Alumni Projects - Graduation Year: 2025
TETRIS-ADAPT-VQE with tiled unitary slate products (tUPS)
We're working on ADAPT-VQE with Mafalda Ramôa and Dr. Economou's group at Virginia Tech. Quantum computing offers new computational methods for quantum mechanical analysis of molecular systems. We are testing TETRIS-ADAPT-VQE, an algorithm which optimizes a quantum circuit's parameters while adding new gates into the circuit from a pool of operator... read more
ADAPT-VQE: Examining Fermionic Properties
Strongly correlated molecules present a significant challenge in quantum chemistry due to the complex electron interactions. These molecules, which often exhibit highly entangled electronic structures, require more sophisticated methods in calculating the ground state energies than traditional methods, which tend to produce large error, require gre... read more
Implementing Grover’s Diffusion Operator in A Single Photon, 2-Qubit Spatial Mode System
Our research proposes a novel method for photonic quantum computing using a single-photon, 2-qubit spatial mode system. By encoding qubits in the polarization states of individual spatial modes, we implement and analyze Bell State entanglement and Grover’s algorithm. Experimentally, we will use a 405 nm pump laser with a diode controller and BBO cr... read more
High-Resolution Turbulence Modeling Using the HHL Algorithm for the Poisson Navier-Stokes Equations
This project explores how the Harrow-Hassidim-Lloyd (HHL) quantum algorithm can accelerate high-resolution turbulence simulations by solving linearized fluid equations, such as the pressure Poisson equation, on a quantum computer. Classical methods for solving these equations are computationally expensive, especially on high-resolution grids, which... read more
Utilizing Grover’s Algorithm Quantum Optimization for Options Pricing Following a Binomial Model
This research project aims to investigate the application of Grover’s algorithm, a quantum search algorithm, to optimize options pricing in discrete-time financial models, specifically by utilizing a binomial time distribution. Binomial models approximate the behavior of an asset’s price by modeling it as a series of up or down movements over discr... read more
Using Geant4 to Model Ground Level Enhancements
The Earth is continuously exposed to a stream of high-energy particles originating from extraterrestrial space. Such particles come in various forms, including galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) traveling from distant galaxies or solar energetic particles (SEPs) exuding from the Sun. Although Earth's magnetosphere acts as a shield for much of this radiati... read more
Quantum Cryptography with Virginia Tech
My project focuses on utilizing Grover's Algorithm, an advanced quantum algorithm designed to enhance the probability of finding the correct solution in unstructured search problems. The primary application is in quantum cryptography, where Grover's Algorithm is used to analyze and potentially break classical encryption schemes by significantly red... read more
Adaptive Zero-Knowledge Proofs: Enhancing Privacy in DApps and Hardware Systems
In today’s day and age, information is key. At the same time, information leaks can cause tremendous harm in the wrong hands, especially sensitive information pertaining to personal identity. Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) are a way to share the minimal amount of information to confirm a certain property about an entity. For example, Zero-Knowledge P... read more
PINNs for Ground State Determination and Fisher Information-Based Phase Transition Detection
Quantum phases are states of matter which exist at near absolute zero temperatures, where quantum effects govern the system. The transition between phases is called a quantum phase transition (QFT) and is of interest particularly when the order parameter, a value that usually characterizes transitions, is not known. Instead, quantum and classical p... read more
Creation and Analysis of YBa2Cu3O7-δ by Citrate Synthesis, Pyrolysis, and Furnace Oxygenation
The proposed project aims to prepare and characterize samples of superconducting YBCO via citrate synthesis, pyrolysis, and furnace oxygenation processes. Upon successfully creating solid YBCO pellets, we hope to expand this project to thin-film applications via chemical vapor deposition, allowing for wide-scale creation of high-temperature superco... read more
Creation and Characterization of Optically-Switched Multistable Liquid Crystal Waveplates
An arbitrary waveplate cell is developed by controlling the twisted structure of nematic liquid crystals with a thin azobenzene-derivative dye alignment layer. A multistable cell is achieved via polarizing alignment of the dye layer, rather than traditional bistable photoswitching. The alignment adjusts the twist of the liquid crystal cell, resulti... read more
Optimizing Hamiltonian Cycle Searching using Quantum Approximation Optimization Algorithms
Hamiltonian cycles are a cycle in a graph where each vertex is visited only once. Similar to the travelling salesman problem, the aim of finding hamiltonian cycles is to reduce the number of edges traversed while still visiting every vertex. As the graph size gets bigger, it becomes exponentially more difficult to find a cycle. Using Quantum Approx... read more
EQuIP: A Novel Quantum Internet Protocol via Dynamic Entanglement and Distribution
The proposed research aims to develop a framework for the quantum internet to ensure the instantaneous, secure, and loss-free transmission of data between devices in the network. In response to user queries, the ideated system will dynamically generate entangled qubit pairs to ensure greater efficiency in information teleportation via a quantum net... read more
High-precision ground-based astronomical imaging in the near-infrared spectrum
In this project, we aim to characterize the performance and capabilities of a ground-based near-infrared (NIR) camera for use in high-precision astronomical photometry. The near-infrared $JHK$ bands are important for many astronomical applications, including to brown dwarf and exoplanet research. However, currently, most high-precision NIR observat... read more
Quantum Optimization of Electric Vehicle Charging Schedules Using QAOA
This study applies the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) to optimize charging schedules for electric motor vehicles (EMVs) on a motorway network. Using a 20-qubit simulation in Qiskit, I address the challenge of assigning 2 vehicles to 5 chargers across 2 routes, minimizing travel time, energy consumption, and charging costs. The QA... read more
Exploring Quantum Based Adapter Methods and Reparameterization for Transformer Models
Recent deep learning research has widely popularized the transformer model. Transformers have now ubiquitously been implemented in state-of-the-art models like GPT, Whisper, DALLE, GoogleViT, Facebook DETR, among many others. However, the true success of these models has to do with their adaptability to different downstream tasks. Traditional fine-... read more
Quadrupole Ion Trap
The goal of our project is to build a Quadrupole Ion Trap (QIT), using Lycopodium club-moss spores. Charged particles are confined within the metal-glass trap by high-voltage oscillating electric fields from a transformer operating at 6 kV at 60 Hz and controlled by a function generator. The critical elements of the trap's structure are its two end... read more
Doppler-Free Saturation Spectroscopy with Rb vapor
Doppler-free saturation spectroscopy (DFSS) is a laser locking technique. It utilizes counterpropagating lasers to slow atoms in vapor form by using a feedback loop that measures the difference between two beams’ wavelengths and correspondingly adjusts the laser. DFSS can be used to lock laser systems across many fields, such as in a magneto-opt... read more
ADAPT-VQE Sampling Noise w/VTech
ADAPT-VQE is a Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) for solving quantum chemistry simulations and optimization problems. However, in the real world, we can only use a finite number of measurement shots to estimate expectation values, limiting the performance of the algorithm. This is known as sampling noise, which impacts the accuracy of energy ev... read more
Abnormalities of Chaotic Systems found in the Entanglement States of Quantum Scars
Ergodicity, or the ability of a system to explore all accessible phase states, is a fundamental assumption in statistical mechanics, particularly in the thermodynamic representations of many-body systems. However, not all many-body systems are ergodic. Quantum many-body scars are a recently discovered class of non-thermal eigenstates embedded withi... read more
Quantum Harmonic Oscillator Model of Stock Return Distributions
Stochastic models have been used for decades to model stock prices. Recently, the advancement of quantum mechanics has led to novel research in using quantum models to model stock prices. This paper leverages the quantum harmonic oscillator to model the long term log stock return distributions of stock prices, which can be used for forecasting stoc... read more
GLASS: Glucose Level Measuring via Breathe Acetone Sensing through Laser Spectroscopy
Current continuous glucose monitoring systems are prohibitively expensive, leaving many diabetics without reliable glucose tracking. This study explores a non-invasive alternative by measuring breath acetone, an established biomarker for blood glucose, using near-UV laser spectroscopy. We developed a custom experimental setup involving a multipass ... read more
MRIO-HHL: A Quantum-Enhanced Framework for Optimisation of Sustainable Supply Chain Management
The rapid growth of global trade, outpacing real-adjusted GDP, has amplified the environmental footprint of international value chains, a prominent trend in recent decades that has been ineffectively addressed due to the complexity of global supply chains and discrepancies in sustainable policy. To inform sustainable policy-making, we integrate qua... read more
Quantum Cryptography
As cybersecurity threats grow, quantum computing offers both solutions and challenges to encryption methods. My research explores Grover’s Algorithm, a quantum search algorithm that significantly accelerates brute-force attacks on cryptographic systems. Specifically, I am investigating how Grover’s Algorithm can be applied to password key encryptio... read more
Implications of Maxwell's Equations Generalizations on Classical Physics Paradoxes
When taking AP Physics or Physics 1, many students may be baffled by apparent paradoxes in classical electrodynamics. For example, one might see that, according to the classical theory, the electric field strength of a charged plate is inversely proportional to the distance to it. However, this would mean that the electric field strength is infinit... read more