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!
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
OccasionalWe 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
OccasionalWe have developed a series of introductory workshops to teach students about the basics of quantum computing, quantum programming, and quantum algorithms. We plan to run these near the beginning of the academic year or as part of separate events.
Qiskit Fall Fest Hackathon
Annually in FallFor several years now, 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. Last 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 expand these to include workshops and support to give students the opportunity to work together to learn about quantum programming.
EYU
Fall Quarter 2022Last 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. We plan to participate in EYU each year, either in collaboration with research groups or on our own.
SQUID Conference
Spring Quarter 2023We worked with the Quantum Coalition, a collection of student groups from over a dozen universities, to organize and send speakers to a first of its kind quantum science conference for undergraduates.
Future Events
In the future, we intend to start offering more social events as well as more accessible, education-focused events.
Our Team
Amanda Younes
Leadership Team Member
Department: Physics and Astronomy
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!
William Laderer
Leadership Team Member
Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Will is a 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
Yongjia is a 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
Hira is a second-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.
Cody Fan
Leadership Team Member
Department: Electrical Engineering
Cody received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Physics at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2022. He is currently pursuing a PhD under the guidance of Professor Chee Wei Wong. Currently, his main research focus is to build quantum transducers between microwave and optical photons and to characterize silicon defect qubits. He also has research interests in quantum control and variational quantum algorithms. Feel free to reach out if you want some research paper recommendations or want to go thrift shopping!
Lucas Tecot
Leadership Team Member
Department: Computer Science
Lucas is a Computer Science PhD student in Prof. Cho-jui Hsieh’s group. His research focuses on classical optimizers for variational quantum algorithms. But broadly he is interested in the intersection of quantum mechanics and machine learning, both for automated sciences applications and understanding the fundamental limits of learning.
Edvin Molla
Leadership Team Member
Department: Applied Mathematics
Edvin is an undergraduate student interested in the intersection between quantum computing and machine learning.
Nicolas Dirnegger
Leadership Team Member
Department: Electrical Engineering
Nicolas received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at ETH Zurich, Switzerland in 2022 and a Master of Science in Physics at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2023. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Electrical Engineering in the NarangLab. Currently, his main research focus is on quantum sensing and quantum networks. He also has research interests in quantum error correction and quantum computation. Feel free to reach out if you want to go surfing!
Luca Niu
Leadership Team Member
Department: Physics & Astronomy, Mathematics
Luca, a third-year undergraduate student, is pursuing a double major in Physics and Mathematics. Presently, he serves as a research assistant in the group led by Professor Hongwen Jiang. With a keen interest the intersection of condensed matter physics and quantum information science, Luca is particularly fascinated by the potential of quantum dot qubit and topological quantum computing. He looks forward to engaging with fellow students and expanding his knowledge within this quantum computing.
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.
Alumni
QCSA thanks our past leadership team members!
Cheryl Lim (2022-2024)
Lambert Kong (2021-2023)
Will Wang, cofounder (2021-2024)
Ashley Shin, cofounder (2020-2023)
Syed Farhan, cofounder (2020-2022)