I am a quantum computing theorist working towards reliable quantum computers for scientific discovery. My research connects quantum error correction, the joint design of quantum algorithms and architectures, and quantum dynamics and thermodynamics—from understanding how quantum information behaves in physical systems to protecting it and putting it to use.
I'm a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, working with Mikhail D. Lukin and Michael Gullans, and the lead author of Building Quantum Computers (Cambridge University Press).
Research
Browse publicationsGoogle Scholar
Quantum error correction
What is the minimum cost of protecting and manipulating logical quantum information? I design and analyse quantum codes with their logical operations in mind. Our phantom codes implement entangling gates within a code block through classically tracked relabellings, without applying physical gates. More broadly, I study how code structure and supported logical operations determine the cost of fault-tolerant computation, including the trade-offs involved in tailoring codes to particular computational tasks.
Quantum algorithms and architectures
How should algorithms, error correction and hardware be designed together? I helped design a teleportation-based neutral-atom architecture that removes entropy while processing logical information, exploiting non-local connectivity and parallel control. This work, and my role as lead author of Building Quantum Computers, shape my approach to protocols that use the strengths of a particular platform. My interests include quantum simulation, cooling and state preparation, with the algorithm and its fault-tolerant implementation considered together.
Quantum dynamics and thermodynamics
How do conservation laws and measurements shape quantum information? I helped establish noncommuting-charge physics as a research direction, showing how noncommuting conserved quantities can enhance entanglement, generate critical phases in monitored circuits, and constrain mechanisms that prevent thermalization. This work includes a lead-authored Perspective in Nature Reviews Physics and a single-author study of many-body dynamics. It also informs my interest in cooling and entropy removal as tools for preparing and protecting quantum states.
Textbook & outreach
Textbook
Building Quantum Computers:
A Practical Introduction
Cambridge University Press (2024)
Written for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students, the book compares physical implementations through shared concepts and notation. Writing it developed the cross-platform perspective that informs my work on hardware-aware architectures and scientific applications.
The draft was piloted in five Waterloo courses; the published text includes 84 exercises.
Outreach
Through Unentangled, my former non-profit, I brought current scientific research into high-school classrooms. The programme connected school science with questions at the research frontier, making advanced ideas approachable and helping students see where their curiosity could lead.
Background & CV
- 2024–2026
Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard
- Advisers:
- Mikhail D. Lukin
Michael Gullans - Funding:
- Banting Fellowship, 2024–2026
- 2019–2024
Ph.D. in Physics, University of Waterloo
- Advisers:
- Raymond Laflamme
Nicole Yunger Halpern - Funding:
- Vanier Scholarship, 2021–2024
- 2018–2019
M.Sc. in Physics, University of Waterloo
- Advisers:
- Raymond Laflamme
- 2011–2015
B.Sc. in Theoretical Physics, University of Guelph
Selected recent talks
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Entangling logical qubits without physical operations
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Entangling logical qubits without physical operations
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Entangling logical qubits without physical operations
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Architectural mechanisms of a universal fault-tolerant quantum computer
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Noncommuting charges can increase entanglement and induce critical dynamics
Selected honours
- 2025W.B. Pearson MedalDoctoral research award, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo
- 2024Banting Postdoctoral FellowshipNational postdoctoral fellowship, Government of Canada
- 2024John Brodie Memorial AwardDoctoral research award, Perimeter Institute
- 2022IQC Achievement AwardGraduate research award, Institute for Quantum Computing
- 2021Vanier Canada Graduate ScholarshipNational doctoral scholarship, Government of Canada