QuBytes is student-focused and student-run. Meet the team!
Want to join us as an author/editor? Send an e-mail to qubytesdigest@gmail.com
Eli Levenson-Falk
Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Eli Levenson-Falk is an assistant professor of Physics at the University of Southern California. His lab performs experimental quantum information science with superconducting circuits. When he’s not in the lab or teaching, you can usually find him playing ultimate or eating.
Email: elevenso@usc.edu
Raquel Alfonso
Contributing Author
Raquel is a student of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Santiago de Compostela. She has worked on implementing Quantum Machine Learning algorithms and is doing her bachelor’s thesis on Quantum Cryptography. When she is not studying, she enjoys playing guitar and singing.
Email: raquel.alfonso.ro@gmail.com
Shahnawaz Ahmed
Contributing Author
Shahnawaz is working on the applications of machine learning (ML) to quantum physics at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. He is a 4th year Ph.D. student supervised by Dr. Anton Frisk Kockum in the Applied Quantum Physics group at MC2, Chalmers. His research focuses on developing ML techniques for use in quantum information and computing along with methods for quantum simulation. As an open-source enthusiast, he is interested in the intersection of physics and code. Shahnawaz has contributed to open-source scientific computing packages such as QuTiP and PennyLane, and is one of the admins for the QuTiP project. He has mentored students in the Google Summer of Code project and serves as an advisor for the Unitary Fund assessing microgrant applications for quantum projects. Outside of the lab, Shahnawaz enjoys lazy afternoons at the lake and synthwave music.
Email: shahnawaz.ahmed@chalmer.se
Abhinandan Antony
Contributing Author
Antony is a graduate student in Jim Hone’s group at Columbia University. His work involves exploring novel applications of atomically thin van der Waals materials for superconducting quantum circuits and qubits. Outside of the lab, he spends his time enjoying the variety of musicals, concerts, stand up comedy, and other live events that New York has to offer.
Email: abhinandan.antony@gmail.com
Alex Buser
Contributing Author
Alex is a PhD student in John Preskill’s group at Caltech. He is mainly interested in quantum simulation of high-energy physics. Outside of science, he enjoys climbing, hiking, and music.
Email: alexbuser@caltech.edu
Piero Chiappina
Contributing Author
Piero is a PhD student in Oskar Painter’s group at Caltech, studying hybrid superconducting and acoustic quantum circuits. He is interested in developing photonic and phononic technologies to expand the capabilities of NISQ-era superconducting processors. In a previous life, Piero was a cheerleader for Georgia Tech. If you ask him nicely, he will leave the lab and do a backflip.
Email: pchiappi@caltech.edu
Farhan Tanvir Chowdhury
Contributing Author
Farhan’s work as a PhD student with Daniel Kattnig and Oleksandr Kyriienko at the University of Exeter builds upon the theoretical tools and computational techniques of quantum control theory to develop better approaches for simulating driven open quantum systems. By probing quantum complex systems of physical and physiological relevance, the goal is design quantum control protocols to bring about non-classical enhancements to magnetic field sensing which are resistant to the presence of noise and decoherence. Outside of converting coffee to equations, Farhan is also a connoisseur of world literature and a cinéaste, occasionally moonlighting as a creative collaborator for friends with literary aspirations.
Email: fc430@exeter.ac.uk
Chunyang Ding
Contributing Author
Chunyang is a physics PhD student working on developing superconducting quantum computing with Professor David Schuster. His current research involves developing fluxonium qubits. Chunyang is also an avid reader, biker, and cook.
Email: chunyangding@uchicago.edu
Akash Dixit
Contributing Author
Akash is a PhD student working with Aaron Chou (Fermilab) and David Schuster (University of Chicago). He builds superconducting qubits and couples them to 3D cavities to develop novel quantum architectures and search for dark matter. Akash is passionate about music, enjoys biking by the lake, and playing basketball.
Email: avdixit@uchicago.edu
Marcus Edwards
Contributing Author
Marcus Edwards has a Master’s degree in Quantum Information Science from the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo. His research interests are quantum communication and quantum algorithms. Outside of the lab, he is a software developer, and enjoys going to the beach with his wife and dog.
Email: msedwards@uwaterloo.ca
Ben Fortman
Contributing Author
Ben is a PhD student at the University of Southern California in Susumu Takahashi’s group. He is an experimental physicist with his main interest in defect spin centers, such as the NV center in diamond, and their application to quantum sensing. He is passionate about the outdoors and enjoys yoga, hiking, and generally being in nature as much as possible.
Email: bfortman AT usc.edu
Darian Hartsell
Contributing Author
Darian is a PhD student in Dr. Levenson-Falk’s group at the University of Southern California where she performs experimental quantum information research. She is specifically interested in hybrid quantum firmware, which can utilize the best aspects of different types of superconducting qubits to create a low-error logical unit cell. She is also passionate about the physics community and is heavily involved in the Graduate Association and Women in Physics groups at USC. Outside of the lab, Darian enjoys climbing, cycling, yoga, and anything else outdoors!
Email: dhartsel AT usc.edu
Joe Kitzman
Contributing Author
Joe is working on developing novel quantum acoustics experiments using superconducting qubit systems. These experiments look to explore new regimes of circuit quantum electrodynamic (cQED) experiments to study superconducting qubits and how they interact with mechanical degrees of freedom. Broadly, his research interests lie in studying the interactions between superconducting qubit systems and other novel quantum systems.
Email: kitzmanj AT msu.edu
Matthew Kowalsky
Contributing Author
Matthew is a PhD student in Daniel Lidar’s group at the University of Southern California. He studies, models, and benchmarks the performance of quantum computers (especially annealers) and competing classical algorithms. Outside of graduate studies, Matthew can be found hiking, throwing frisbees, and playing board games.
Email: kowalsky AT usc.edu
Wei-Ting Kuo
Contributing Author
Wei-Ting is a PhD student at the University of California, San Diego in Prof. Daniel Arovas’ group. His research interests lie in the dynamics of quantum entanglement and non-equilibrium behavior in quantum quench. Outside of research, he enjoys hiking, cycling and skiing.
Sapphire Lally
Contributing Author
Sapphire Lally is a PhD student at the Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Surrey. Her research involves adapting models of open quantum systems to study coherence dynamics of non-Markovian processes at room temperature. When she’s not at a whiteboard or her laptop, she can be found doing yoga, painting, or getting in friendly arguments at the pub.
Email: m.lally@surrey.ac.uk
Ryan LaRose
Contributing Author
Ryan LaRose is a postdoc at EPFL in the Computational Quantum Science Lab. He completed his PhD at Michigan State University and has research interests in quantum algorithms, quantum error correction, tensor networks, machine learning, computational physics, computerized mathematics, and more. Outside of research, he enjoys reading books, playing tennis, and cycling.
Email: rlarose@umich.edu
Rick Mattish
Contributing Author
Rick is a PhD student at Clemson University in Dr. Joan Marler’s group. He is an experimental AMO physicist and is currently researching charge exchange with highly charged ions as sources of astrophysical X-ray emissions using the Clemson University electron beam ion trap (CUEBIT) facility. However, he has a strong interest in ions’ applications within QIS. Outside of the lab, Rick enjoys snow skiing, mountain biking, paddleboarding, and any other excuse to be outdoors!
Email: rhmatti@clemson.edu
Katie McCormick
Contributing Author
Katie is a postdoctoral researcher in experimental atomic physics at the University of Washington. She received her PhD from University of Colorado in trapped-ion quantum information. Outside of lab, she enjoys writing about science, climbing, playing ultimate frisbee, and getting outside whenever she can.
Mauro Morales
Contributing Author
Mauro is a PhD student in Michael Bremner’s group at Sydney. He has a background in physics and his work focuses on quantum algorithms and quantum complexity theory. When he is not doing math or programming, he loves rock climbing, swimming, reading philosophy, practicing piano, or bushwalking around Australian nature.
Tzula Propp
Contributing Author
Tzula (they/them) is a postdoc at the Center for Quantum Information and Control (CQuIC) at the University of New Mexico. Their work includes the study of open quantum systems, quantum measurement and amplification, and photo detection theory, which they studied during their PhD at the University of Oregon. They are passionate about social justice, inclusivity, and working towards dismantling the white supremacy and colonialism embedded within the culture of Physics as a discipline. Outside of work, they enjoy hiking, foraging for edible mushrooms, yoga, playing the harp, and spoiling their cuddly black cat named King Ubu AKA Small Bean Black Bean Moon Bean Sun Bean Beano Noire Tiabeanie Beanie Baby and The Bean.
Email them: tzpropp(at)unm.edu
Evan Reed
Contributing Author
Evan is an electrical and computer engineering PhD student at Duke University. His research involves developing methods of coherently and logically manipulating the quantum states of trapped molecular ions for purpose of engineering quantum technologies. When not in lab, Evan enjoys hiking and bouldering, meditation and yoga, reading books and learning new things.
Email: er118 [at] duke.edu
Ariel Shlosberg
Contributing Author
Ariel is a physics PhD student at the University of Colorado in Prof. Graeme Smith’s group. His research interests lie in quantum error correction and finding quantum communication bounds. Outside of research, he enjoys alpine ski touring, road biking, and spending as much time as possible in the mountains.
Email: ariel.shlosberg AT colorado.edu
Billy Strickland
Contributing Author
Billy is a physics PhD student at New York University in Prof. Javad Shabani’s group. His research involves building semiconductor-superconductor devices for their use in gate-voltage tunable microwave circuit elements, such as tunable couplers and gatemon qubits. Outside of research, he enjoys swimming, playing ultimate frisbee in Central Park, and rooting for his favorite baseball team the Dodgers.
Email: wms269 AT nyu.edu
Christophe Valahu
Contributing Author
Christophe is a PhD student at Imperial College of London and is working in the IQT group under Prof. Winfried Hensinger as a visiting researcher. The bulk of his research involves experimentally demonstrating high fidelity entanglement with trapped ions using coherent control methods. Outside of his life in the lab, you might find him at the local crag or out fishing.
Email: christophe.valahu17 AT imperial.ac.uk
Haimeng Zhang
Contributing author
Haimeng is a PhD student in Eli Levenson-Falk’s group and Daniel Lidar’s group at the University of Southern California. Haimeng’s research is on exploring non-Markovian quantum dynamics and studying quantum error correction and error suppression protocols. She is interested in bringing theoretical proposals closer to their experimental realization in superconducting qubits. Besides physics, Haimeng’s other sources of energy and joy are chocolate, running, and snowboarding.
Email: haimeng AT usc.edu
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