Our Focus
The Quantum Computing Student Association (QCSA) at UCLA is a combined undergraduate and graduate student group under the CQSE focused on everything under the umbrella of quantum information science, including quantum computers, sensors, and algorithms. We welcome students of all levels who are interested in quantum computing, and try to make our events as accessible as possible!
Calendar
Events
Speaker Events
1-3 times each quarterWe hold speaker events each quarter by professors and industry professionals working in the field of quantum information science. Past speakers include UCLA professors in the Physics, Chemistry, and CS departments, as well as industry professionals from Google, IBM, and Atom Computing.
Journal Clubs
2-4 times each quarterWe hold student-led journal club talks regularly, in which an undergraduate or graduate student either reads and presents on a paper they have read or talk about their own research relevant to quantum information science.
Workshops
Occasional, Starting Winter 2023We are developing a series of introductory workshops to teach students about the basics of quantum computing, quantum programming, and quantum algorithms.
Qiskit Fall Fest Hackathon
Fall Quarter 2021 & 2022For the last two years, UCLA has held a hackathon during fall quarter as part of the Qiskit Fall Fest, a collection of IBM-backed events, workshops, and hackathons held around the world. This year, we had over 100 students enter, including undergraduate, masters, and PhD students. As part of the hackathon, we also had a guest speaker from IBM. We're hoping to hold these every year to give students the opportunity to work together to learn about quantum programming.
EYU
Fall Quarter 2022This fall, we partnered with the Alexandrova group in UCLA's chemistry department to run and staff a booth at the annual Exploring Your Universe (EYU) event, teaching elementary school aged children the basics of probability and its connection to quantum computing.
Future Events
In the future, we intend to start running workshops and more accessible, education-focused events as well as try to expand our outreach efforts.
Our Team
Ashley Shin
Leadership Team Member
Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA
Ashley is currently working on her PhD, studying quantum confined and quantum computing materials at UCLA with Prof. Justin Caram. She is an alumni of Washington University in St. Louis, where she received her BA in chemistry and computer science in 2017. In addition to her scientific endeavors, Ashley is passionate about pedagogical teaching, outreach, and community-building. She is excited to be a part of CQSE and QCSA, and wants to meet more people who share as much excitement about the development and potential of quantum information science. Please reach out via email, if you'd like to meet her!
Amanda Younes
Leadership Team Member
Department: Physics and Astronomy, UCLA
Amanda is an undergraduate physics student interested in atomic, molecular, and optical physics and trapped ion quantum computing. She is excited to learn more about different quantum computing hardwares and gain a more complete understanding of the opportunities in quantum information science, as well as to meet other students interested in quantum computing!
Chuixin (Lambert) Kong
Leadership Team Member
Department: Physics and Astronomy, UCLA
Lambert is an undergraduate student majoring in physics, currently working with Professor Wes Campbell on trapped ion quantum computing. He is currently working on a frequency tripling system that stabilizes the laser conducting state detection and doppler cooling for 171Yb+ qubit. He is interested in learning various quantum computing hardware and quantum algorithms. As part of the QCSA, he is excited to help the development of the student community of quantum computing at UCLA.
Will Wang
Leadership Team Member
Department: Physics and Astronomy, UCLA
Will is a third year undergraduate student in physics. He currently works as a undergraduate research assistant advised by Professor Hongwen Jiang at the Quantum Physics and Technology Research Laboratory at UCLA. Will is interested in condensed matter physics and quantum control. His current research focuses on the quantum control and automated characterization of quantum dot qubits. Feel free to shoot him an email if you have any questions regarding QCSA!
William Laderer
Leadership Team Member
Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA
Will is a 2nd year Chemistry PhD student in the Alexandrova group at UCLA. He graduated from Stony Brook University in New York where he received a B.S in Geology. His research encompasses electronic structure analysis of solids and molecules. Particular systems of interest are topological materials, which might prove to be useful in the field of catalysis.
Yongjia He
Leadership Team Member
Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA
Yongjia is a second-year Physical Chemistry Ph.D. student in Prof. Justin Caram's group. She graduated from Wuhan University in China, where she received a B.S. in Physics. She is studying quantum information materials in optical manners. Her life-long goal is to help tackle global carbon emission issues by applying quantum information technologies!
Hira Sundar
Leadership Team Member
Department: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, UCLA
Hira is a first-year Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics major with a passion for biology and physics. She is currently working in UCLA Undergraduate Genetics Consortium and is interested in the intersection between the quantum world and life sciences.
Mark Gyure
Executive Director
Center for Quantum Science and Engineering
In addition to coordinating the day-to-day activities of the CQSE, Gyure’s research is focused on the theory and simulation of solid-state quantum information processing devices and architectures, specifically electrostatically-defined semiconductor quantum dots. He and collaborators at UCLA and HRL Laboratories, LLC in Malibu have developed a sophisticated device modeling code that employs the full configuration-interaction (FCI) method to solve the multi-electron Schrodinger equation self consistently with the electrostatic potential generated from realistic device geometries, enabling highly accurate calculations of the energy spectrum of coupled quantum dot systems. He came to UCLA recently from HRL Laboratories where he was the Principal Investigator and Chief Scientist for over 15 years on numerous programs in the quantum information science and technology area.