Professor Simmons is the Founder and CEO of Silicon Quantum Computing and the Director of the Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology. As an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, she has pioneered unique technologies internationally to build electronic devices in silicon at the atomic scale, including the world's smallest transistor, the narrowest conducting wires, 3D atomic electronics and the first two qubit gate using atom-based qubits in silicon. Her team is at the forefront of the global race to develop a quantum computer in silicon. Michelle is one of a handful of researchers in Australia to have twice received an Australian Research Council Federation Fellowship and now a Laureate Fellowship. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, the American Academy of Arts and Science, the American Association of the Advancement of Science, the UK Institute of Physics, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and the Australian Academy of Science.
In 2018 Professor Simmons was named Australian of the Year, one of the nation’s pre-eminent awards.