News

Yale Engineering faculty pave new paths in quantum exploration

Quantum computers have the potential to revolutionize our lives. Meet a few of the Yale Engineering faculty members working in disciplines both theoretical and practical to pave the way toward this transformative technology, and ensure we’re ready when it arrives.

Read full article at Yale SEAS News.

Congratulations to the 2024 AP Class Prize Winners!

Congratulations to the Yale Engineering Class of 2024!

Members of the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science community celebrated the awarding of 322 undergraduate Engineering degrees Monday.

Degrees in Applied Physics were conferred upon four members of the Class of 2024; in Biomedical Engineering, 34 degrees; in Chemical Engineering, 14 degrees; in Computer Science, 206 degrees; in Electrical Engineering, 16 degrees; in Environmental Engineering, 10 degrees; and in Mechanical Engineering, 38 degrees.

Office Hours with… Logan Wright

In a Q&A, Yale’s Logan Wright describes his research into physical computation, how it relates to his guitar playing, and why New Haven is a great walking city.

Read full article at YaleNews.

Key to harnessing light waves? First do the math

Scholars at Yale’s Energy Sciences Institute have for the first time developed a mathematical model that effectively predicts a maximum rate of thermal energy transfer. Published in Nature Communications, the new theory sidesteps the requirement for endless checking of every possible permutation, instead revealing upper limits to what is possible.

Read full article here.

Congratulations to Lang Zhang!

Lang Zhang successfully defended her PhD dissertation, titled “Maximal Heat and Light Extraction from the Optical Near Field” on April 10, 2024.

Thesis Advisor: Owen Miller

Roberts Innovation Fund to Support Inventions in AI, Quantum, Water
Charles Ahn, Fred Walker, and Kidae Shin are among the 2024 Roberts Innovation Fund awardees. 
Congratulations!

New methods to purify our water, advance quantum computing, democratize artificial intelligence, and deliver life-saving drugs are just some of the projects funded by the 2024 Roberts Innovation Fund Awards, providing $1 million in accelerator funding to support 10 new inventions led by faculty from Yale’s School of Engineering & Applied Science.

Full article at Yale SEAS News.

Congratulations to Yishu Zhou!

Yishu Zhou successfully defended her PhD thesis, titled “Developing Electro-Optomechanical Systems for Novel Silicon Photonic devices,” on February 28, 2024.

Thesis Advisor: Peter Rakich

Yu He Receives Air Force Young Investigators Award

Two Yale Engineering faculty members — Yu He and Marynel Vazquez  — received awards from the 2023 Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Research Program.

Read more here.

Devoret, Schoelkopf awarded Comstock Prize in Physics for quantum advances

The National Academy of Sciences recognized Michel Devoret and Robert Schoelkopf for their innovative work in quantum information processing.

The Comstock Prize is awarded once every five years to one or more North American physicists whose recent work includes an innovative discovery or investigation in electricity, magnetism, or radiant energy. Many previous recipients of the prize, first awarded in 1913, have gone on to become Nobel laureates.

Read more at YaleNews.

Yale’s quantum computing journey — 20 years and counting

Yale’s Robert Schoelkopf, Michel Devoret, and Steven Girvin reflect on their trailblazing approach to quantum computing research.

Read full article at YaleNews.

(Photo by Dan Renzetti)
Insights into the Metal-to-Insulator Transition

Prof. Yu He led a study, published in Physical Review Research, that brings a clearer focus on how these transitions can take place without breaking any symmetry in these materials.

Read more here.

“Quantum” Model Research Collection lures newcomers and fans

Florian Carle designed the Model Research Collection “From DOS to Qiskit: Turning Entanglement into Quantum Computation” for timid newcomers to the field of quantum physics and for those as passionate about the topic as he is.

Read full article here.

Congratulations to Jacob Curtis!

Jacob Curtis successfully defended his PhD thesis, titled “Error Mitigation and Detection in Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics Powered by QND Measurements”on November 17, 2023.

Thesis Advisor: Robert Schoelkopf

Congratulations to Spencer Diamond!

Spencer Diamond successfully defended his PhD thesis, titled “Quasiparticles and charge parity switching in transmon qubits” on November 2nd, 2023.

Thesis Advisor: Michel Devoret

Congratulations to Lucy Yu!

Lucy Yu successfully defended her thesis, titled “Toward the Quantum Control of the Motional State of Superfluid 4He in a Optomechanical Resonator” on October 24th, 2023.

Thesis Advisor: Jack Harris

Congratulations to Alec Eickbusch!

Alec Eickbusch successfully defended his PhD thesis, titled “Quantum Control and Error Correction of Grid States in a Superconducting Oscillator” on October 26th, 2023.

Thesis Advisor: Michel Devoret

Shruti Puri Wins APS Award in Quantum Computing

The American Physical Society (APS) has awarded Prof. Shruti Puri the 2024 Rolf Landauer and Charles H. Bennett Award in Quantum Computing, the premier early career award in the field of quantum information. 

This award recognizes recent outstanding contributions in quantum information science, especially using quantum effects to perform computational and information-processing tasks that would be impossible or infeasible by purely classical means. 

Read full article here.

Congratulations to Suhas Ganjam!

Suhas Ganjam successfully defended his PhD thesis, titled “Improving the Coherence of Superconducting Quantum Circuits through Loss Characterization and Design Optimization on October 18th, 2023. 

Thesis Advisor: Prof. Robert Schoelkopf

SEAS New Faculty 2023-2024

Yale Engineering is proud to welcome its newest faculty for the 2023-24 academic year. These six new faculty members – with more to be announced soon – mark the continued growth of the School and investment in the research areas illustrated in the SEAS Strategic Vision.

Read full article @ Yale SEAS News.

With NSF Grant, a New Ph.D. Training Program in Quantum Materials

With a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Yale is creating an interdisciplinary Ph.D. training program in the area of quantum materials science and engineering.

The grant, entitled “NRT-QL: Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Quantum Materials Science and Engineering,” is made through the NSF’s Research Traineeship (NRT) program. It is one of 22 that the NSF announced on Wednesday.

Read full article here.

Quantum theory and you: Curated collection traces ongoing evolution of computing power

“From DOS to Qiskit: Turning Entanglement into Quantum Computation”—the library’s 2023–2024 Model Research Collection—considers the “quantum leaps” that have occurred in our ability to process information, thanks to the rapid advances in the field of quantum theory since the early twentieth century.

Curator Florian Carle, manager of the Yale Quantum Institute, has selected materials that track the novel ways humans have applied quantum theory—from the classical computers that ran DOS software to today’s supercomputers that run Qiskit. The collection also makes some playful excursions into the corners of pre-quantum computing technology.

Read full article here

Congratulations to James Teoh!

James Teoh succesfully defended his PhD thesis on Friday, August 4th, 2023.

Thesis title: “Error Detected Operations for Bosonic Quauntum Information Processing”.

Thesis Advisor:  Prof. Rob Schoelkopf

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Yiqi Wang!

Yiqi Wang successfully defended his PhD thesis on August 2nd, 2023.

Thesis title: “Manipulating and measuring states of a superfluid optomechanical resonator in the quantum regime”

Thesis Advisor: Prof. Jack Harris

Congratulations!

Read more here.

Congratulations to Sumita Ghosh!

Sumita Ghosh successfully defended her PhD thesis on July 21st, 2023, 

Thesis title: “Harnessing HAYSTAC for Hidden Photons and Advancing Rydberg Atom-based Axion Detection”.

Thesis Advisor:  Prof. Reina Maruyama

Read more here.

Conductivity Becomes Crystal Clear in New Study

Crystals that can freely conduct electrons, but not heat, hold great potential for numerous applications. A team of researchers has developed a method for discovering and developing these materials.

The results are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Read full article @ Yale SEAS News.

A quantum forest grows in New Haven

An art installation developed at the Yale Quantum Institute, employing quantum error correction, debuted at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas.

Read full article @ YaleNews.

With Trapped Waves, Researchers Resolve a Longstanding Debate

With a dramatic boost in computing capability, a team of researchers has solved a decades-long mystery about whether optical waves can be trapped in three-dimensional randomly packed micro- or nanoparticles. It’s a discovery that could open new possibilities for lasers and photocatalysts among other applications.

Led by Prof. Hui Cao, researchers have finally provided a definite answer as to whether light can be localized in three-dimensions.

Read full article at Yale SEAS News.

Congratulations to Xu Xiao!

Xu Xiao successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis titled, ” Diagrammatic Method to Compute the Effective Hamiltonian of Driven Nonlinear” on May 18thCongratulations!

Thesis Advisor: Michel Devoret

Innovators and educators: At Yale, cleanroom staff make research possible

Inside the Becton Engineering and Applied Science Center on Prospect Street, in a fifth-floor space known as the university cleanroom, researchers from across Yale build small devices like qubits and microchips, circuits to manipulate or detect light, and microfluidics that hold tiny amounts of liquid for biological sequencing. Inside this facility, an array of advanced machines enables each step of the process, from design and fabrication to replication and testing.

But perhaps what is not found in the lab is as important as what is.  It’s critical that the cleanroom be kept free of particles that might otherwise compromise the field-leading research being done here.

Full article @ YaleNews.

Senior Research Presentations - Spring 2023

Congratulations to the seven undergrads who successfully presented their senior research projects under supervision of Prof. Dan Prober, DUS.

  • M. Bambrick-Santoyo, Advisor: Prof. He
  • J. Giampalmo, Advisor: Prof. Schoelkopf
  • S. Grewal, Advisor: Prof. Winter 
  • G. Morrisey, Advisor: Prof. Devoret
  • C. Newsom, Advisor: Dr. Szymkowiak  
  • A. Scarola, Advisor: Prof. Devoret 
  • N. Wilmerding, Advisor: Prof. O’Hern
Yale, UConn propose a ‘quantum corridor’ for new tech, jobs in Connecticut

Yale and the University of Connecticut will use a $1 million planning grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to formally propose Connecticut as a regional hub for quantum-related research, technologies, and jobs.

The grant, announced May 11, is part of the NSF Engines program, a national effort to turn cutting-edge research into new technologies that create jobs and promote economic growth. Congress authorized the program last year in the CHIPS and Science Act. Yale and UConn will use the grant to develop plans for nurturing new quantum-related companies, identify ways quantum research can help existing companies, and train a new workforce for quantum manufacturing jobs.

Sohrab Ismail-Beigi named Strathcona Professor at SEAS

Sohrab Ismail-Beigi, who has done pioneering work in the fields of theoretical physics and materials innovation, was recently appointed the Strathcona Professor of Applied Physics and professor of Physics and Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, effective immediately.

Full article @ YaleNews.

Strings of magnetic energy shown to flex, wiggle, and reconnect

A multi-institutional team exploring the physics of collective behavior has developed and measured a model nanomagnetic array in which the behavior can be best understood as that of a set of wiggling strings. The strings, which are composed of connected points of high energy among the lattice, can stretch and shrink, but also reconnect. What makes these strings special is that they are limited to certain endpoints and must connect to those endpoints in particular ways. These constraints on the strings’ behavior are an example of what physicists call topological behavior, which is related to a wide range of topics from the shape of a donut to how electrons travel through certain cutting-edge semiconductors. The results were recently published in a paper in Science.

Michel Devoret elected to National Academy of Sciences

Michel Devoret, the F.W. Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics and Physics, together with two Yale affiliates have been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

Read full article at YaleNews

Congratulations to Taekwan Yoon!

Taekwan Yoon successfully defended his thesis titled, “Piezo-Brillouin electro-optomechanics with high-overtone bulk acoustic resonators”.

Thesis Advisor:  Rob Schoelkopf

Congratulations!

Doubling a qubit’s life, researchers prove a key theory of quantum physics

Researchers at Yale have for the first time, using a process known as quantum error correction, substantially extended the lifetime of a quantum bit — a long-sought-after goal and one of the trickiest challenges in the field of quantum physics.  

Led by Yale’s Michael Devoret, the experiment proves — decades after its theoretical foundations were proposed — that quantum error correction works in practice. Quantum error correction is a process designed to keep quantum information intact for a period of time longer than if the same information were stored in hardware components without any correction. 

Full article @Yale SEAS News.

Congratulations to Zeyu Kuang!

Zeyu Kuang successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis on March 20th, 2023. The title of his research is “Fundamental Limits of Nanophotonic Design”.

Thesis Advisor: Owen Miller

Ismail-Beigi and Navon named APS Outstanding Referees for 2022

Sohrab Ismail-Beigi, professor of applied physics, and Nir Navon, assistant professor of physics, have been named American Physical Society (APS) Outstanding Referees for 2022. They were among 153 individuals who were selected for “demonstrating exceptional work in the assessment of manuscripts published in the Physical Review journals.”

Posted on the Yale Physics News page.

Yu He Wins NSF CAREER Award

Yu He has won 2023 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).  

The NSF CAREER award - which comes with a substantial five-year grant - is a prestigious honor for young faculty members and supports the early career activities of teachers and scholars who are most likely to become the academic leaders of the future. 

Read more @ Yale SEAS News

Yale to make historic investment in engineering, lower Hillhouse Avenue

Yale University on Thursday announced plans for a historic series of infrastructure investments that would transform the face and trajectory of its School of Engineering & Applied Science (SEAS) and advance the university’s strategy for hastening engineering, science, and technology breakthroughs.

Read full article @ YaleNews.

Congratulation to Jaya Venkatraman!

Jayameenakshi Venkatraman successfully defended her Ph.D. thesis on “Controlling the effective Hamiltonian of a driven quantum superconducting circuit”.

Thesis Advisor :  Michel Devoret.

Congratulations!

Introducing the first chip-sized titanium-doped sapphire laser

A team of researchers has developed the first chip-scale titanium-doped sapphire laser—a breakthrough with applications ranging from atomic clocks to quantum computing and spectroscopic sensors.

The work was led by Hong Tang, the Llewellyn West Jones, Jr. Professor of Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics & Physics. The results are published in Nature Photonics

Full article @ Yale SEAS News.

Building Off the "Anti-laser," a Device That Directs Waves

Building off a breakthrough “anti-laser,” a team of researchers has developed a system that can direct light and other electromagnetic waves for signal processing without any unwanted signal reflections - an innovation that could advance local area networks, the field of photonics, and other applications.

The results, led by A. Douglas Stone of Yale and Philipp del Hougne of University of Rennes in France, are published in Science Advances

Read full article at Yale SEAS News and Yale Daily News.

A Better Photon Detector to Advance Quantum Technology

A team of researchers has developed an on-chip photon-counting device that could significantly advance numerous applications of quantum technology.

The laboratory of Hong Tang, the Llewellyn West Jones, Jr. Professor of Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics & Physics, has developed the first realization of an on-chip photon-number-resolving (PNR) detector that can resolve up to 100 photons at a time. This detector shows its power in resolving the photon statistics of a light pulse. The results are published in Nature Photonics.

Read full article @ YALE SEAS: NEWS.

Senior Research Presentations

Three undergrads, Saachi Grewa, Katerina Kargioti, and Jenny Giampalmo successfully presented their senior research projects under supervision of Prof. Dan Prober, DUS.

Saachi Grewal (Advisor - Prof. Lea Winter)

Katerina Kargioti (Advisor - Prof. Michel Devoret)

Jenny Giampalmo (Advisor - Prof. Rob Schoelkopf)

Congratulations!
The Feedback Loop: Blurring boundaries to discover revolutionary materials

The latest issue of Yale Engineering Magazine 2022-2023 discusses about the collaboration between the experimentalists from Ahn Lab, and the theorists from Ismail-Beigi Lab.

“The value of this side-by-side partnership, referred to as a “feedback loop,” has been recognized by the National Science Foundation and has become a model for researchers well beyond Yale.”

Read full article at the Yale Engineering Magazine 2022-2023 (page 44-49).

Five SEAS Faculty Members Make ‘Highly Cited Researchers' List

Five Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science faculty members were named to Clarivate Analytics’ 2022 ranking of “Highly Cited Researchers.” Each year, the company collects scientific and research data that identifies scientists who have demonstrated significant influence – ranking in the top 1% of publication citations in their field over a decade-long period.

Read full article at YALE SEAS: News

Congratulations to Vlad Sivak!

Vladimir Sivak successfully defended his thesis on “Quantum Error Correction Beyond Break-Even” .

Thesis Advisor:  Michel Devoret

2022 Yale Applied Physics Graduate Studies Program Info Session I (AP specific)
To view the recording of the Applied Physics informational webinar session from October 24th, 2022,  click  2022 Applied Physics Presentation
Congratulations to Zhixin Wang!

Zhixin Wang successfully defended his thesis on, “Quantum Microwave Engineering for the Protection and Readout of Superconducting Qubits”.

Thesis Advisor: Michel Devoret

Congratulations to Lev Krayzman!

Lev Krayzman successfully defended  his thesis on, “Thin-film Resonators for Superconducting Quantum Circuits”.

Thesis Advisor: Rob Schoelkopf

Shruti Puri receives the Arthur Greer Memorial Prize

Shruti Puri is among the three recipients of the 2021-2022 Arthur Greer Memorial Prize .

The Arthur Greer Memorial Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Publication or Research recognizes outstanding research conducted by ladder faculty members in the social or natural sciences, broadly construed, who are untenured at the time that the work is completed or published. 

Shruti Puri is a theoretical physicist who focuses on quantum information processing theory and quantum optics. Her work addresses the open questions and challenges of developing useful quantum technologies, with a particular emphasis on quantum computing. Puri has developed new strategies for robust quantum computing systems, and she has been recognized with numerous awards for this work, including a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to Kyungduk Kim!

Kyunduk Kim successfully defended his thesis on, “Control of spatiotemporal dynamics of complex lasers and applications”.

Thesis Advisor: Prof. Hui Cao 

Congratulations!

Knots in the resonator: elegant math in humble physics

By Jim Shelton

At the heart of every resonator — be it a cello, a gravitational wave detector, or the antenna in your cell phone — there is a beautiful bit of mathematics that has been heretofore unacknowledged.

Yale physicists Jack Harris and Nicholas Read know this because they started finding knots in their data.

Read full article at YaleNews.

Congratulations to the Yale SEAS Class of 2022!

Members of the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science community celebrated the awarding of 231 undergraduate Engineering degrees Monday.

Degrees in Applied Physics were conferred upon 2 members of the Class of 2022; in Biomedical Engineering, 25 degrees; in Chemical Engineering, 16 degrees; in Computer Science, 143 degrees; in Electrical Engineering, 6 degrees; in Environmental Engineering, 15 degrees; and in Mechanical Engineering, 24 degrees.

Read full article on  the Yale SEAS website.

Here at Yale: Sounds from another realm

By Andrea Thompson Peed

Under an early evening dusk, made darker by rain clouds overhead, shades of red, blue, and rose flowed across the white façade of 17 Hillhouse Avenue as an electronic landscape of sounds pulsed from speakers.

Photo by Florian Carle
Owen Miller Receives 2022 Graduate Mentor Award

Congratulations to Owen Miller, Assistant Professor of Applied Physics for receiving the 2022 Graduate Mentor Award from the Yale Graduate School.

Eeach year, the Graduate Mentor Award recognizes faculty members who are exceptional in fostering the intellectual, professional, and personal development of their students. It is the University’s principal award for superb teaching, advising, and mentoring of graduate students. 

The selection committee, comprised of previous Graduate Mentor Award winners and delegates from the Graduate Student Assembly and the Graduate School, received scores of letters from graduate students and alumni nominating outstanding mentors from across our campus. 

“CALIBRATING RADIO TELESCOPES WITH DRONES”, PRESENTATION BY ANNIE POLISH ’21 AND MAILE HARRIS ‘22

Two undergraduate students, Annie Polish ’21 and Maile Harris ’22, were recently invited guests to Prof. Dan Prober’s course to present their joint research work at Yale on “Calibrating radio telescopes with drones.”

Both Annie & Maile have worked in the lab of Prof. Laura Newburgh, Department of Physics. They were invited guests to Prof. Dan Prober’s course for first year students, “Science of Modern Technology and Public Policy”. Their research was to characterize the receiving pattern of some of the largest and most complex radio telescopes using drones. It was considered a highly innovative and successful project. During their presentation, both Annie & Maile were able to explain their techniques for compensating for many different errors in terms that the non-science-majors in the course really appreciated.

‘Frustrated’ nanomagnets order themselves through disorder"
Extremely small arrays of magnets with strange and unusual properties can order themselves by increasing entropy, or the tendency of physical systems to disorder, a behavior that appears to contradict standard thermodynamics—but doesn’t.
 
“Paradoxically, the system orders because it wants to be more disordered,” said Cristiano Nisoli, a physicist at Los Alamos and coauthor of a paper about the research published today in Nature Physics. “Our research demonstrates entropy-driven order in a structured system of magnets at equilibrium.”
 
Congratulations to Hanwen Zhang!

Hanwen Zhang successfully defended his thesis on, “Resonances and Fundamental Bounds in Wave Scattering”. (Thesis Advisor: Prof. Owen Miller).

Congratulations!

Quantum Week at Yale geared toward novices and experts alike

Yale’s hub for quantum research will soon entangle the campus — in the best possible sense — in a full week of mind-bending science, artistry, and discussion devoted to the wonders of quantum research.

Quantum Week at Yale, organized by the Yale Quantum Institute (YQI), will feature a hackathon, a lab tour, a movie screening, a record launch party, hands-on computer programming, a superconductive jewelry display, and an assortment of quantum-related library and museum exhibits.

Read full article by Jim Shelton at YaleNews and more info at Quantum Week at Yale.

Shedding Light on Lasers' Power

Hui Cao keeps finding new ways for lasers to improve our world.

Read full article in the Yale Engineering Magazine 2021-2022 & SEAS News.

Yale School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Congratulations to Parker Henry!

Parker Henry successfully defended his thesis, “Measuring the Knot of Non-Hermitian Degeneracies and Non-Abelian Braids” on March 31st.  (Thesis Advisor - Prof. Jack Harris).

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Mary Lou Bailey!

Mary Lou Bailey successfully defended the thesis on, ‘Single Particle Tracking Covariance Analysis with Applications to Studying Chromatin Dynamics” on March 11th. (Thesis Advisor:  Prof. Simon Mochrie).

Congratulations to Xiaoyu Zhang!

Xiaoyu Zhang succesfully defended her dissertation on Mar. 9th.

Her thesis was on “Experimental Magnetic Imaging Study of Novel States in Artificial Spin Ice Systems”.

Congratulations!

2022-Applied Physics In-Person Open House

The Department of Applied Physics at Yale welcomes the propostive graduate students to our 2022-Applied Physics Graduate Students In-Person Open House.

Congratulations to Chris Wang!

Chris Wang successfully defended his thesis on, “Bosonic quantum simulation in circuit quantum electrodynamics”.

His next plan is to be a Grainger Fellow at University of Chicago. Congratulations Chris!

Yale’s Devoret honored for cutting-edge work in quantum physics

by Jim Shelton

Michel Devoret, the F.W. Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics and Physics, is a co-recipient of the Micius Quantum Prize for his groundbreaking work in quantum physics — including key contributions in the development of the artificial atoms of quantum information known as qubits.

Read full article at YaleNews.

Yale to make landmark investments in engineering and applied science, FAS

Yale University today announced bold new investments in the School of Engineering & Applied Science (SEAS) and in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) that will accelerate the university’s educational and research missions.

Read full article at YaleNews.

Shruti Puri Wins NSF CAREER Award

For her work on developing a more robust quantum computing system, Shruti Puri has won a 2021 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). 

Read full article here.

A Quantum Group for Everyone

This article originally appeared in Yale Engineering magazine.

Quantum science can be a little intimidating — even Einstein once called it “spooky.” So it makes sense that it has developed a reputation as an all-or-nothing kind of commitment. Dabblers needn’t apply.

But a new student group is looking to change that. The Yale Undergraduate Quantum Computing (YuQC) group was founded by Shantanu Jha, a math and physics major who graduated in December. Thinking of all the ways that quantum computing can be applied to other fields, Jha said he was inspired to engage a broad spectrum of other students with the emerging field.

2021 Applied Physics Senior Prize Winners

Congratulations to Annie Polish (YC ’21) and Owen Duke (YC ’21) on being awarded the Department of Applied Physics Senior Prize for 2021. Both were seniors in Applied Physics and graduated in May 2021.

Annie Polish is currently working full-time as a postgraduate associate in Professor Laura Newburgh’s lab at Yale. Her senior project was also under the direction of Prof. Newburgh, and was titled, “High-Precision GPS for Drone-Based Calibration of Radio Telescopes”

Owen Duke is currently working on a fusion reactor at CFS, Massachusetts. His senior project was under the direction of Prof. Michel Devoret, and was titled, “Towards a Topological Controlled-Not Gate between Kerr-Cat Qubits.”

Four SEAS Faculty Members Make ‘Highly Cited Researchers’ List

Four Yale Engineering & Applied Physics faculty members were included in Clarivate Analytics’ 2021 ranking of “Highly Cited Researchers.” Each year, the company collects scientific and research data that identifies scientists who have demonstrated significant influence – ranking in the top 1% of publication citations in their field over a decade-long period.

Michel Devoret – Frederick W. Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics and Physics

School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
A Material Reveals Clues About Superconductivity

Through their study of two-dimensional iron selenide (FeSe) films, a research team has unlocked some intriguing clues about superconductivity. 

Superconductors - materials that can transport electrons with no resistance ​​- are a quantum phenomenon with numerous applications. They have fascinated physicists and engineers since their discovery more than 100 years ago, but the mechanisms of modern superconductors are still not fully understood and remain one of the most active areas of research in quantum materials. See full article.

Peter Schiffer, how nanomagnets offer clues to how avalanches work

The behavior of avalanches has generated interest among physicists for the insights that they can provide about many other systems, not least of which is how snow falls down a mountainside. To that end, a team of researchers studied microscopic arrays of nanomagnets that provide the first experimental demonstration of a classic theoretical model, known as the “one-dimensional random field Ising model.” The results were published today in Physical Review Letters

by School of Engineering & Applied Science
Paving the Way for Robust Quantum Computing

Dialogue_Quantum_Computing_FINAL from Yale Office of Development on Vimeo.

Quantum computing harnesses the phenomena of quantum mechanics to deliver a huge leap forward in computation and to solve complex problems that today’s most powerful supercomputers cannot. Yale scientists are at the forefront of a quantum revolution, the applications of which are just beginning to emerge. Join Rob Schoelkopf, Michel Devoret, and Shruti Puri for a look at the fundamental interdisciplinary research leading the way forward into an era of robust, large-scale quantum computing.

AP Alumni Spotlight: Introducing Paul McEuen

Paul McEuen, currently the John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science at Cornell Universitya former Ph.D. student of Prof. Robert Wheeler, Yale Applied Physics (1991), elected to the National Academy of Science in 2011.

Yale to launch and lead a quantum computing chemistry center

Yale will lead a new project to simulate the dynamics of complex chemical reactions using quantum computing technology.

The new Center for Quantum Dynamics on Modular Quantum Devices, led by Victor Batista, the John Randolph Huffman Professor of Chemistry, is Yale’s first project for quantum computing in chemistry. The National Science Foundation Centers for Chemical Innovation awarded a $1.8 million grant for the center, which aims to bridge the gap between today’s quantum computing tech and the problems for which a quantum computer could be useful in chemistry research.

For example, quantum computing could be used to study chemical reaction dynamics, such as the reactions that initiate the process of vision in the human retina. Yale will contribute to the project by developing a new generation of quantum processors and algorithms.

Yale to Partner in New NSF Quantum Simulation Institute

Yale University is among the key partners of the new Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation, a multi-institutional effort supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that is focused on developing quantum simulation devices that can understand, and thereby exploit, the rich behavior of complex quantum systems. 

Alumni Spotlights: Elie Track Ph.D. ’88 received the 2020 YSEA Award for Meritorious Service to Yale University

Elie Track Ph.D ‘88 in Physics received the 2020 YSEA Award for Meritorious Service to Yale University from the Yale Science & Engineering Association (YSEA), in association with Yale Alumni Association

Congratulations to Elie!

Read more.

Combining Two Approaches to Advance Quantum Computing

Quantum computers hold the potential to out-perform all conventional computing systems. Two promising physical implementations for the storage and manipulation of quantum information are the electromagnetic modes of superconducting circuits and the spins of small numbers of electrons trapped in semiconductor quantum dots.

Read more.

An artificial spin ice primer

And now a quick pivot to the history and future of artificial spin ice.

About 15 years ago, Peter Schiffer, Yale’s Frederick W. Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics, helped launch a new field of research based on a magnetic system — artificial spin ice — in which arrays of tiny, magnetic nanostructures are designed to interact and display unusual physics properties. These arrays have been used to probe how nanometer-scale objects behave in a group that can be precisely controlled and imaged.

Simon Mochrie, professor of physics, wins the 2021 Dylan Hixon ’88 Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Natural Sciences

In their nominations for this year’s Yale College Teaching Prizes, undergraduate students praised the honored faculty members for not only shining in the classroom but also for having a meaningful impact in their lives beyond it. Simon Mochrie, Professor of Physics and of Applied Physics received the Dylan Hixon ’88 Prize for teaching excellence in the natural sciences. Professor Mochrie was among the five recipients receiving the Yale College Teaching prizes this year.

In Memoriam: Mark A. Reed, Professor of Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics

Mark A. Reed, the Harold Hodgkinson Professor of Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics, and integral member of the SEAS community for three decades, passed away peacefully in his home on May 5, 2021, at the age of 66.

In Memoriam: Mark A. Reed, Professor of Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics

Faculty Memorial Tributes - In Memoriam: Mark A. Reed (1955-2021)

Professor Daniel Prober’s class interviewed and presented on the lives and work of Yale’s emeritus faculty as a final project for the class.

First-year seminar profiles emeritus faculty

Professor Daniel Prober’s class interviewed and presented on the lives and work of Yale’s emeritus faculty as a final project for the class.

Read full article at Yale Daily News.

In Memoriam: Tso-Ping Ma, Professor of Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics

Tso-Ping (T.P.) Ma, the Raymond J. Wean Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics and pillar of the SEAS community for nearly 50 years, passed away peacefully on April 6, 2021, at the age of 75, after a brief illness.

 
In Memoriam: Tso-Ping Ma, Professor of Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics

Faculty Memorial Tributes - In Memoriam: Tso-Ping Ma (1945-2021)

Hui Cao elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Congratulations to Hui Cao on being elected to the National Academy of Sciences.  

Four members of the Yale faculty were elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences this week in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. 

Read full article at Yale News.

Hui Cao elected to American Academy of Arts & Science
By Susan Gonzalez

Hui Cao is among fourteen Yale faculty members elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

 Congratulations!

Read full article at YaleNews.

Shruti Puri is among the 2021 Google Research Scholar Award recipients

Congratulations to Shruti Puri on receiving the 2021 Research Scholar award in the Quantum Computing field from Google.

Click to read the announcement.

AP Alumni Spotlight: Archana Kamal, Ph.D.'13 receives AFOSR Young Investigator and NSF-CAREER awards

Anchana Kamal (Yale Ph.D.’13, a former graduate student with QLab - Devoret Group) has been recognized with two prestigious honors: Young Investigator Program award by Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and CAREER award by National Science Foundation. Congratulations to Anchana!

The Route to Robust Quantum Computing: Interview with Shruti Puri
By Liang Dong, PhD

Quantum computing is a radically new way to store and process information based on the principles of quantum mechanics. While conventional computers store information in binary “bits” that are either 0s or 1s, quantum computers store information in quantum bits, or qubits. A qubit can be both 0 and 1 at the same time, and a series of qubits together remember many different things simultaneously.

Hui Cao on the Science Podcast: The world’s fastest random number generator

Sarah Crespi talks with Hui Cao, a professor of applied physics at Yale University, about a new way to generate enormous streams of random numbers faster than ever before, using a tiny laser that can fit on a computer chip. Listen to the Science Podcast.

Random numbers faster, from a laser

Random numbers are increasingly important to our digitally connected world, with applications that include e-commerce, cryptography, and cloud computing. Producing a large amount of truly random numbers quickly, though, is a challenge.

To speed things up, a team of researchers has developed a compact laser that can produce these random numbers 100 times quicker than the fastest current systems. The results are published February 26 in the journal Science.

Read full article at YaleNews.

YaleNews Article by William Weir
A spintronics success story

Yale researchers working with scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have demonstrated the ability to control spin dynamics in magnetic materials by altering the materials’ thickness. The research stands as a major achievement in the emerging field of spintronics — the manipulation of electron spin — and could prove useful in developing the next generation of electronics.

Sangjae Lee, Charles Ahn, and Frederick J. Walker are Yale co-authors of this new study in Nature Materials.

New collaboration to break ground — by breaking symmetries

Yale’s A. Douglas Stone, the Carl A. Morse Professor of Applied Physics and Physics, is a principal investigator for a new, multi-institution research collaboration that will explore wave properties and symmetries. The four-year, $8 million Simons Collaboration on Extreme Wave Phenomena Based on Symmetries will bring together concepts in applied mathematics, theoretical and computational physics, modern optics and photonics, and acoustics.

Read full article at YaleNews.

by Jim Shelton
Simon Mochrie Among Scientists Named Allen Distinguished Investigators

Megan C. King, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Cell Biology and of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and Simon Mochrie, Ph.D., Professor of Physics and of Applied Physics, have been named Allen Distinguished Investigators by The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, a division of the Allen Institute. They are among eight scientists who lead or co-lead five research projects that the Frontiers Group announced today. Each project receives $1.5 million for a three-year period. 

Read full article here.

AP Alumni Spotlight: Irfan Siddiqi receives the 2021 Joseph F. Keithley Award

APS has recently announced the Society’s Spring 2021 prize and award recipients. Irfan Siddiqi, a Yale AP alumnus is among the recipients of the 2021 APS awards.

AP Alumni Spotlight: Kathy Aidala elected 2020 APS Fellow

Katherine Aidala, a Yale Applied Physics alumna, is among the 2020 APS Fellows elected.

Professor Aidala currently holds a faculty position at Mount Holyoke College, MA. 

Fellowship is a distinct honor signifying recognition by one’s professional peers. Each year, no more than one half of one percent of the Society’s membership (excluding student members) is recognized by their peers for election to the status of Fellow of the American Physical Society.

Aidala, Katherine [2020]:

Shruti Puri has been named 2020 Blavatnik Regional Awards Finalist

Shruti Puri, our AP new Assistant Professor has been named the Finalist of the 2020 Balvatnik Regional Awards for Young Scientists for her work as a postdoctoral associate while working with Steven Girvin.

The Blavatnik Regional Awards honor outstanding postdoctoral scientists from academic research institutions across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and recognize researchers in three scientific categories: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry. This year three award Winners and six Finalists were announced during the National Postdoc Appreciation Week in New York.

AP Alumni Spotlight - Elie Track receives the 2020 IEEE CSC - Max Swerdlow Award

Elie Track graduated with a Ph.D. from Yale Applied Physics in 1988 (with Prof. Dan Prober’s group). He is a founder and CEO of nVizix LLC, a company that focuses on developing and commercializing a new high-efficiency vacuum solar cell.  

Elie was selected to be the recipient of the 2020 IEEE - Max Swerdlow Award for Sustained Service to the Applied Superconductivity Community.

Elie Track

For sustained service to the applied superconductivity community, in particular:

  •  for his over three decades of successful, insightful leadership in the field of applied superconductivity at the intersection of basic science, materials development and device technology,

Applied Physics Welcomes Two New Ladder Faculty Members

The Yale Applied Physics Department welcomes two new ladder faculty members.

Schoelkopf named to national quantum council

YaleNews:  Insights & Outcomes: Schoelkopf on quantum council and a dopamine discovery

Ingredients for a Quantum Future

In a series of essays, three quantum-technology leaders in the US spell out the requirements for a strong quantum future.

Irfan Siddiqi (Yale Applied Physics’ Alumnus), the University of California, Berkeley

Darío Gil, the director of IBM Research, and

Joe Broz, the executive director of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C)

Yale scientists to help lead national quantum center

Yale will play a major role in a new, national center for quantum research announced Aug. 26 by the White House and the United States Department of Energy.

The new Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage (C2QA), led by Brookhaven National Laboratory, launches with funding of $115 million over five years. It is one of five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers announced by the government. Steven Girvin, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics at Yale, will serve as director of C2QA and have a dual appointment at Yale and Brookhaven’s Energy and Photon Sciences Directorate.  Read full article at YaleNews.

By Jim Shelton
Yale quantum researchers create an error-correcting cat

Yale physicists have developed an error-correcting cat — a new device that combines the Schrödinger’s cat concept of superposition (a physical system existing in two states at once) with the ability to fix some of the trickiest errors in a quantum computation.

It is Yale’s latest breakthrough in the effort to master and manipulate the physics necessary for a useful quantum computer: correcting the stream of errors that crop up among fragile bits of quantum information, called qubits, while performing a task.

By Jim Shelton - Illustration by Michael S. Helfenbein
Yale’s single quantum spin story

A research result by Yale physicists lends credibility to an exotic proposal for safeguarding quantum information called topological quantum protection. A team led by Michel Devoret, the F.W. Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics and Physics, has applied the tools of circuit quantum electrodynamics to achieve the continuous monitoring of a quasiparticle’s spin. 

Read more at YaleNews-Research Roundup.

Applied Physics joins the School of Engineering & Applied Science

In celebration and acknowledgment of their long intellectual and working history at Yale, the Department of Applied Physics (AP) and the School of Engineering & Applied Science (SEAS) have officially rejoined forces. As of July 1, 2020, AP is a member of SEAS, joining the school at a pivotal moment in Yale’s history, as the university carries out a set of large-scale strategic investments in science and engineering. 

Read full article on YaleNews.

By William Weir
2020 Applied Physics Senior Prize Winners

Congratulations to Kazemi Adachi (YC ‘20) and Aparna Nair-Kanneganti (YC ‘20) on awarded the Department of Applied Physics Prizes. Both were seniors in Applied Physics.

“THE APPLIED PHYSICS PRIZE (1996). Awarded to a senior in Applied Physics who, in the judgment of the Applied Physics faculty, has exhibited outstanding achievement, insight, and originality in independent research. The selection process will be based on a written nomination from the student’s adviser, and input provided by the faculty attending the students’ presentations of their research projects. Nominations will be reviewed by the award committee, consisting of the director of undergraduate studies (chair of the committee) and two other Applied Physics faculty members, which will then select the winner. The award will be presented at the student’s residential college at Commencement.” (source: Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life)

Royal Society elects Nicholas Read

Yale physicist Nicholas Read has been elected a fellow of the Royal Society, one of the most highly regarded honors bestowed upon scientists in the United Kingdom and select foreign institutions.

Read is the Henry Ford II Professor of Physics and professor of applied physics and mathematics in the Faculty of Arts and Science. Born in Great Britain, Read is one of 51 new fellows and 10 foreign members elected to the Royal Society this year.

Read more at YaleNews.

Katherine Aidala (AP alumni) wins spring 2020 APS prize

Katherine Aidala, professor of physics at Mount Holyoke College (Yale AP alumni), has won the  2020 Prize for a Faculty Member for Research in an Undergraduate Institution from the American Physical Society. 

The prestigious award is given to a physicist whose research in an undergraduate setting has achieved wide recognition and contributed significantly to physics, and whose mentoring has contributed substantially to the professional development of undergraduate physics students. Read full article here.

By Christian Feuerstein
Christine Caragianis Broadbridge - CRISP Education Director Appointed VP of the Connecticut Academy of Science & Engineering

Christine Caragianis Broadbridge, Ph.D, professor of physics and Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) and Education Director of CRISP at Yale/SCSU, has been appointed Vice President of the Academy. Professor Broadbridge will serve as Vice President through June 30, 2020, with the Council’s recommendation that her name be submitted for election by the membership for President (2020 - 2022) and Past President (2022 - 2024). 

Read full article at CTCASE.  

Peter Schiffer named the Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics

Peter E. Schiffer, recently appointed the Frederick W. Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics, is an international leader in experimental condensed matter physics, specializing in the study of magnetic systems.

In addition to his new appointment, Schiffer will continue to serve as vice provost for research, an inaugural post created in 2017 to bring a new level of strategic attention to Yale’s science and research enterprise. Read full article at YaleNews.

Charles Ahn appointed the Malone Professor of Applied Physics

Charles H. Ahn, recently named as the John C. Malone Professor of Applied Physics, focuses his research on the fabrication and characterization of the physical properties of materials using advanced synthesis and measurement techniques, such as molecular beam epitaxy and synchrotron x-ray experiments.

Ahn’s laboratory controls materials by manipulating structural configurations via the growth of films that can be as thin as a single atomic layer. Doing so allows the researchers to modify the physical properties of a material for tailored physics and technological applications, such as designing novel properties of superconductors, revealing hidden phases in magnetic materials, and designing materials with properties that would not otherwise exist in nature.

Physicists can predict the jumps of Schrödinger’s cat (and finally save it) Illustration by Kat Stockton

by Jim Shelton

Yale researchers have figured out how to catch and save Schrödinger’s famous cat, the symbol of quantum superposition and unpredictability, by anticipating its jumps and acting in real time to save it from proverbial doom. In the process, they overturn years of cornerstone dogma in quantum physics. Read full article at YaleNews.

Dan Prober received the YSEA Award for Advancement of Basic and Applied Science

Dan Prober is the 2019 YSEA award recipient for Advancement of Basic and Applied Science.  The Yale Science and Engineering Assocation, Inc. (YSEA) has recently announced.

The YSEA AWARD FOR ADVANCEMENT OF BASIC AND APPLIED SCIENCE is conferred upon an individual who has received an undergraduate or graduate degree from Yale University or is a member of the Yale Faculty. While it has generally been awarded for a record of professional excellence in a particular field of science or engineering, the choice of the recipient is not explicitly limited. The candidate may have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of a scientific discipline in general, not necessarily through frontier research. Several previous award winners have gone on to become Nobel Laureates or to achieve other major international awards.

Yale physicists light the way for new technology discoveries

by: Jon Atherton

Enshrined by the laws of Austrian physicists Josef Stefan and Ludwig Boltzmann in the late 19th Century, scientists have long understood the general principles of heat-energy transfer between the sun and planet Earth.

But at much closer separations, where photons can effectively “tunnel” between two bodies, the maximum rate and size at which two objects – one hot, one cold – can transfer heat has remained unknown.

From their emerging field of near-field nanophotonics, a group of Yale scientists have taken a new step in advancing the ‘Stefan-Boltzmann law’ by creating a mathematical framework to identify the upper bounds of light interactions and radiative energy transfer. Read full article at YaleNews.

Hui Cao named the Malone Professor of Applied Physics and of Physics

Hui Cao, newly named as the John C. Malone Professor of Applied Physics and of Physics, focuses her research on mesoscopic physics and nanophotonics. Read full article at Yale News.

Yale scientists make a borophene breakthrough

By Jon Atherton

The thinnest flake, just one atom thick, has provided scientists at Yale and the Brookhaven National Laboratory with new insight into a promising material for the next generation of high-speed electronics and a host of practical applications. Read full article at YaleNews.

Making sound ‘chill out’

By Jim Shelton

Yale scientists have discovered that laser light can be used to cool traveling sound waves in a silicon chip. Their findings appear in the Nov. 27 online edition of the journal Physical Review X.

In the last several decades, the ability to cool clouds of atoms using laser light has revolutionized atomic physics, leading to the discovery of new states of matter and better atomic clocks. Laser cooling relies on the fact that photons, or light particles, carry momentum and can exert a force on other objects.

These techniques have recently been adapted to slow down, or cool, mechanical oscillators comprised of billions of atoms. This type of cooling has become an enabling technique for exploring the quantum properties of mechanical objects and reducing forms of noise that would otherwise corrupt precision measurement.

Charles Ahn was among four Yale faculty members named AAAS Fellows

By Bill Hathaway

Four Yale faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

The 416 members have been awarded this honor by the AAAS in recognition of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

The awardees are: Charles H. Ahn, the William K. Lanman Jr. Professor of Applied Physics and chair of the Department of Applied Physics; Richard G. Bribiescas, professor of anthropology and ecology and evolutionary biology and deputy provost for faculty development and diversity; Christopher G. Burd, professor and deputy chair of cell biology; and Dragomir Radev, the A. Bartlett Giamatti Professor of Computer Science. 

Full article at YaleNews.

Studying Science, from the Elm City to the South Pole

Most scientists will never have the opportunity to travel to the South Pole for their research, but then again, most scientists aren’t Faustin Carter (PhD ’15). Carter works as a postdoctoral researcher at Argonne National Laboratory in the High Energy Physics division. He is part of a group that specializes in building detectors for esoteric applications. The group’s primary focus over the last several years has been building and testing detectors for a massive upgrade to a telescope located at the geographic South Pole in Antarctica.

Read full article on the Yale GSAS site.

Dan Prober awarded the "2018 IEEE Council on Superconductivity"
Dan Prober received the IEEE Council on Superconductivity award for 2018.
The award given in recognition of  his continuing and significant contributions in the field of superconductive electronics, in particular: 
  • for pioneering work on SIS quasiparticle mixers, including the first demonstration of detector sensitivity approaching the quantum limit;
  • for inventing the diffusion-cooled hot electron bolometer, a high sensitivity and large-bandwidth superconducting heterodyne mixer;
  • for advancements in nanofabrication that have been used to develop ultra-sensitive devices based on superconducting nanostructures; and
  • for fundamental studies of noise in mesoscopic superconducting systems, which have improved our understanding of the sensitivity limits of superconducting devices.
The cure for chaotic lasers? More chaos, of course by Jim Shelton

by Jim Shelton

An international, Yale-led research team has taken a new approach to stabilizing high-power lasers: They’re fighting chaos with chaos.

There has been a rapidly growing demand for high-power lasers for applications such as materials processing, large-scale displays, laser surgery, and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) remote sensing systems. A long-standing challenge for powerful lasers is taming their erratic pulsations and chaotic fluctuations of emission power and beam profile. These issues hinder practical applications that require stable, controllable laser light. Read full article at YaleNews

BoSS v1.0 released: slave-boson software BoSS code: electron described as separate charge and spin

We are happy to announce the public release of the slave-boson code “BoSS” (Boson Slave Solver) today!  This is a free software avaialble to you to perform slave-boson calculations that include electron correlations for extended Hubbard models.  Software is available at bitbucket.org/yalebosscode/boss/

$16M grant bolsters Yale’s quantum computing research

Yale’s next wave of quantum computing research will get a boost from a $16 million grant from the U.S. Army Research Office.

The four-year grant will help fund the work of dozens of faculty members, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers affiliated with the Yale Quantum Institute. The grant also will help pay for a variety of specialized technical gear, including electronics and cooling equipment. Read full article at YaleNews.

New laser makes silicon ‘sing’

Yale scientists have created a new type of silicon laser that uses sound waves to amplify light. A study about the discovery appears in the online edition of the journal Science. More on YaleNews.

Nicholas Read and Peter E. Schiffer are among newly elected members of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE)

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering has elected 24 of the state’s leading experts in science, engineering, and technology to membership in the academy, with 10 new members coming from Yale. Nicholas Read, the Henry Ford II Professor of Physics and professor of applied physics and mathematics, and Peter E. Schiffer, Vice Provost for Research and Professor of Applied Physics are among the newly elected members. More details on Yale News.

Piersonite, physicist, vice provost for research – it’s Peter Schiffer

As a Yale undergraduate, Peter Schiffer ’88 admits he spent more time at the Yale Political Union (YPU) than in the lab. It’s rather ironic that, nearly three decades later, the Piersonite and Progressive Party member has returned to Yale as vice provost for research, a role “intended to support research and scholarship across the entire enterprise and not just science and engineering — the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts.” Read more

Hui Cao among three Yale faculty named fellows of largest scientific society

Yale scientists Hui Cao, Peter Raymond, and Karen Seto have been named by their peers as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

They will be among 396 members elevated to the rank of fellow at the Feb. 17 AAAS annual meeting in Austin, Texas. Each honoree will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue rosette pin.

Read more

Quantum data takes a ride on sound waves

Yale scientists have created a simple-to-produce device that uses sound waves to store quantum information and convert it from one form to another, all inside a single, integrated chip.

The device allows a superconducting artificial atom — a qubit — to exchange energy and quantum information with a high frequency bulk acoustic wave resonator (HBAR). The ability to manipulate and store fragile quantum data in a robust and easy-to-manufacture way is a crucial step in the development of quantum computing technology.

Yale appoints first vice provost for research: physicist Peter Schiffer

Peter Schiffer, an experimental physicist currently at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, has been named the university’s inaugural vice provost for research — a post created to bring a new level of strategic attention to Yale’s science and research enterprise, announced President Peter Salovey and Provost Benjamin Polak.

Schiffer will arrive in New Haven — also joining the Yale faculty as professor of applied physics — in October. Read more…

YQI to welcome Martha W Lewis as Artist in Residence

In October 2016, the Yale Quantum Institute launched a Call for Art Proposals to commission quantum physics themed artwork to fill a bare wall at the entrance of the institute. A few months after the call, we received 26 proposals from Yale Students and New Haven based artists. The proposals were all of great quality and we were very impressed by the connection these artists have made with quantum physics, a fairly hard to access subject.

Nicholas Read elected to National Academy of Sciences

Four Yale professors elected to National Academy of Sciences

Professors Robert Crabtree, Nicholas Read, Karen Seto, and Daniel Spielman have been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Read more

Connecticut Medal of Science goes to Yale’s Robert Schoelkopf

Yale’s Robert Schoelkopf, Sterling Professor of Applied Physics and Physics and director of the Yale Quantum Institute, was awarded the 2017 Connecticut Medal of Science for his seminal contributions to the field of quantum science and to the new field of circuit quantum electrodynamics. The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) announced the honor. Read more

Top 10 Breakthrough by Physics World: "Schrödinger's cat that lives and dies in two boxes at once"

“Schrödinger’s cat that lives and dies in two boxes at once”, the research done by Chen Wang and his team was chosen to be one of the top 10 breakthroughs by Physics World editors and reporters. Click to read more.

Near-field radiative heat transfer bounds highlighted in SPIE Newsroom

Our work developing new, general bounds to near-field radiative heat transfer has been highlighted in our SPIE Newsroom article

2016 Olli V. Lounasmaa Memorial Prize Awarded to Prof Michel Devoret

Professor Michel Devoret has received the 2016 Olli V. Lounasmaa Memorial Prize for his pioneering investigations and applications of macroscopic quantum phenomena at low temperatures. The prize was announced on August 16th 2016 at the international Quantum Fluids and Solids Conference (QFS2016) in Praque, Czech Republic.

Extending Qubit Lifetime with Quantum Error Correction

Yale Researchers have crossed the “break even” point in preserving a bit of quantum information for longer than the lifetime of its constituent parts, as published in Nature.

A novel system has been created to encode, spot errors, decode, and correct errors in a quantum bit, also known as a “qubit.” The development of such a robust method of Quantum Error Correction (QEC) has been one of the biggest remaining hurdles in quantum computation.

See News Reports:

[New Scientist] Error fix for long-lived qubits brings quantum computers nearer

[YQI News] RSL Lab-developed device lengthens the life of quantum information

In ‘Rare’ Honor, Two Yale Physicists Earn Top Prizes From the APS

The American Physical Society (APS) has chosen two Yale physicists to receive two of its prestigious annual awards.

Ramamurti Shankar, the John Randolph Huffman Professor of Physics, is the 2009 winner of the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize, “awarded for outstanding contributions to physics by a single individual who also has exceptional skills in lecturing to diverse audiences,” according to APS.

Robert Schoelkopf, a professor of applied physics and physics, has been awarded the 2009 Joseph F. Keithley Award for Advances in Measurement Science, “for outstanding advances in measurement science or products that impact the physics community by providing better measurements.” Read more…