Joshua Wang

Department: Electrical & Computer Engineering
Faculty Adviser: Andrew Houck
Year of Study: G2
Undergraduate School: University of California, Irvine
Undergraduate Major: Physics

Personal Bio

I am a second-year graduate student in Prof. Andrew Houck's lab working on developing superconducting circuits for exploring interesting physics through quantum simulation. In undergrad I worked on condensed matter physics, first in a theory group then in an experimental 2D materials lab, and I also have summer research experience in chemistry and quantum information.

I did my undergrad in Physics at UC Irvine in California, and my hometown is Fremont, California. Some of my hobbies include reading, exploring cities, playing piano, drawing, and biking.

Fun Fact

I used to be a U.S. history nerd and I really like the city of Boston!

Research Pitch

I am an experimentalist working in the field of superconducting qubits. These are circuits (capacitor and a nonlinear inductor) that when superconducting become a controllable quantum system that I can address using microwave lines. People are interested in them because they can be used for quantum computing, which could enable algorithms that could break modern cryptography, for example. Currently, however, I'm more interested in "quantum simulation", where we prepare a quantum state of a system modeling something that happens in materials: for example, there could be a model for electrons moving around in a crystal lattice of atoms, and with a chip of superconducting qubits, I could adjust the interactions between the qubits so that it recreates this model. This allows us to study quantum systems of many particles, usually relevant in condensed matter physics, that would be too expensive to classically simulate.

In an experimental lab, I need to have the skills to execute all parts of the project: designing the experiment, fabricating the device, and finally cooling it down, running experiments, and doing measurements. So I will do everything from numerical calculations, chip design, and simulation to hands-on fabrication, messing with electronics, writing code for experiments, and analyzing data while thinking about the physics theory behind it.

Upcoming Programs That I Am Attending:

Plans for Summer 2025

Interested in participating in Summer 2025 ReMatch+ program.