Meet Q-FARM's New Interdisciplinary Faculty
Adam Bouland (Computer Science) - coming fall 2021 -
About my research: I am a theoretical computer scientist focusing on quantum computing. I study the computational power of prototype quantum computers and draw connections between computational complexity theory and physics.
Read more at my website: theory.stanford.edu/~abouland
WFH Office: My desk is located between my sink and fridge (very convenient for snacks). But I look forward to eventually moving into a more spacious office in Gates Computer Science.
Extra! I am an avid gardener and beekeeper!
Dan Congreve (Electrical Engineering)
About my research: Nanomaterials have shown great promise to aid in the challenges facing us, yet individual material systems often have significant drawbacks that prevent successful adaptation. By combining material systems and controlling the flow of light, energy, and spin at the nanoscale, we can uncover unique strengths and physics that are unachievable by individual components alone, opening up a number of new applications.
One particularly interesting process is triplet fusion upconversion, which utilizes spin interactions to convert two low energy photons into one higher energy photon. This process has numerous applications ranging from harvesting sub-bandgap photons in solar cells to enabling photochemical and optogenetic interactions in tissue by local generation of visible light from a NIR laser. We are working to understand and develop more efficient upconverting materials to meet the needs of these diverse applications.
Another area of focus is light emission from perovskite materials. These materials have shown phenomenal potential for emissive applications, yet several key hurdles remain before widespread deployment is possible. We are studying the structural, optical, and electronic properties of a range of nanoscale perovskite materials, and atomic dopants within those materials, in order to build the next generation of perovskite light emitters.
Read more at my website: www.congrevelab.org
WFH Office: A corner of the kids' playroom. Campus Office: Allen 324X
Extra!
[ 1 ] I have two amazing kids - Eleanor is 2 and a half and her favorite things are Daniel Tiger, biking with Dad, and refusing to go to sleep. Daniel was born 2 weeks into lockdown and is now 8 months old (wait, we've been doing this for 8 months?!). He loves teething crackers and trying to pull over the Christmas tree.
[ 2 ] My wife and I love traveling and scuba diving, with particular favorite adventures of seeing a manta ray off Bonaire, sea turtles off Bali, and harbor seals off Boston.
Vedika Khemani (Physics)
About my research: I am a theoretical physicist studying many-body quantum systems. My research interests include quantum dynamics, many-body quantum entanglement, and emergent properties of out-of-equilibrium quantum matter. This is a burgeoning area of interest to several subfields in Q-Farm including condensed matter physics, quantum information, quantum engineering and quantum computer science. My research probes fundamental questions about the dynamics of quantum coherent many-body systems, which should inform efforts to create quantum simulators and devices in a laboratory setting. A central theme of my work also involves the search for novel and universal non-equilibrium phases of matter, such as the recent discovery of the exotic time-crystal phase. Breakthrough developments in quantum science and engineering experiments are creating exciting opportunities for collaboration between research areas that have evolved quite separately until recently, and I am enthusiastic about exploring this interdisciplinary frontier as a member of Q-Farm.
Read more at my website: profiles.stanford.edu/vedika-khemani-bio
WFH Office: A spare room Campus Office: McCullough 311
Extra! I enjoy taking advantage of the beautiful CA weather by working from my backyard, which helps tremendously with Zoom fatigue!
Andy Mannix (Material Science)
About my research: The Mannix research group seeks to systematically elucidate the fundamental structure-property relationships underpinning the growth of atomically thin 2D materials and their inclusion into van der Waals heterostructures. Greater understanding of these materials will provide a platform for engineering the structure of matter at the atomic scale and guide their emerging applications in quantum information science. Several examples include spatially precise color centers as spin qubits or quantum emitters, atomically uniform Josephson junctions, or new quantum states at the interfaces between topological, magnetic, and/or superconducting materials. To address these challenges, we combine in-house capabilities for materials growth (CVD and MBE), assembly (automated van der Waals patterning/stacking), and atomic-scale characterization (UHV STM/AFM).
Read more at my website: 2d-matsci.com
WFH Office: Living room corner Campus Office: McCullough 223
Extra! In my spare time, I'm an avid reader of history, news, and sci-fi, amateur pizza chef, and I currently share a desk with a rambunctious little cat named Sir Isaac Newton.