The BNC Virtual Faculty Seminar Series is designed to provide faculty a platform to present an overview of their research and the opportunity for collaborative discussion with other BNC faculty and researchers across six colleges and 15 academic units.

Alex Ma

Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy

September 24th, 2020 | 12:00pm

Join Zoom: https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/93857631004

Title: Superconducting circuits for quantum simulation and quantum information sciences

Abstract: My research group focuses on the study of synthetic quantum materials in superconducting circuits. Superconducting circuits/qubits have recently emerged as a leading platform for quantum computation, satisfying the challenges of controllability, long coherence and strong interactions. We apply the same toolbox to the exploration of strongly correlated quantum materials made of microwave photons, and investigate the emerging quantum phases and quantum dynamics in both coherent and driven-dissipative settings.
As examples, I will introduce my recent work where we experimentally demonstrated a new approach for preparing photonic many-body states in superconducting circuits using engineered dissipation. In a separate experiment, we realize a topological lattice for microwave photons using arrays of superconducting resonators and observe the dynamics of protected edge states. I will discuss other QIS topics we will explore, e.g. developing superconducting circuits/qubits-based sensors for probing materials defects and excitations.
I will also mention some technical/engineering challenges in superconducting circuits, and hope to spark discussions with other teams at Birck with the relevant expertise (e.g. in material synthesis or microwave engineering).

Bio: Ruichao (Alex) Ma received his B.Sc in Physics from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore in 2009. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University in 2014, studying strongly-correlated phases of ultracold atoms in optical lattices, in the group of Markus Greiner. He was a Postdoc at the Harvard/MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms from 2014-2015 and at the James Frank Institute, University of Chicago from 2015-2019. At Chicago, he worked on creating synthetic quantum materials in superconducting circuits/qubits, in the groups of David Schuster and Jonathan Simon. Alex joined Purdue University as Assistant Professor in Department of Physics and Astronomy in August 2019. His experimental group focuses on quantum many-body physics and quantum information science using superconducting circuits, with research interests that remain at the intersection between condensed matter, AMO, and quantum information sciences.

Upcoming BNC Virtual Faculty Seminars, Fall 2020:

Date	Faculty	Title
9/10/20	Ali Shakouri, Director of Birck Nanotechnology Center	Overview of SMART Industry Consortium
9/17/20	Luna Lu, Professor of Civil Engineering -  *Note time change*  (10am - 11am): Co-Hosted with ECE	Nanotechnology for Energy Harvesting and Sensing Applications
9/24/20	Alex Ma, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy	Superconducting circuits for quantum simulation and quantum information sciences
10/01/20	Hadiseh Alaeian, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering	atom-Nanophotonics at low dimensions
10/08/20	Jianguo Mei, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry	Semiconducting Polymers: A Journey from Scientific Curiosity to Technology Commercialization
10/15/20	Chen-Lung Hung, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy	Engineering atom-nanophotonics hybrid lattices
10/22/20	Chi Hwan Lee, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering	Sticker-Like Flexible Sensors for Wearable Healthcare Applications
10/29/20	Ryan Wagner, Research Assistant Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering	Atomic force microscopy as a tool for multiphysics nanoscale characterization
11/5/20	Tentative: Arnab Banerjee, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy
11/12/20	Krishna Jayant, Professor of BME - *Note time change*  (10am - 11am): Co-Hosted with ECE
11/19/20	Tentative: Suranjan Panigrahi, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology

Spring 2021 Schedule:

Date	Faculty	Title
2/4/21
2/11/21
2/18/21
2/25/21
3/4/21
3/11/21
3/18/21	Reading Day
3/25/21
4/1/21
4/8/21
4/15/21
4/22/21
4/29/21	Dead Week
5/6/21	Finals Week

Thanks!

Jaime Turner
Lead Administrative Assistant to the Director | Birck Nanotechnology Center

BRK | 1205 W State Street | West Lafayette, IN 47907

o: 765-494-3509 | m: 765-491-3064 | jjturner@purdue.edu