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The School of Mathematics and Statistics at �ʹڲ�Ʊ is pleased to announce that one of its newest members of staff has been elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) are among the nation’s most distinguished scientists. Every year since 1954 the Academy elects up to 28 new Fellows, 24 by Ordinary Election and 4 more by Special Election, selected by their peers for ground-breaking research and contributions that have had clear impact.����

Professor Aidan Sims - long recognised for his contributions to functional analysis, specifically in the area of operator algebras and its applications in related fields - was honoured by the Academy on Thursday 22 May for his achievements in the area of quantum mathematics.��He is among 26 newly elected Fellows.

His work in theoretical mathematics has generated enduring research activity, solved significant open problems, and established unexpected connections across mathematics.

Among key contributions, he built higher-rank graph C*-algebras from infancy into a major research field; established a long-sought "Rosetta Stone" between Leavitt path algebras and graph operator algebras; computed the exact nuclear dimension of all Kirchberg algebras; and extended the celebrated Boyle-Tomiyama theorem to arbitrary dynamical systems.

Professor Sims was an invited speaker at the 2015 Abel Symposium, was the 2016 AustMS Medallist, and is the Incoming President of the Australian Mathematical Society.

Professor Sims now joins ranks with other �ʹڲ�Ʊ Mathematics and Statistics colleagues elected as AAS Fellows, including Professor Catherine Greenhill (2022), Scientia Professor Gary Froyland (2020), Scientia Professor Fedor Sukochev (2016), Professor Igor Shparlinski��(2006), Emeritus Professor Colin Rogers (1999), Emeritus Scientia Professor Trevor McDougall (1997), Emeritus Professor Ian Sloan (1993), and Emeritus Professor Michael Cowling (1993).

Professor Sims’ research aligns well with the developmental imperatives recommended by the AAS to the Federal Government to urgently modernise Australia’s high-performance computing and data infrastructure and boost science and mathematics education as critical priorities for the 2025–26 Budget.��

Following on the back of the 2025 AAS Fellows announcement, Professor Sims’ appointment at �ʹڲ�Ʊ School of Mathematics and Statistics will officially begin in August this year.

Professor Sims comes to �ʹڲ�Ʊ after an outstanding teaching and research career at the University of Wollongong in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences where he was widely published and the recipient of significant research grants, including his most recent collaborative 2025-2027 ARC Discovery Project Grant - A new twist on product decompositions: twisted algebras for Zappa–Szép products (AUD $574K).

According to the Head of School at �ʹڲ�Ʊ Mathematics and Statistics, Professor Andrew Francis, the twin announcements of Professor Sims becoming an AAS Fellow and a �ʹڲ�Ʊ staff member are “demonstrative of the calibre of work undertaken in this nation and indicative of type of researcher �ʹڲ�Ʊ attracts. We are extremely excited to welcome Professor Sims to our School where he will lead the new Quantum Mathematics Research Cluster dedicated to research at the nexus of quantum mathematics, physics, engineering, and computer science.”�� ��

As head of the Quantum Mathematics Research Cluster, Professor Sims says he aims to develop sophisticated approaches to quantum phenomena and find simple and intuitive ways to describe complicated mathematical ideas, making them more understandable. He explains, “Quantum mechanics cannot be described using good old ‘graph-able’ functions. Rather, they require intricate systems of transformations of infinite-dimensional spaces. These systems – known as ‘operator algebras’ – are what I mean by quantum mathematics. By mathematical standards they are still quite new and we don't yet have a good intuitive way of describing and thinking about them.”

Working in collaboration with fellow �ʹڲ�Ʊ researcher, Dr Anna Duwenig, Professor Sims hopes to close the gap by developing what he calls “a quantum curve-sketching ‘toolkit’: a systematic description of operator algebras that provides intuition for the operator algebras we already know about, and a way of custom-building operator algebras that we might one day use as blueprints for new quantum materials and devices.”

According to Professor Francis, the Cluster’s immediate research endeavours will gain “�ʹڲ�Ʊ investment by way of two appointments including in quantum mathematics and a three-year postdoc, supported by the 2025 - 2027 ARC Discovery Project Grant”.

Other collaborators within the Quantum Mathematics Research Cluster will be announced later this year.
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For more information on the �ʹڲ�Ʊ Quantum Mathematics Research Cluster, contact Professor Sims on aidan.sims@unsw.edu.au

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