Frank Zhao earned his B. Sc. (Honors) degree at University of Toronto, where he studied Mathematics and Physics. For his doctoral research, he studied emergent quantum phenomena at atomically clean interfaces between air sensitive 2D materials in mesoscopic devices, with Philip Kim at Columbia and Harvard University. He continued his research at MIT with Joe Checkelsky where he synthesized new unconventional superconductors, which he measured using structural, transport and magnetic probes at low temperature and high magnetic field. He will combine material synthesis and cryogenic van der Waals stacking techniques to discover emergent phenomena at the interface between quantum materials.
The Quantum Interfaces Laboratory studies emergent quantum phenomena at the interface between crystalline lattices. We combine thermodynamic single-crystal synthesis with deterministic van der Waals stacking techniques to realize atomically clean interfaces between arbitrary (even air- or heat-sensitive) van der Waals materials. Using novel lithographic techniques, we pattern these heterostructures into micro- and nanometer scale devices without any exposure to air, heat, or chemicals. Using structural probes alongside transport, magnetic and thermodynamic measurements, we aim to elucidate the relationship between a material or heterostructure’s lattice structure and its electronic properties. Finally, we aim to use this understanding to design and benchmark devices for future technology.
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Centers & Institutes: Quantum Materials Center
Kasra Sardashti joined the University of Maryland in 2024 as an Assistant Professor of Physics and a Principal Investigator at the Laboratory for Physical Sciences. Before UMD, Kasra was an Assistant Professor of Physics & ECE at Clemson University. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from UC San Diego in 2016. Afterward, he was a Research Scientist at the Center for Quantum Phenomena at New York University.
Kasra’s research group, the Laboratory for Band Engineering of Quantum Systems (LaBEQs), works on a wide range of projects that aim to demonstrate high-performance solid-state electronics for quantum information processing, sensing, and communication. Since its establishment in 2021, the group has enjoyed support from multiple federal funding agencies including NSF, DOE, AFOSR, and DARPA. Kasra is also a recipient of the 2021 ORAU Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award.
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Centers & Institutes: Laboratory for Physical Sciences; Quantum Materials Center
Nathan Schine received his B.A. in physics from Williams College in 2013 and his Ph.D. in 2019 from the University of Chicago. There, he worked with Jonathan Simon to create strongly-interacting topological materials made of light. Nathan then joined the lab of Adam Kaufman at JILA as an NRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow where he developed a state-of-the-art strontium tweezer array apparatus for investigations of ultra-coherent optical atomic clocks, quantum information processing, and many-body physics. In the fall of 2022, Nathan joined the faculty at the University of Maryland. His group focuses on the intersection of controlled coherent dynamics and engineered dissipation in quantum systems, implemented by interfacing a neutral atom array with an optical cavity.
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Centers & Institutes: Quantum Materials Center
Ronald Walsworth earned his B.S. in Physics from Duke University and his Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University. His research interests are in developing precision measurement tools and applying them to diverse problems across the physical and life sciences. Walsworth is the recipient of the Francis Pipkin Award in Precision Measurements from the American Physical Society; the Smithsonian Institution Exceptional Service Award; and the Duke University Faculty Scholar Award. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and serves as a Distinguished Traveling Lecturer for the Division of Laser Science of the American Physical Society. Walsworth is also a Minta Martin Professor in the UMD Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Founding Director of the Quantum Technology Center.
Alicia Kollár received her B.A. in Physics from Princeton University in 2010 and her Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2016. In her doctoral studies with Benjamin Lev, she worked on the design and construction of a multimode cavity-BEC apparatus to study superradiant self-organization. She was awarded a Princeton Materials Science Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2017 to work with Andrew Houck on quantum simulation of solid-state physics using circuit QED lattices. Her research will focus on using novel coplanar waveguide lattice techniques and graph theory to design and realize microwave photonic crystals with unusual structures such as gapped flat bands and spatial curvature. She will combine these structures with multimode/waveguide circuit QED to engineer quantum simulators of lattice and spin models.
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Centers & Institutes: Joint Quantum Institute, Quantum Technology Center