Norman Yao, norman.yao [at) berkeley.edu

Born in Norman Oklahoma, Norman continues his "Sooner" spirit as a physicist by exploring uncharted territories at the interface between AMO physics, condensed matter, and quantum information science.

Jack Kemp, jack.kemp [at) berkeley.edu

I am a postdoc studying out-of-equilibrium quantum dynamics and statistical mechanics, using both theoretical and numerical techniques. I am particularly interested on the differences between integrable and non-integrable systems from a dynamical perspective. I received my DPhil from the University of Oxford where I worked on strong edge zero modes in one-dimensional systems. 

Emily Davis (Miller Fellow), edavis [at> berkeley.edu

I am a postdoc studying many-body physics and magnetometry using nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond. I received my PhD from Stanford, where I worked in the group of Monika Schleier-Smith and built a cavity QED experiment to study nonlocal spin dynamics.

Thomas Smart, tsmart@berkeley.edu

Shubhayu Chatterjee, shubhayuchatterjee (at] berkeley.edu

I am interested in various aspects of quantum phases of matter with strong electronic correlations. While I work on developing appropriate theoretical descriptions of such states, I work in close connection with experiments on real materials. My recent research focus includes strong-coupling superconductivity (eg: in magic angle graphene), topologically ordered phases like quantum spin liquids, and quantum sensing of correlated matter using impurity qubits.

Sam Lederer, sslederer (at] berkeley.edu

I am a theorist broadly interested in the quantum many body problem, but particularly its manifestations in the solid state. One focus has been on fluctuations of the so-called nematic order found in numerous correlated materials, such as the iron-based and cuprate high temperature superconductors. I am also interested in the potential of machine learning tools to yield new insight in our field, and am using some of these tools to analyze the dynamics of many-body localized states.

Satcher Hsieh, satcher [at) berkeley.edu

I earned my B.S. in electrical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, where I worked on superconducting quantum circuits. Since 2016, I have worked in the Yao lab to integrate nitrogen-vacancy centers as atomic sensors in high pressure systems. In addition to improvising in the lab, I also improvise music as a guitarist in Myra Melford’s Nu Jazz Collective and the UC Jazz ensembles.

Francisco Machado, fmachado [at) berkeley.edu

I am a theorist mainly interested in quantum dynamics and phases of matter. In particular, I am interested in heating and what interesting physics can arise in Floquet quantum systems. Originally from the wonderful city of Coimbra, Portugal, I got my B.Sc in Physics at MIT after which I decided to return to warmer climates for my PhD. 

Chris Olund, colund [at) berkeley.edu

Chris grew up in northern Virginia and obtained bachelor's degrees in physics and math from the University of Virginia. He is interested in pretty much any aspect of theoretical condensed matter or AMO physics as long as the math involved is cool enough.

Bryce Kobrin, bkobrin [at) berkeley.edu

I am interested in developing new platforms for studying many-body physics, with an emphasis on the interplay between theory, numerics, and experiment. My recent work has focused on 1) understanding the dynamics and ground-state behavior of NV centers in diamond, and 2) numerically probing quantum scrambling in chaotic systems. A SoCal native, I completed my bachelor's degree at Cornell University and worked for a year at the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, before returning to my home state in 2016.

Greg Kahanamoku-Meyer, gkm [at) berkeley.edu

Greg is interested in how we can use quantum physics to do computers and how we can use computers to do quantum physics. Specifically, he works both on applications of cryptography to quantum computing, and on high-performance parallel computing for the study of many-body quantum systems. He grew up in Vermont, and enjoys mountain biking, hockey, and Ultimate.

Kamphol Akkaravarawong, kakkarav [at) berkeley.edu

Kamphol grew up in Bangkok, Thailand, and received his undergraduate degree in physics from MIT. His recent interests focus on using numerical techniques to study topological quantum phase transitions in disordered systems and on exploring the use of magnetic impurities in superconductors as a platform for quantum simulation.

Tommy Schuster, tsschuster [at) berkeley.edu

Tommy is interested broadly in condensed matter, AMO, and quantum information theory. Past and current projects have focused on realizing topological phenomena in photonic and ultracold molecule experiments, predicting new topological phases in Floquet-Bloch systems, and detecting information scrambling in quantum systems. A Bay Area native, Tommy received his B.S. in Engineering Physics from UC Berkeley, after which he spent one year as a Visiting Researcher at Boston University before deciding to return to Berkeley for graduate school.

Prabudhya Bhattacharyya, prabudhya [at) berkeley.edu

I am a graduate student working on extending the tools of quantum sensing using NV centers to high pressures. Tuning pressure as a parameter is a promising avenue for exploring novel quantum matter as well as investigating established open questions such as the origins of deep focused earth quakes. Using the versatility of the NV center as a sensor for magnetism and tensorial stress can open a new window into the rich world of high pressure phenomena. The primary focus of my thesis work is to extend the capability of NV sensing to pressure megabar regimes (1 Mbar = 10^6 atm)

Bingtian Ye, bingtian_ye [at) berkeley.edu

Bingtian grew up in Nanjing, China, and got his bachelor degree in physics at Peking University. His recent interest is using both analytical and numerical techniques to study non-equilibrium phenomenon, including Floquet physics, emergence of hydrodynamics and spin diffusion.

Max Block, maxwellbblock [at> gmail.com

Max is "no, the other guy from Vermont" in the group (in fact, the other theorist). He grew up on the east coast before heading west to attend Stanford, where he earned a B.S. in Physics. After graduating, he worked on superconducting qubits at Rigetti Computing for two years. As a graduate student, his interests have broadened beyond quantum computing to include quantum metrology and applications of out-of-equilibirum dynamics.

Weijie Wu, weijie.wu {at) berkeley.edu

I earned my physics bachelor degree in Tsinghua University. I mainly work on diamond defect systems under high pressure, and look forward to exploring more possibilities in AMO and condensed matter physics! I enjoy hiking and swimming in the part time.

Yuanqi Lyu, yuanqilyu(at)berkeley.edu

"Trapped" in California for the past 5 years, I switched from one UC to another while studying the same quantum system under different perspectives. I am currently working on sensing condensed matter systems under high pressure using NV centers. BTW, I sincerely hate MATLAB.

Julia Wei, julia.wei [at) berkeley.edu

Sabrina Chern, sabrina.chern at berkeley.edu

Sabrina is interested in exploring quantum many-body phenomena, particularly in the context of numerical simulations and AMO experiments. She grew up in the Bay Area and headed east to study at Harvard for undergrad.

Vincent Liu, vincent_liu (at] berkeley.edu
Vincent is a second-year graduate student currently working on two projects: quantum spin liquids simulated by Rydbergatom arrays and defects in hexagonal boron nitride. Before coming to Berkeley, Vincent grew up in Pennsylvania and studied at MIT for undergrad.

Marcus Bintz, mbintz (at] berkeley.edu

Zilin Wang, wangzilin (at] berkeley.edu

Zilin grew up in Chengdu, China, and got his bachelor degree in physics at University of Chinese Academy of Science. He loves both AMO experiments and theoretical work and try to learn more mathematical tools.

INTERNS

Khanh Pham, khphamh at berkeley.edu
Khanh is a fourth year undergrad interested in experimental AMO. He has currently been working on an FPGA and an experimental control system for NV center experiments.

Deyuan Hu, deyuanhu (at> berkeley.edu
Deyuan is currently a fourth-year undergraduate student at USTC. He has a great interest in both AMO experiments and condensed matter physics. He is working on the high-pressure quantum sensing system using NV centers and exploring novel phenomena in quantum materials. He also has a deep passion for learning more about theory and tools. Outside the lab, He enjoys jogging and playing soccer.

Vivian Gao, vivian.g [at) berkeley.edu
Vivian is a second year physics and math student from UC Berkeley. She is currently investigating Boron vacancy centers, and she is very enthusiastic in fundamental physics. When she is not trying to catch up with the deadline, she enjoys reading/writing poetry and reading about physics

Che Liu, cliu88 [at) berkeley.edu

Chenbing Wang, wcb [at) pku.edu.cn

Undergraduate intern from Peking University

Chenbing is currently a fourth-year undergraduate student at Peking University. He is interested in both the theoretical and numerical tools in AMO, and he loves GitHub and the open-source community.

Tianyang Chen, chentianyang [at) pku.edu.cn

Undergraduate intern from Peking University

Tianyang is a fourth-year physics student at Peking University. He is interested in non-equilibrium phenomena and working on the spin diffusion near the MBL transition as an intern. He enjoys playing bridge in his spare time.

Nadav Stamper-Kurn, nadav.isk(at}gmail.com

As a summer intern I helped design a new compound lens to collect fluorescence emitted from NV centers in diamond. I now use what I learned this summer to sound smart in front of my friends!

GRADUATE STUDENTS

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

VISITING SCHOLARS

Soonwon Choi 

Then: Miller Postdoctoral Fellow

Now: Assistant Professor, MIT

Chong Zu

Then: Postdoctoral Scholar

Now: Assistant Professor, Washington University in St. Louis

Marin Bukov

Then: Postdoctoral Scholar

Now: Junior Group Leader, Sofia University

Felix Flicker

Then: Lindemann Trust Postdoctoral Fellow

Now: Lecturer in Physics, Cardiff University

Snir Gazit

Then: CAIQuE Postdoctoral Fellow

Now: Assistant Professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Quntao Zhuang

Then: Postdoctoral fellow

Now: Assistant Professor, University of Arizona

Thomas Mittiga

Then: Graduate Student

Now: Atom Computing

Tim Höhn

Then: Undergraduate Student

Now: PhD student at LMU

Nicholas Rui

Then: Undergraduate Student

Now: Graduate Student, Caltech

Rahul Sahay

Then: Undergraduate Student

Now: Graduate Student, Harvard

Yonna Kim

Then: Undergraduate Student

Now: Graduate Student, UCSB

Benjamin Lloyd

Then: Undergraduate Student

Now: Graduate Student, UCSB

Qian-Ze Zhu

Then: Undergraduate intern from Peking University

Now: Graduate Student, Harvard

Daniel Hetterich

Then: Visiting Scholar

Now: Postdoctoral Research, TU Munich (Germany)

Bihui Zhu

Then: Visiting Scholar

Now: ITAMP Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University