Colloquia
Physics
April 8, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Nanfang Yu, Columbia University - Flat Optics
Nanfang Yu
Flat Optics
Abstract: In this talk, I will share with the audience recent and on-going work in my lab on metasurfaces and biophotonics. Metasurfaces utilize strong interactions between light and nanostructured thin films to control light with subwavelength precision. I will describe how we use metasurface as a technology platform to innovate free-space optics, integrated photonics, and neuromorphic computing, with examples including holographic metasurfaces for trapping ultracold atoms, mm-wave flat-knit metasurface reflect-arrays, leaky-wave metasurfaces for interconnecting integrated and free-space optics, and metasurface-based neural networks for facial verification. I will also describe on-going work on characterizing and understanding the color and polarization vision of living butterflies.
Short-Bio: Nanfang Yu is an Associate Professor of Applied Physics at the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University. His lab conducts experimental research on metasurfaces, integrated photonics, and biophotonics. Yu was previously a Research Associate in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University from 2009 to 2012. He received the Ph.D. degree in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University in 2009, and the B.S. degree from the Department of Electronics at Peking University, Beijing, China, in 2004. Yu is the recipient of 2023 Moore Foundation Experimental Physics Investigators Award, 2022 OPTICA Fellow, 2017 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Director’s Fellowship, 2016 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program Award, and 2015 DARPA Young Faculty Award.
April 8, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Nanfang Yu, Columbia University - Flat Optics
Nanfang Yu
Flat Optics
Abstract: In this talk, I will share with the audience recent and on-going work in my lab on metasurfaces and biophotonics. Metasurfaces utilize strong interactions between light and nanostructured thin films to control light with subwavelength precision. I will describe how we use metasurface as a technology platform to innovate free-space optics, integrated photonics, and neuromorphic computing, with examples including holographic metasurfaces for trapping ultracold atoms, mm-wave flat-knit metasurface reflect-arrays, leaky-wave metasurfaces for interconnecting integrated and free-space optics, and metasurface-based neural networks for facial verification. I will also describe on-going work on characterizing and understanding the color and polarization vision of living butterflies.
Short-Bio: Nanfang Yu is an Associate Professor of Applied Physics at the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University. His lab conducts experimental research on metasurfaces, integrated photonics, and biophotonics. Yu was previously a Research Associate in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University from 2009 to 2012. He received the Ph.D. degree in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University in 2009, and the B.S. degree from the Department of Electronics at Peking University, Beijing, China, in 2004. Yu is the recipient of 2023 Moore Foundation Experimental Physics Investigators Award, 2022 OPTICA Fellow, 2017 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Director’s Fellowship, 2016 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program Award, and 2015 DARPA Young Faculty Award.
April 15, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Phil Richerme, Indiana University at Bloomington - title to be announced
April 15, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Phil Richerme, Indiana University at Bloomington - title to be announced
April 22, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Lu Lu, University of Wisconsin at Madison - title to be announced
April 22, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Lu Lu, University of Wisconsin at Madison - title to be announced
January 14, 2025 – Physics colloquium – No-Go Theorem of Hidden Variable Theory and Quantum Machine Learning
Xun Gao
No-Go Theorem of Hidden Variable Theory and Quantum Machine Learning
January 14, 2025 – Physics colloquium – No-Go Theorem of Hidden Variable Theory and Quantum Machine Learning
Xun Gao
No-Go Theorem of Hidden Variable Theory and Quantum Machine Learning
January 21, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Obadiah Reed, NREL - How Driving Force & Charge Transfer Distance Control Free Carrier Generation at Donor/Acceptor Interfaces
Obadiah Reed
How Driving Force & Charge Transfer Distance Control Free Carrier Generation at Donor/Acceptor Interfaces
January 21, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Obadiah Reed, NREL - How Driving Force & Charge Transfer Distance Control Free Carrier Generation at Donor/Acceptor Interfaces
Obadiah Reed
How Driving Force & Charge Transfer Distance Control Free Carrier Generation at Donor/Acceptor Interfaces
January 28, 2025 – No Physics colloquium - Career Days
February 4, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Markus B. Raschke, CU Boulder - Ultrafast Nano-Imaging Resolving Structure, Coupling, & Dynamics of Matter on its Natural Length & Time Scales
Dr. Markus B. Raschke
Ultrafast Nano-Imaging Resolving Structure, Coupling, & Dynamics of Matter on its Natural Length & Time Scales
February 4, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Markus B. Raschke, CU Boulder - Ultrafast Nano-Imaging Resolving Structure, Coupling, & Dynamics of Matter on its Natural Length & Time Scales
Dr. Markus B. Raschke
Ultrafast Nano-Imaging Resolving Structure, Coupling, & Dynamics of Matter on its Natural Length & Time Scales
February 11, 2025 – Physics colloquium - JiHyun Kim, University of Utah – Investigations into the Mysteries of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays by the Telescope Array
Dr. Jihyun Kim
Investigations into the Mysteries of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays by the Telescope Array
February 11, 2025 – Physics colloquium - JiHyun Kim, University of Utah – Investigations into the Mysteries of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays by the Telescope Array
Dr. Jihyun Kim
Investigations into the Mysteries of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays by the Telescope Array
February 18, 2025 – No Physics colloquium - Presidents' Day Break
February 25, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Walter Pettus, Indiana University at Bloomington - 2β or No-v 2β: The Search for Matter Creation with Ge-76
Walter C. Pettus
Motivated by the search for neutrinoless double beta decay, – the bizarre process wherein neutrinos are their own antiparticles – the high purity germanium detector technology has advanced as an increasingly sensitive discovery platform. These experiments operate deep underground in the cleanest and most radio-pure environments, with exquisite discovery potential to rare event signals. Building on the success of the Majorana Demonstrator and GERDA, the currently operating LEGEND-200 experiment is rapidly advancing sensitivity by integrating existing technical progress from its predecessor programs. In this talk, I will review recent science results from these experiments, highlighting the broad science reach and focusing on the first results from LEGEND-200. These results set the stage for the next-generation LEGEND-1000, the tonne-scale culmination of the germanium program achieving sensitivity beyond 1028 years and covering the allowed neutrino inverted mass ordering range.
Walter C. Pettus is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at Indiana University, where he joined the faculty in 2020. He had previously conducted postdoctoral work at the University of Washington and Yale University after receiving his Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin. His current research focus is neutrino properties related to the neutrino mass – both direct detection and neutrinoless double beta decay – with a focus on detectors and instrumentation.
February 25, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Walter Pettus, Indiana University at Bloomington - 2β or No-v 2β: The Search for Matter Creation with Ge-76
Walter C. Pettus
Motivated by the search for neutrinoless double beta decay, – the bizarre process wherein neutrinos are their own antiparticles – the high purity germanium detector technology has advanced as an increasingly sensitive discovery platform. These experiments operate deep underground in the cleanest and most radio-pure environments, with exquisite discovery potential to rare event signals. Building on the success of the Majorana Demonstrator and GERDA, the currently operating LEGEND-200 experiment is rapidly advancing sensitivity by integrating existing technical progress from its predecessor programs. In this talk, I will review recent science results from these experiments, highlighting the broad science reach and focusing on the first results from LEGEND-200. These results set the stage for the next-generation LEGEND-1000, the tonne-scale culmination of the germanium program achieving sensitivity beyond 1028 years and covering the allowed neutrino inverted mass ordering range.
Walter C. Pettus is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at Indiana University, where he joined the faculty in 2020. He had previously conducted postdoctoral work at the University of Washington and Yale University after receiving his Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin. His current research focus is neutrino properties related to the neutrino mass – both direct detection and neutrinoless double beta decay – with a focus on detectors and instrumentation.
March 4, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Joel Eaves, CU Boulder -Singlet Fission as a Quantum Resource and Integral Decimation
Joel Eaves
Singlet Fission as a Quantum Resource and Integral Decimation
Abstract: Quantum computing promises advances last seen in the digital age, but noise in quantum circuits severely limits the realization of quantum logic devices. My group uses theory and simulation to discover new materials for quantum information applications. In this talk, I will discuss some of our work using singlet fission, a process that splits one exciton into a spin-entangled triplet pair, as a quantum resource near room temperature. I will also discuss how integral decimation, a numerical method we developed, can model realistic noise in quantum circuits. Such simulations are critical to predicting the resources required to error-correct quantum circuits, but integral decimation has a wide range of uses, from classical statistical mechanics to quantum and classical stochastic differential equations, and I will conclude by discussing those examples as well.
Bio: Joel Eaves received his Ph.D. from MIT in 2005 working with Phill Geissler and Andrei Tokmakoff on the coherent multidimensional infrared spectroscopy of liquid water. He then joined David Reichman’s group at Columbia University as a postdoc working on quantum relaxation phenomena and the glass transition. He is a professor in the chemistry department at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he develops theory to describe basic processes in nanoscience, spectroscopy, and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics.
March 4, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Joel Eaves, CU Boulder - Singlet Fission as a Quantum Resource and Integral Decimation
Joel Eaves
Singlet Fission as a Quantum Resource and Integral Decimation
Abstract: Quantum computing promises advances last seen in the digital age, but noise in quantum circuits severely limits the realization of quantum logic devices. My group uses theory and simulation to discover new materials for quantum information applications. In this talk, I will discuss some of our work using singlet fission, a process that splits one exciton into a spin-entangled triplet pair, as a quantum resource near room temperature. I will also discuss how integral decimation, a numerical method we developed, can model realistic noise in quantum circuits. Such simulations are critical to predicting the resources required to error-correct quantum circuits, but integral decimation has a wide range of uses, from classical statistical mechanics to quantum and classical stochastic differential equations, and I will conclude by discussing those examples as well.
Bio: Joel Eaves received his Ph.D. from MIT in 2005 working with Phill Geissler and Andrei Tokmakoff on the coherent multidimensional infrared spectroscopy of liquid water. He then joined David Reichman’s group at Columbia University as a postdoc working on quantum relaxation phenomena and the glass transition. He is a professor in the chemistry department at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he develops theory to describe basic processes in nanoscience, spectroscopy, and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics.
March 11, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Jonathan Bird, SUNY Buffalo - Strange Things Happen When Nanomaterials are Driven Far From Equilibrium
Jonathan Bird
Strange Things Happen When Nanomaterials are Driven Far From Equilibrium
Abstract: The past two decades have witnessed an explosion of interest in functional nanomaterials, whose rich physical properties reflect their reduced dimensionality, the importance of spin- and charge-based interactions, and the existence of complex correlated phases. The application of these materials in various technologies – that span from clean energy to quantum computing – is premised upon a deep understanding of their physical properties. Specifically, the behavior that they exhibit when driven out of equilibrium, by strong electric and/or optical fields, can be crucial to many of these applications.
In my presentation, I summarize some of the experiments that we have performed in recent years to investigate the behavior exhibited by a variety of different nanomaterials that are driven electrically far from equilibrium. In many situations, this driving gives rise to fundamentally new behavior, not associated with the material in its near-equilibrium state. Just a few such examples include the emergence of robust one-dimensional transport in narrow semiconductor channels subject to strong phonon emission [1]; negative-mass amplification in the narrow conduction-band states of transition-metal trichalcogenide nanowires [2]; Landau-Zener tunneling across the minibands of (graphene/h-BN) van der Waals heterostructures [3]; and dynamic resistive-switching phenomena associated with charge-density wave evolution in layered transition-metal dichalcogenides [4,5]. I will provide an overview of some of these phenomena in my presentation, focusing on the use of time-resolved, transient, electrical measurements to probe the nonequilibrium dynamics with sub-nanosecond resolution.
References
- Lee, J. E. Han, S. Xiao, J. Song, J. L. Reno, and J. P. Bird, Nat. Nanotechnol. 9, 101 (2014).
- Randle, …, J. P. Bird, Nat. Materials, under review (2025).
- Nathawat, …, J. P. Bird, Nat. Communs. 14, 1507 (2023).
- A Mohammadzadeh, …, J. P. Bird, Appl. Phys. Lett. 118, 093102 (2021).
- Yin, …, J. P. Bird, Adv. Phys. Res. 3, 2400033 (2024).
Biosketch: Jonathan Bird joined the UB Department of Electrical Engineering as full professor in 2004. He currently serves as chair of that department and as director of the UB Center for Advanced Semiconductor Technologies. Jonathan obtained his BSc (First-Class Honors) and PhD degrees in physics from the University of Sussex (UK) in 1986 and 1990, respectively. He was JSPS Visiting Fellow at the University of Tsukuba (Japan, 1991 – 1992) and a member of the Frontier Research Program of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN, Japan, 1992 – 1997). Professor Bird’s research is in the area of nanoelectronics; he is currently supported by the Coherent/II-VI Foundation, the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation.
March 11, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Jonathan Bird, SUNY Buffalo - Strange Things Happen When Nanomaterials are Driven Far From Equilibrium
Jonathan Bird
Strange Things Happen When Nanomaterials are Driven Far From Equilibrium
Abstract: The past two decades have witnessed an explosion of interest in functional nanomaterials, whose rich physical properties reflect their reduced dimensionality, the importance of spin- and charge-based interactions, and the existence of complex correlated phases. The application of these materials in various technologies – that span from clean energy to quantum computing – is premised upon a deep understanding of their physical properties. Specifically, the behavior that they exhibit when driven out of equilibrium, by strong electric and/or optical fields, can be crucial to many of these applications.
In my presentation, I summarize some of the experiments that we have performed in recent years to investigate the behavior exhibited by a variety of different nanomaterials that are driven electrically far from equilibrium. In many situations, this driving gives rise to fundamentally new behavior, not associated with the material in its near-equilibrium state. Just a few such examples include the emergence of robust one-dimensional transport in narrow semiconductor channels subject to strong phonon emission [1]; negative-mass amplification in the narrow conduction-band states of transition-metal trichalcogenide nanowires [2]; Landau-Zener tunneling across the minibands of (graphene/h-BN) van der Waals heterostructures [3]; and dynamic resistive-switching phenomena associated with charge-density wave evolution in layered transition-metal dichalcogenides [4,5]. I will provide an overview of some of these phenomena in my presentation, focusing on the use of time-resolved, transient, electrical measurements to probe the nonequilibrium dynamics with sub-nanosecond resolution.
References
- Lee, J. E. Han, S. Xiao, J. Song, J. L. Reno, and J. P. Bird, Nat. Nanotechnol. 9, 101 (2014).
- Randle, …, J. P. Bird, Nat. Materials, under review (2025).
- Nathawat, …, J. P. Bird, Nat. Communs. 14, 1507 (2023).
- A Mohammadzadeh, …, J. P. Bird, Appl. Phys. Lett. 118, 093102 (2021).
- Yin, …, J. P. Bird, Adv. Phys. Res. 3, 2400033 (2024).
Biosketch: Jonathan Bird joined the UB Department of Electrical Engineering as full professor in 2004. He currently serves as chair of that department and as director of the UB Center for Advanced Semiconductor Technologies. Jonathan obtained his BSc (First-Class Honors) and PhD degrees in physics from the University of Sussex (UK) in 1986 and 1990, respectively. He was JSPS Visiting Fellow at the University of Tsukuba (Japan, 1991 – 1992) and a member of the Frontier Research Program of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN, Japan, 1992 – 1997). Professor Bird’s research is in the area of nanoelectronics; he is currently supported by the Coherent/II-VI Foundation, the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation.
March 18, 2025 – No Physics colloquium - Spring Break
March 25, 2025 – Physics colloquium –Shuo Sun, CU Boulder - Quantum Optics with Artificial Atoms
Shuo Sun
Quantum Optics with Artificial Atoms
Abstract: The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots, often referred to as “artificial atoms”, due to their discrete electronic energy levels resembling those of natural atoms. Since their discovery, quantum dots have been widely utilized in bioimaging, energy harvesting, illumination, displays, machine vision, and communications. Recently, significant progress has been made in creating single artificial atoms with excellent quantum coherence properties, enabling the development of quantum devices based on these artificial atoms.
In this talk, I will discuss several ongoing experiments in my group that showcase the unique advantages of solid-state artificial atoms in studying quantum optics and advancing quantum technologies. A key feature of solid-state artificial atoms is their compatibility with various devices (e.g., photonic, acoustic, electronic) defined on their host material. This compatibility allows us to experimentally investigate the resonance fluorescence of a strongly driven atom in novel regimes, where the atom is simultaneously influenced by both longitudinal (σz-driven) and transverse (σx-driven) fields. Remarkably, our observations reveal distinct features in the resonance fluorescence spectrum as we modulate the Rabi frequency of the σx drive across the frequency of the σz drive field, including the cancellation of the central spontaneous spectral line and the anti-crossing of different sidebands. The experimental results align well with our theoretical calculations and can be effectively explained using a dynamically-dressed-state framework. Additionally, I will discuss another ongoing experiment that leverages strong light-matter interactions in a quantum nanophotonic device to develop a deterministic source of photonic graph states. These photonic graph states are crucial resources in optical quantum computing and all-photonic quantum repeaters. I will discuss our experimental progresses, as well as our theory proposal for generating loss-tolerant photonic graph states using only a single quantum dot.
Moving forward, solid-state artificial atoms also offer tremendous opportunities for studying quantum many-body physics. I will discuss some of these opportunities at the end of my talk, including the study of photon-mediated many-body interactions defined by a structured photonic bath, and electron-spin mediated interactions among a bath of nuclear spins.
Bio: Shuo Sun is an Assistant Professor of Physics and an Associate Fellow of JILA at the University of Colorado Boulder. Before joining the University of Colorado Boulder in Fall 2020, he worked at Stanford University as a postdoctoral fellow and later as a research scientist in the Ginzton Lab. Sun received his B.S. in Zhejiang University (2011), and his M.S. (2015) and Ph.D. (2016) from the University of Maryland College Park. Sun is a recipient of the NSF CAREER award (2024), Sloan Research Fellowship (2022), and the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award (2021).
March 25, 2025 – Physics colloquium –Shuo Sun, CU Boulder - Quantum Optics with Artificial Atoms
Shuo Sun
Quantum Optics with Artificial Atoms
Abstract: The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots, often referred to as “artificial atoms”, due to their discrete electronic energy levels resembling those of natural atoms. Since their discovery, quantum dots have been widely utilized in bioimaging, energy harvesting, illumination, displays, machine vision, and communications. Recently, significant progress has been made in creating single artificial atoms with excellent quantum coherence properties, enabling the development of quantum devices based on these artificial atoms.
In this talk, I will discuss several ongoing experiments in my group that showcase the unique advantages of solid-state artificial atoms in studying quantum optics and advancing quantum technologies. A key feature of solid-state artificial atoms is their compatibility with various devices (e.g., photonic, acoustic, electronic) defined on their host material. This compatibility allows us to experimentally investigate the resonance fluorescence of a strongly driven atom in novel regimes, where the atom is simultaneously influenced by both longitudinal (σz-driven) and transverse (σx-driven) fields. Remarkably, our observations reveal distinct features in the resonance fluorescence spectrum as we modulate the Rabi frequency of the σx drive across the frequency of the σz drive field, including the cancellation of the central spontaneous spectral line and the anti-crossing of different sidebands. The experimental results align well with our theoretical calculations and can be effectively explained using a dynamically-dressed-state framework. Additionally, I will discuss another ongoing experiment that leverages strong light-matter interactions in a quantum nanophotonic device to develop a deterministic source of photonic graph states. These photonic graph states are crucial resources in optical quantum computing and all-photonic quantum repeaters. I will discuss our experimental progresses, as well as our theory proposal for generating loss-tolerant photonic graph states using only a single quantum dot.
Moving forward, solid-state artificial atoms also offer tremendous opportunities for studying quantum many-body physics. I will discuss some of these opportunities at the end of my talk, including the study of photon-mediated many-body interactions defined by a structured photonic bath, and electron-spin mediated interactions among a bath of nuclear spins.
Bio: Shuo Sun is an Assistant Professor of Physics and an Associate Fellow of JILA at the University of Colorado Boulder. Before joining the University of Colorado Boulder in Fall 2020, he worked at Stanford University as a postdoctoral fellow and later as a research scientist in the Ginzton Lab. Sun received his B.S. in Zhejiang University (2011), and his M.S. (2015) and Ph.D. (2016) from the University of Maryland College Park. Sun is a recipient of the NSF CAREER award (2024), Sloan Research Fellowship (2022), and the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award (2021).
April 1, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Murray Holland, CU Boulder - Programmable Atom Interferometry in a Multidimensional Optical Lattice
Murray Holland
Programmable Atom Interferometry in a Multidimensional Optical Lattice
Abstract: The creation of a matter-wave interferometer can be achieved by loading Bose-Einstein condensed atoms into a crystal of light formed by interfering laser beams. It has recently been realized that by translating this optical lattice in a specific way, the traditional steps of interferometry can all be implemented, i.e., splitting, propagating, reflecting, and recombining the macroscopic quantum wavefunction. Using this concept, we have designed and built a compact experiment to sense inertial signals, including accelerations, rotations, gravity, and gravity gradients. This is a new approach, since the atoms can be supported against external forces and perturbations by the lasers, and the system can be completely programmed on-the-fly for new design goals. I will report on experimental results in which atoms are cooled in a dipole trap and subsequently loaded into an optical lattice. Protocols for obtaining interferometry steps are derived via machine learning and quantum optimal control methods. Implementing these in the lab, I will show our recent demonstrations of a vector accelerometer capable of sensitively deducing the magnitude and direction of an inertial force in a single shot. I will discuss our vision to use this platform for remote sensing of Earth as part of the recently founded NASA Quantum Pathways Institute.
Bio: Holland joined the faculty of the University of Colorado Boulder in 1996 and is a Fellow of JILA and teaches in the Department of Physics. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The Holland experimental group has developed a new approach to atom interferometry whereby a quantum degenerate gas is cooled and trapped in optical lattices and controlled by artificial intelligence methods, in particular deep-learning and reinforcement learning for quantum design. The Holland theory group’s research is on the properties of quantum gases and entanglement in strongly interacting superfluids. The group is also working on superradiant cavity QED with group-II elements to develop a mHz linewidth “laser.” Holland has developed a number of courses in Boulder as part of a quantum science stream, including quantum optics, and quantum computing at both the graduate and undergraduate level.
April 1, 2025 – Physics colloquium – Murray Holland, CU Boulder - Programmable Atom Interferometry in a Multidimensional Optical Lattice
Murray Holland
Programmable Atom Interferometry in a Multidimensional Optical Lattice
Abstract: The creation of a matter-wave interferometer can be achieved by loading Bose-Einstein condensed atoms into a crystal of light formed by interfering laser beams. It has recently been realized that by translating this optical lattice in a specific way, the traditional steps of interferometry can all be implemented, i.e., splitting, propagating, reflecting, and recombining the macroscopic quantum wavefunction. Using this concept, we have designed and built a compact experiment to sense inertial signals, including accelerations, rotations, gravity, and gravity gradients. This is a new approach, since the atoms can be supported against external forces and perturbations by the lasers, and the system can be completely programmed on-the-fly for new design goals. I will report on experimental results in which atoms are cooled in a dipole trap and subsequently loaded into an optical lattice. Protocols for obtaining interferometry steps are derived via machine learning and quantum optimal control methods. Implementing these in the lab, I will show our recent demonstrations of a vector accelerometer capable of sensitively deducing the magnitude and direction of an inertial force in a single shot. I will discuss our vision to use this platform for remote sensing of Earth as part of the recently founded NASA Quantum Pathways Institute.
Bio: Holland joined the faculty of the University of Colorado Boulder in 1996 and is a Fellow of JILA and teaches in the Department of Physics. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The Holland experimental group has developed a new approach to atom interferometry whereby a quantum degenerate gas is cooled and trapped in optical lattices and controlled by artificial intelligence methods, in particular deep-learning and reinforcement learning for quantum design. The Holland theory group’s research is on the properties of quantum gases and entanglement in strongly interacting superfluids. The group is also working on superradiant cavity QED with group-II elements to develop a mHz linewidth “laser.” Holland has developed a number of courses in Boulder as part of a quantum science stream, including quantum optics, and quantum computing at both the graduate and undergraduate level.