Dr Peter Leek leads the Superconducting Quantum Devices Group in Oxford Physics. The group works on designing, understanding and controlling electrical circuits built from superconductors, particularly when they are cooled close to absolute zero in temperature, where their behaviour becomes governed by the counter-intuitive laws of quantum mechanics. Research on these ‘quantum circuits’ over the last 15 years has dramatically improved our understanding of how to preserve and manipulate information stored in them in a quantum manner, such that they now represent a promising platform for quantum computing. Dr Leek is also the founder of Oxford Quantum Circuits Ltd, a university spin-out taking the ideas developed in Dr Leek’s group and building on them to develop superconducting-circuit-based quantum computers for real-world applications.