Women In Quantum: Elisa Torres Durney

By Ana Ciocoiu

February 25, 2025

At the Quantum Algorithms Institute, we believe that diverse perspectives are essential to the advancement of quantum technology. In 2024, Ana Ciocoiu conducted a series of interviews to highlight the careers, challenges, and aspirations of women in the STEM workforce, with a focus on quantum computing.

This series explores the experiences of women shaping the future of quantum—how they got started, what inspires them, and the impact they hope to make.

In this feature, Elisa Torres Durney shares her journey from discovering quantum computing during the lockdown in 2020 to founding Girls in Quantum, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding global quantum education and empowering women in STEM. Under her leadership, the organization has reached thousands of students across 26 countries, forged partnerships with leading institutions, and helped make quantum education more accessible.

Elisa Torres Durney is the Founder and CEO of Girls in Quantum, a 501(c)(3) organization committed to advancing global quantum education, with a specific focus on empowering women in STEM. Under her leadership, the organization has impacted 5,000 students across 26 countries through collaborative courses with institutions such as the Perimeter Institute. Elisa's partnerships with industry leaders like IBM, the UN, and nine other international companies have significantly expanded the organization reach, facilitating educational projects and interviews with leaders in the quantum field.

As a public speaker, Elisa has presented at over 50 international conferences, including platforms like IBM, The Economist, The Lancet, TEDx, and Women Economic Forum, reaching more than 13,000 attendees. Her contributions to STEM leadership have earned recognition, including being named one of Forbes Chile's "30 Most Powerful Women" and receiving the "Top 10 Global Student Prize" from the Varkey Foundation and Chegg. Additionally, she was ranked as the #5 LinkedIn Quantum Top Voice in 2023, further establishing her advocacy in the field.

What got you interested in quantum technology initially?

I started getting interested in quantum during the lock-down in 2020. I had five hours of online school each day instead of eight or nine so I decided to spend the time looking for new things to learn about. I found this introduction to quantum computing course online and it really struck me: wow! What is this? I only knew the word ‘computing’ so I was really intrigued. And I had a lot of free time on my hands then so I though, why not? And I got a full scholarship for the course too, which covered all nine months, so it let me get really engaged without worrying, ‘how will I pay for this?’

Growing up, what were your perceptions of a job in the STEM field and of the people in it?

As a kid I was really into the arts, so painting, theatre, all that stuff. I had some interest in biology or coding but I was mostly just exploring different curiosities. But I definitely pictured scientists quite stereotypically as these people in lab coats hunched over their computers in a dark room. So I wasn’t really interested in STEM that way, but I loved discovering and learning new things. I’ve always been really extroverted and unafraid of asking questions, and this really allowed to me gain a better understanding of science as I went through my classes in school.

What has been your favourite project or research experience so far?

Definitely the research I did at Cambridge as a research scholar; it was my first research experience! I had no idea what I was going to work on, it was really intimidating! I was supposed to start with a literature review and I had no idea how to do any of it! I felt like I knew way less than all of my classmates. But I slowly took to the challenge and ended up learning so much about neuroscience and transcription factors, all this stuff that was so new to me!

Is that around the time that you started Girls in Quantum? Can you tell me a bit about that journey?

Yeah! I noticed during some of my courses that I was often one of the only females in the course. At first, I didn’t really think deeper about it, but after a while I realized that this was due to something called the ‘gender gap’ and that it was a documented phenomenon. I really love STEM and want others to experience that same joy I do so I wanted to do something to give others similar opportunities to what I had, which naturally meant incorporating more women into the field. I put some feelers out to see if anyone was interested in this mission and within a day I had several responses from around the globe. And since then we’ve grown into an organization that seeks to provide mentorship and educational content about quantum to students around the globe.

Did you feel you had adequate mentorship and support on your learning and professional journey?

It depends. I find that sometimes people are usually laser focused on either teaching or learning new material that other factors are sometimes forgotten. But I have family and friends that have been hugely supportive of all that I do. I’ve also found a lot of community in the people I have connected with online, even though it was really scary to reach out at first. In talking with them about their career journeys I learned that there is no straight way forward and that everyone’s journey is different, and that’s ok! That support has been really valuable for me.

Who is a woman that inspires you, and why?

Oh wow, there’s a lot of women that inspire me but if I have to pick, I would say, Shohini Ghose! She’s so amazing. She was one of the first people I connected with online and I after met her at Perimeter Institute which was indescribably cool, it’s like the centre of the world in terms of physics research to me. I felt like Oppenheimer! I was able to meet her over there in person, which was really nice and felt like I was coming full circle.

What is a challenge you have faced that you are especially proud of overcoming?

I would say that starting Girls in Quantum was a huge challenge. It was easy to come up with idea but I had to really push myself out of my comfort zone to grow the organization and built all our infrastructure. I had to build a website, come up with a mission, and then think about what I was going to do next. Thankfully I was able to get all those ideas together with my team, but it was a lot of work! And we got a lot of rejections as first. This was all happening while I was still a student in high school so I had a lot to balance. [It doesn’t get better as you get older, you just get more tired! So do it now!] Exactly. It’s never going to get easier, but if I really like this, I need to do something! I can’t just wait for something to happen!

You’re starting university this fall – can you tell me a bit about your dreams/aspirations? What would you like to accomplish in the future?

I will definitely keep my mind open to whatever opportunities come my way. I’m not sure about where my interest with quantum first in with starting a mechanical engineering degree but I’ll figure it out! Ideally, I would love to have a creative role either in research or entrepreneurship, harnessing emergent technologies to solve problems in healthcare.

How do you think quantum technology can impact the lives of people in your community (either for better or worse)?

I believe quantum has a lot of potential but there’s also a lot of hype surrounding it at the moment that it’s easy to fall for. There are lots of potential problems with quantum as well relating to data security, for example, that people are slowly becoming aware of. Hopefully the development of this technology makes people much more technologically literate, increasing awareness of how data is encrypted, transmitted, and stored, leading to a greater understanding of how we can secure this data in the future. This is already happening at the government level, with all the national quantum strategies that have been launched.

We can see from AI and facial recognition technologies the consequences of considering responsible development only after the technology has hit the market. As the global conversation around quantum computing develops, the concept of responsible innovation has emerged. RI aims to foster a culture of engagement between the quantum computing community society, so that we experience not only the benefits of quantum computing research but also good governance, transparency, and accountability. Do you feel quantum computing is developing responsibly? Why/why not?

I remember when ChatGPT came out and I was initially super impressed and excited with what I could do. But eventually I realized that it was being used for some not so great things, like creating fake pictures, falsifying data, or plagiarizing content. And right now we’re dealing with that fallout, and looking at creating stronger regulations – but it’s too late! I really hope we start taking those measures now with quantum and learn from our mistakes. It’s still early and I’ve already seen some progress in this area, for example, researchers working on the ethics of QC and thinking about ways in which it can be regulated. But it’s definitely a really small group of people working on these issues, so I’m hoping that this movement keeps growing and we start seeing some government regulations or initiatives on responsible innovation moving forward.

Development of quantum technology has thus far been concentrated in well-funded research labs and a subset of companies that exist mostly in the ‘global north’ due to the level of infrastructural development needed and the existing research environments. Going forward, who would you like to see included in the development and deployment of quantum technology?

I would love to see more inclusion across the board, especially of women. But it can’t just happen by force, right? The environment has to be welcoming enough that women will join and stay for the long run. It’s not enough to just attract young girls into STEM; as we’ve seen, retention is a real problem. For example, how do we give working mothers the support to balance their families and careers? I would also like to see the inclusion of more young people because we’re the ones who will eventually take over the research and policy aspects of quantum computing, and we should be able to have a voice in its development right now. Basically, anyone who wants to participate should be able to irrespective of where they come from. I’m from Chile, and within the whole of Latin America there are basically no internships or opportunities to get involved in quantum technology right now. If companies and research facilities could support remote internships, it could help break down some of these geographical barriers and allow more women and young people in general to engage with this technology.

Given the current trajectory of development, it is a possibility that global division emerges as only a few countries have access to quantum computing. Areas without access are left behind as those that have access take advantage of this technology. Given existing digital divides, this scenario may worsen global inequality. What does responsible quantum innovation look like to you?

I would say that part of responsible innovation is increasing access to knowledge and tools worldwide. For example, Khan Academy lets anyone learn just about anything for free from their bedroom. So open access is incredibly important because not everyone has the resources learn this stuff otherwise. I’ve seen this happen already with free company-funded workshops and tools such as Qiskit. But all of this happens over the internet, so we also need to find ways to increase internet connectivity and reach even remote regions so that they’re not left behind. Quantum technology can be leveraged in positive ways that benefit humanity (eg, drug discovery) but it can also be leveraged in ways that make the world far worse, such as exacerbating geopolitical tensions and opportunity divides. Developing quantum technology in a responsible way is clearly going to be challenging.

Are you overall optimistic or pessimistic about the way we will choose to develop this technology?

I’m generally an optimistic person. I think that with everything going on in the world right now it might be hard to maintain that optimism sometimes, but I’m hopeful because I see young people that are not only interested in quantum technology but also devoted to understanding and solving a variety of social issues as well. Their enthusiasm is really contagious and they’re always eager to continue learning; that inspires me a lot, so I’m hopeful for the future.

What dreams/ aspirations do you have for the future of quantum computing?

I would love to see a diverse and inclusive world with tons of opportunities, and far less educational barriers. Right now it seems like everyone working on quantum computing has a PhD and that’s such a huge barrier to overcome for most people. I hope companies find ways to support and invest in people who may not meet all the educational requirements for a job, because there are so many talented people out there who have something to contribute! There are these big famous tech companies that we all know- will they make space for startups and policymakers to contribute to and regulate the industry? I dream of a future in which quantum computing is accessible and welcoming to everyone.