Muhammad Suhail Zubairy, HI, SI, FPAS (born 19 October 1952), is a University Distinguished Professor as of 2014 in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

and is the inaugural holder of the Munnerlyn-Heep Chair in Quantum Optics. In 2017, Prof. Suhail Zubairy was awarded the Changjiang Distinguished Chair at Huazhong University of Science and Technology. This is the highest award of the Chinese Government to a university professor and is rarely given to a non-Chinese. He has made pioneering contributions in the fields of

Quantum computing Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Though ...

laser physics Laser science or laser physics is a branch of optics that describes the theory and practice of lasers. Laser science is principally concerned with quantum electronics, laser construction, optical cavity design, the physics of producing a popul ...

and

quantum optics Quantum optics is a branch of atomic, molecular, and optical physics dealing with how individual quanta of light, known as photons, interact with atoms and molecules. It includes the study of the particle-like properties of photons. Photons have b ...

. He has authored and co-authored several books and over 300 research papers on a wide variety of research problems relating to theoretical physics. His research and work has been widely recognised by the physics community and he has won many international awards. In addition, he took part as the lead lecturer in the Casper College Quantum Science Camp during July 2022.

Academic career

Zubairy attended

Edwardes College Edwardes College Peshawar is a semi-government degree The college's undergraduate and graduate degree programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), 4 year BS Programme in English and Computer Science, Master of Bus ...

in Peshawar, where he received double BSc degree in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and mathematics from the

Peshawar University The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a Public university, public research university located in Peshawar, Khy ...

, in 1971. He was conferred with

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

with his degree by Peshawar University. He received MSc in

from the

Quaid-i-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad ( ur, ; commonly referred to as QAU), founded as University of Islamabad, is a ranked 1 public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedi ...

in 1974, and his PhD in

from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

under the guidance of Professor

Emil Wolf Emil Wolf (July 30, 1922 – June 2, 2018) was a Czech-born American physicist who made advancements in physical optics, including diffraction, coherence properties of optical fields, spectroscopy of partially coherent radiation, and the theory o ...

in 1978. He wrote an internationally renowned textbook on Quantum Optics that he co-authored with

Marlan O. Scully Marlan Orvil Scully (born August 3, 1939) is an American physicist best known for his work in theoretical quantum optics. He is a professor at Texas A&M University and Princeton University. Additionally, in 2012 he developed a lab at the Baylor ...

. His research interests are very wide and he has written papers on quantum optical applications to

quantum computing Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Though ...

quantum informatics Quantum information science is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand the analysis, processing, and transmission of information using quantum mechanics principles. It combines the study of Information science with quantum effects in p ...

quantum entanglement Quantum entanglement is the phenomenon that occurs when a group of particles are generated, interact, or share spatial proximity in a way such that the quantum state of each particle of the group cannot be described independently of the state of ...

and sub-wavelength atom localisation. More recently, Zubairy has concentrated most of his efforts on research in

quantum microscopy Quantum microscopy allows microscopic properties of matter and quantum particles to be measured and imaged. Various types of microscopy use quantum principles. The first microscope to do so was the scanning tunneling microscope, which paved the way ...

and

quantum lithography Quantum lithography is a type of photolithography, which exploits non-classical properties of the photons, such as quantum entanglement, in order to achieve superior performance over ordinary classical lithography. Quantum lithography is closely ...

, some of which are ground breaking. For example, his papers on sub-wavelength lithography using classical light sources are very well received. His recent ''

Physical Review Letters ''Physical Review Letters'' (''PRL''), established in 1958, is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal that is published 52 times per year by the American Physical Society. As also confirmed by various measurement standards, which include the ''Journa ...

'' was reviewed in ''

Physical Review Focus ''Physical Review Focus'' was an internet service of the American Physical Society that began in 1998, aiming to explain new developments in physics in a language understandable to the educated non-physicist. One or two short articles were publishe ...

'' as well as in the News of the Week section of ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

''. Another of his recent ''

'' was selected by ''

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

'' as a news release with the title "A new way to beat the limit on shrinking transistors".

Awards and honours

* Changjiang Distinguished Chair Professor, HUST, China (2017) * Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics (2014) * Bush Excellence Award for International Research (2011) * Humboldt Senior Scientist Research Award (2007) *

Khwarizmi International Award The Khwarizmi International Award is a research award given annually by the President of Iran. The awardees, 10 senior researchers and 10 young researchers, are selected by the Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST). It h ...

by the

President of Iran The president of Iran ( fa, رئیس‌جمهور ایران, Rayis Jomhur-e Irān) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The president is the second highest-ranking official of Iran after the Supreme Leader. The president i ...

(2001) *

Hilal-e-Imtiaz The ''Hilaal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled and transliterated as Hilāl-e-Imtiyāz, is the second-highest (in the hierarchy of "Hilal") Awards and decorations of the Pakistan military, civilian award and honour given to both civilians and milit ...

(Crescent of Excellence) Award by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

(2000) * COMSTECH Award for Physics (1999) *

Sitara-i-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...

(Star of Excellence) Award by the

(1993) * Gold Medal,

Pakistan Academy of Sciences The Pakistan Academy of Sciences ( ur, ) (abbreviated as: PAS), is a learned society of sciences, which described itself as "a repository of the highest scientific talent available in the country." Established in 1953 in Lahore, Punjab, the A ...

(1989) * Abdus Salam Prize for Physics (1986)

Fellowships

* Fellow

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

(2006) * Fellow

(1995) * Fellow

Optical Society of America Optica (formerly known as The Optical Society (OSA) and before that as the Optical Society of America) is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals and organizes conference ...

(1988)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zubairy, Muhammad Suhail Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz University of Rochester alumni Texas A&M University faculty Pakistani physicists Academic staff of Quaid-i-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University alumni 1952 births Living people Fellows of Pakistan Academy of Sciences Theoretical physicists Pakistani information theorists University of Peshawar alumni Supercomputing in Pakistan American academics of Pakistani descent Edwardes College alumni Pakistani emigrants to the United States Fellows of the American Physical Society