Quantum Design Oxford is recognizing two physicists with the 2026 Lee Osheroff Richardson Science Prize for contributions to quantum materials research, the company says. Dr. Frank Zhao of the University of Maryland and Dr. Zhengguang Lu of Florida State University and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory will share the award, a decision prompted by an exceptional pool of nominations.
“It is a great honor to be jointly selected for the Lee Osheroff Richardson Prize,” said Dr. Zhao, acknowledging the support of mentors and collaborators who encouraged innovative techniques. Dr. Lu added that the prize is connecting his work to the landmark discovery of superfluidity by the prize’s namesakes.
Zhao’s Advances in Layered Superconductors and Interface Phenomena
Frank Zhao’s work revealed a layered superconductor, BaTa₂S₅, possessing an in-plane upper critical field exceeding 22 times the Pauli limit; this characteristic positions it as a strong candidate for hosting spin-triplet superconductivity, a state where Cooper pairs have a non-zero total spin. Zhao’s group synthesised a new high-k layered dielectric alongside a novel BiS₂-based superconductor, further demonstrating an ability to engineer materials with tailored properties for quantum applications.
Zhao’s investigations extended beyond bulk properties to the behaviour of interfaces between layered crystals, notably demonstrating emergent time-reversal symmetry breaking superconductivity at twisted cuprate interfaces. By twisting BSCCO crystals to 45°, he observed fractional Shapiro steps and a trainable, zero-field Josephson diode effect, phenomena indicative of unconventional superconducting order. These findings suggest that manipulating the stacking and orientation of layered materials can unlock new quantum states and functionalities not present in the individual layers themselves.
The creation of these interfaces demanded innovative fabrication techniques, as conventional cleanroom methods proved inadequate for producing high-quality devices. Zhao addressed this challenge by developing air-free, cryogenic fabrication methods that effectively replicate cleanroom conditions within a glovebox.
This allowed for the creation of atomically thin BSCCO devices for probing the fundamental physics of cuprate superconductors and resolving a long-standing question regarding the origin of Hall voltage reversal near the critical temperature. His work on these devices demonstrated the sensitivity of c-axis twist junctions to the symmetry of the cuprate order parameter, providing insights into the pairing mechanism responsible for superconductivity in these materials.
Lu’s Discovery of Topological States in Graphene Heterostructures
Zhengguang Lu discovered the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQAH) in a rhombohedral pentalayer graphene/hBN moiré superlattice between 2021 and 2024 while a Postdoctoral Associate, earning him the 2025 McMillan Award for this landmark achievement. This zero-field quantum phase causes electrons to self-organise into fractionalised topological states, a finding that initially surprised theoretical predictions. The material’s inherent cleanliness and compatibility with transparent contacts position it as a promising platform for interfacing fractionalised topology with superconductivity, potentially enabling advancements in non-Abelian anyonic physics and fault-tolerant quantum computation.
The discovery garnered significant attention, including features in Nature News and Quanta Magazine, highlighting its potential impact, according to Lee Osheroff Richardson. Building on this initial success, Dr. Lu then identified a new topological phase within the same graphene system, theorised to emerge from electrons spontaneously arranging themselves into ordered, crystal-like structures.
Notably, I really enjoyed pushing the boundary of what is possible with Nicola Poccia, who co-developed the glovebox fabrication techniques with me; as well as Paul Neves, Josh Wakefield, and Dave Graf, whose infectious curiosity and relentless persistence pushed us to see further.
Dr. Frank Zhao, Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland
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