Welcome to Quantum Science and Engineering at Caltech!
Quantum Science and Engineering (QSE) at Caltech brings together researchers across traditional disciplines, including physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, materials science, and computer science. This interdisciplinary QSE community includes over 30 research groups working collaboratively towards three major goals:
The realization of quantum computers and networks
Reaching a deeper understanding of complex quantum matter
The realization of quantum-enhanced sensors and precision measurements
Opportunities
Interested in joining our community? Opportunities exist at all levels:
Interactions between the QSE groups are greatly facilitated by the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, a Physics Frontiers Center supported by the National Science Foundation, as well as Caltech's Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics. The experimental groups also make good use of Caltech's Kavli Nanoscience Institute, where state-of-the-art nanofabrication facilities are available. Additional QSE collaborations are offered through The Alliance for Quantum Technologies and its INQNET program, The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory LIGO, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL, a research and development lab federally funded by NASA and managed by Caltech.
Interactions and collaborations
Research collaborations between QSE groups are common at Caltech. In addition to research, additional opportunities to engage with a broad cross-section of Caltech's QSE community include taking a QSE graduate minor, being part of a student/postdoc run seminar series, participating as a speaker in campus seminars and journal clubs, attending retreats, and more informally participating in group lunches, or lab meetings.
Through the active research centers and groups that make up the QSE community, we offer a full schedule of science talks and seminars. Speakers include visitors and members of Caltech's QSE community, discussing a wide range of topics and current results. Please see the Upcoming Talks page for more information, and for the current list of scheduled talks. You can also join the mailing list for each seminar, with contact information in the summary of each event listed on the Upcoming Talks page.
Industry Connections
Caltech QSE has close ties with the emerging quantum industry, with our alumni strongly represented at companies such as AWS, Google, Microsoft, IBM, AT&T, as well as many startups. This worldwide network provides our students with several opportunities for industry internships. Moreover, the presence of the AWS Center for Quantum Computing on Caltech's campus, and Google's Quantum AI labs in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, enables easy access to research scientists and engineers working on state-of-the-art quantum hardware and software.
Outreach
Caltech's QSE community actively participates in broad outreach and education programs which include participation in public school and community Science Nights, classroom visits, special events like Caltech Science for March. There are also several programs that include an active role for mentors through the Summer Research Connection for high school students, Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), and partnerships with local schools. Also through our QSE centers there are additional opportunities to write for the IQIM blog, Quantum Frontiers, to present public talks, and to develop and teach quantum games - applying quantum science to familiar games such as Chess or Tic Taq Toe.
