Biography
Theoretical condensed matter physicist Maissam Barkeshli joined the UMD Department of Physics as an Assistant Professor and a JQI Fellow in August, 2016.
Barkeshli received his PhD in Physics from MIT in 2010 following a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a BA in Physics from UC Berkeley. He was a Simons Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University (2010-2013) and a postdoctoral researcher at Microsoft's Station Q, located at UC Santa Barbara (2013-2016).
He works on complex many-body phenomena involving condensed matter physics, quantum field theory, quantum topology, and quantum information theory. He also works on the science of deep learning, studying fundamental principles underlying the inner workings of modern AI models. In 2018, he was awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship and a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation.
Research
Research Area:
Centers & Institutes: Joint Quantum Institute, Condensed Matter Theory Center
Notable papers:
M. Barkeshli, P. Bonderson, M. Cheng, Z. Wang, Symmetry, Defects, and Gauging of Topological Phases," arXiv:1410.4540
M. Barkeshli, E. Berg, S. Kivelson, "Coherent transmutation of electrons into fractionalized anyons," Science, 346 6210 (2014)
Teaching
- Physics 260: Vibrations, Waves, Heat, Electricity & Magnetism
- Physics 274: Mathematical Methods for Physics I
- Physics 410: Classical Mechanics
- Physics 732: Solid State Physics II: Survey
News
- Nobel Prize Celebrates Interplay of Physics and AI
- Crystal Imperfections Reveal Rich New Phases of Familiar Matter
- Tug-of-War Unlocks Menagerie of Quantum Phases of Matter
- UMD Leads New $25M NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation
- Quantum Computers Do the (Instantaneous) Twist
- Maissam Barkeshli Promoted to Associate Professor
- Maissam Barkeshli Receives NSF CAREER Award
- Assistant Professor Maissam Barkeshli Receives 2018 Sloan Research Fellowship