Women in Quantum: Ella Meyer

By Ana Ciocoui

April 1, 2025

At the Quantum Algorithms Institute, we recognize that diverse perspectives drive innovation in quantum technology. As part of our Women in Quantum series, we highlight the careers, challenges, and aspirations of women working in this evolving field.

In this feature, Ella Meyer, Quantum Computing Outreach Coordinator at UBC Geering Up, shares how a background in astronomy and a passion for education led her to quantum outreach. After graduating from UBC with a B.Sc. in Astronomy, she shifted her focus from the Cosmic Microwave Background to expanding access to quantum education. Now managing the Diversifying Talent in Quantum Computing initiative, Ella collaborates with partners across academia and industry—including Microsoft, D-Wave Systems, and the Quantum Algorithms Institute—to build inclusive pathways into the field.

Ella Meyer is the Quantum Computing Outreach Coordinator at UBC Geering Up and the Project Manager for the Diversifying Talent in Quantum Computing initiative. She graduated with a B.Sc. in Astronomy from the University of British Columbia in 2020, with a research focus on the Cosmic Microwave Background and radio wave detection.

Ella has been working in science education and communication for the last three years in partnership with industry and academics worldwide including Microsoft, D Wave Systems, the Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, and the Quantum Algorithms Institute. She has been a speaker and invitee at conferences in Canada, the United States, and Ireland. In her spare time, Ella spends her time long-distance running, hiking, bouldering, and getting tattooed.

What got you interested in quantum technology initially?

I did an undergraduate degree in Astronomy, which had a lot of physics in it. I had taken quantum mechanics classes in university initially but all of that was very theory-heavy. The stuff that interested me most was what some of my friends were doing; research, co-ops at TRIUMF*, things like that-  the practical side of physics always was more compelling to me.

When the previous project manager was leaving this role he gave me a heads up, thinking it would be a good fit for me and so I applied. This job has a lot of cool aspects related to curriculum building, project management, and education, so I was pretty excited to get picked for the role. And so, this is how I ended up working in quantum computing education!

(TRIUMF is Canada's national particle accelerator centre. It is considered Canada's premier physics laboratory, and consistently regarded as one of the world's leading subatomic physics research centres.)

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

I’ve always loved math. Math was my favorite subject pretty much all through elementary and secondary education. And I was really lucky that my parents were super supportive of my interest in STEM, and didn’t pressure me into more typically “female” paths. But I bounced around a lot when it came to picking a specific field and sticking with it. I think every kid has a marine biology phase - I mean, who doesn’t want to work with whales? When I got older I realized I had thalassophobia- a fear of the ocean- so the idea of marine biology as a career kind of faded out.

I grew up in a rural area and did a lot of stargazing with my dad when I was little, so I also had an interest in astronomy that ended up persisting throughout my childhood. The choice to study physics came out of that love of space and math. It seemed like a good middle ground.

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

I didn’t do a ton of research in my undergrad, so my thesis was probably the only real technical project I did, and I didn’t have the best time with it. Honestly, I had a great time participating in science fairs as a kid. When I was seven I developed, to everyone’s horror, a deep fascination with black widow spiders. And so for the science fair, I did a whole case study on black widows, which included bringing live specimens stored in a jar. Apparently, this freaked everyone out, but I thought it was really cool. I was very excited about those spiders! I like open-ended, creative approaches to science, and these fairs let you explore whatever you want with few limits. It was great!

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

I have always been really lucky with my family in terms of support- my dad is an engineer and my mom is in healthcare and education. In elementary school, I had a great teacher, Mrs. Flick, who ran the math enrichment program. I loved this program- I loved going to all the events and the regional math contests, where I was supported and rewarded for my quirks and obsession with things like, for example, creating different number systems.

In high school I had a mixed bag of teachers; some were encouraging and some ended up being just plain mean. Some of them would go above and beyond to accommodate my interests by showing me, for example, where all the chemistry lab chemicals are stored - but on the other hand, I also had a high school teacher tell me, to my face, that I “would never go anywhere in the field of physics.”

That is a pretty crazy thing to say to one of the few girls in your class at nine in the morning!

In first year undergrad, I had two notable professors, James Charbonneau and Mark Van Raamsdonk, who were wonderful mentors; they were both very encouraging and kind to me. I came from a small school in a small town - my first year of university was spent adjusting to being a medium fish in the largest pond I’d ever seen. My residence had more people in it than the town I’d grown up in! James and I got along especially well, and every time I went to his office hours I found him to be exceptionally patient and encouraging. I think I’ve been lucky compared to other women in science- you hear some crazy stories.

Who is a woman that inspires you, and why?

My mom! She’s always been so supportive and encouraging. My mom did her master’s degree when I was a kid, and she has gotten incredibly far in her career considering she did her entire degree long-distance while raising my brother and me. She taught me how to ask for things you want and how to take up space- all sorts of soft skills that are really important in life.

Celeste Leander from the UBC biology department also deserves a shoutout. She was sort of like a mom-by-proxy to all of us first years in Science One, which I mean in the best way possible. She was so kind and caring, always the first to notice if students were struggling. She would bring brownies for us before midterms, and a group of us would hang out at her house on Halloween, handing out candy and talking about how our courses were going. She’s just an above-and-beyond kind of person. Celeste and James are the reason I didn’t drop out halfway through my first year.

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

I didn’t perform super well academically in undergrad; I think I graduated with a B- across everything and I nearly failed quantum mechanics the first time I took it. For someone who had identified strongly as a math nerd their whole life, this was kind of like a kick to the face. I struggled with a lot of things: course load, time management, living on my own for the first time, and lots of mental health stuff. All of this made my time in undergrad really hard. I remember one time the professor showed us the midterm grades distribution for electricity and magnetism, and everyone (myself included) was amused that someone had only scored 14%. That someone turned out to be me!

But you know what, I finished my degree. And I’m really proud of the fact that I was able to acknowledge at the time that I wasn’t doing well- it’s hard to admit things like this, even if just to yourself. Eventually, I learned how to study and manage my time and my health, but it was a steep learning curve. And since graduating, I’ve managed to learn enough on my own to hold down this quasi-scientific outreach role, in a subject that I completely bombed in undergrad. So I think, if there’s any sort of takeaway message from this, it’s to be honest with yourself and to persevere through the hard stuff.

What would you like to accomplish in the future?

At some point in the future, I would like to do a professional degree but only if I feel that it’s relevant to what I’m interested in. I’m thinking of pursuing a project management certification

or a master’s in educational technology. I’m not sure yet- I don’t want to dump time and money into certifications if they’re not going to serve me. Fundamentally what I want to keep doing is staying at the forefront of quantum education, in whatever way that might be.

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

I think the technology has enormous impact potential, and we are seeing some of that already with quantum annealing. I remember seeing a presentation by D-Wave at IQT on how they are partnering with different companies to solve increasingly complex optimization problems. Some of the applications are related to reducing gasoline consumption in trucking and reducing food waste in grocery stores, for example. So stuff like this is obviously good. I do, like lots of people, feel a bit nervous about the security implications of being able to break the encryption that we have grown so dependent on to secure data. But overall I am optimistic that we can manage these risks and find ways to reap the rewards quantum tech promises for advancing healthcare and agriculture.

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. AI 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 don’t directly work in a quantum tech role so I’m not aware of what specifically companies are doing, if anything, to develop the technology ethically. But I do go to a lot of conferences where I get to engage with lots of people, and from what I have seen, this discourse on responsible development has seemed mostly limited to academia and think tanks. The people actually developing this technology are a largely homogenous group; at a lot of quantum conferences, I can pick out the number of women on one hand. I'm curious whether there are diverse voices at all in these high-powered decision-making groups; and if not, whether there is even a desire or incentive to include them at some point.

I think companies in general are not motivated towards ethical development. Their main concern is in generating profit to keep their shareholders happy. There is immense pressure to succeed and little motivation to ensure the ethically favorable outcome because this could cost more and take longer. So, I don't think companies will start ethical consultations and such of their own will. The incentive structure would have to come externally via government regulations, and this hasn't happened yet. So, that makes me nervous.

The 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?

Everyone who’s not currently in it! Certain countries are pulling further ahead than everyone else because they have the budget to fund all this high-tech and expensive research. And within those countries, the people spearheading all this research are, as I said before, a very privileged, educated, and racially homogenous group. I think that there is a lot of room for more women, people of color, and indigenous perspectives. I think that these perspectives are necessary if we are going to build something that benefits all of us, instead of just a select few. And we should be doing this not because “diverse teams are more profitable” but because everyone has the right to human dignity and a good life.

For example, quantum enthusiasts always mention medical advances as an uncontestable positive thing that the technology will bring. There is always a hand-wavey mention of 'drug discovery' but no concrete mention of how it will bring positive impacts to anyone other than pharma companies. There would be so much to gain from a conversation with, for example, a disabilities consultant to explore applications that would benefit this community. We should identify opportunities for this technology to uplift the most vulnerable, and find ways to prioritize this research.

Given the current trajectory of development, it is a possibility that global division will emerge 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?

The universities and companies developing this technology have pretty enviable access to resources. It would be great if they could figure out ways to collaborate with institutions and individuals in countries that are currently left behind. For example, universities could create quantum-specific academic partnerships with sister schools around the world, facilitating the flow of ideas by allowing people to come and learn from existing experts.

I don't think it's feasible to try developing quantum computers on-site in every single country. But a lot of progress can be made if we just share access to existing resources. This will accelerate the pace of research while allowing diverse voices to be heard and hopefully keeping people accountable for their actions. A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say.

However, an approach like this is only possible in a world where we're not constantly at each other's throats. The trending policies in the West right now are increasingly nationalistic, so finding a way to operate in this climate may be tricky.

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 cautiously optimistic. I've seen the way development has progressed in other emerging technologies- it's like a rapid sprint across a busy highway, a mad dash to some big payoff- and we look back later on and wonder how we didn't just die in the mess of it all. As we've seen with AI, an attempt at regulation comes only after irreversible damage has been done.

I think if the tech bros out there who loudly proclaim their hatred for DEI ever end up figuring out that talking and actually listening to women and minorities will end up benefiting their companies in the long run, then maybe we have a chance. I hate pandering to these people but that's the way the world works right now.

If they truly only care about making the 'best' products and becoming rich, then the logical decision is to have more diverse teams - it's been proven. And the sooner they realize this, the better- for all of us.

So yeah, I’m optimistic. But I am emotionally prepared for it to be a really rocky journey.

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

I would love for quantum computing to become a really helpful tool in the toolbox for addressing real-world problems, whether that’s environmentally, or in medical research, etc. I want more people to gain access to the technology and to get comfortable using it so that they can apply it to better their own lives and those of their communities. I want quantum computers to become a useful and available tool that we can use for the good of humanity.