currently, Eve leads a research group and builds a lab at Duke University for the development of novel cosmology instrumentation. Cosmology tackles some of humanity’s biggest questions—what is the universe made of, and where did we come from? “My work translates an understanding of cryogenics, mechanics, and superconducting device physics to an instrument to take unprecedented images for astrophysics and cosmology. I have worked with these images to improve our understanding of galaxy clusters, the largest gravitationally bound objects in our universe. Our group is continuing to learn about these objects and how best to use them to constrain the fundamental physics of our universe,” Eve explains.

“We just installed our first dilution refrigerator from Bluefors, which is very exciting! We are going to be using the fridge to contribute to the development of new cameras for cosmology experiments, including developing cryo-mechanical interfaces for the cameras. This novel instrumentation is going to be used for a number of upcoming observatories. The Simons Observatory has just seen first light this past year, and the CCAT Observatory is about to see first light next year!”

In addition to instrumentation development and experimentation, Eve wants to improve the accessibility of science to a diverse audience. “I’m passionate about science communication and have written children’s books about particle physics and black holes, hoping to inspire the next generation.”

Reflecting on the Role of Representation

Reflecting on her research path, Eve underscores the importance of role models, similar to Sherry. “Unfortunately, I struggled to find female scientists to look up to while growing up. I believe having visible and “cool” role models in the sciences for young girls is crucial. Sci-fi shows sometimes featured strong female leads, but those weren’t always widely accepted as cool. I think representation matters a lot in shaping career aspirations.”

Eve considers a shift in assumptions and expectations to be essential to encourage more women to pursue science as a career. “There are barriers at every stage, but changing societal perceptions is key. From childhood, we need to challenge stereotypes—starting with something as simple as the toys given to young girls. Science should be seen as an equal opportunity for everyone.”