Christine Muschik

Prof. Christine Muschik holds a University Research Chair at the University of Waterloo. She holds a faculty position at the Institute for Quantum Computing and an associate faculty position at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Christine Muschik received a number of awards for her work on quantum computers, including an Ontario Early Researcher Award, a CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar Fellowship for “Research Leaders of Tomorrow”, and a Sloan Fellowship for outstanding early career researchers.

Her work on using quantum systems to perform hard calculations is internationally recognized and has been featured by Scientific American and Forbes. In 2016, her results on programming quantum computers to solve problems in particle physics has been named as one of the “Top 10 breakthroughs in Physics” of this year.

 

Today she pushes the frontier of scientific computing by developing a new generation of highly efficient quantum computing methods that are based on so-called qudits, i.e. computational units for quantum computers that go beyond binary encodings.

If you are interested in pursuing a MSc degree, please apply to the Perimeter Scholars International (PSI) masters program. If you are interested in working with me as a PhD student, please send me an email at [email protected]. If you are interested in working with me as a PhD student, please submit an application directly to my department at the University of Waterloo, Institute for Quantum Computing and indicate that you would like to be supervised by me. Perimeter Institute is committed to diversity within its community and I welcome applications from underrepresented groups.

My research program aims at building a bridge connecting quantum technologies with problems in particle physics. We are just beginning to understand the quantum behaviour of elementary processes. While numerical simulations have been pivotal in enhancing our understanding of subatomic physics, they are restricted in their predictive capabilities due to inherent limitations of classical computers to simulate quantum properties. There is thus an urgent need to find new simulation methods to address many open fundamental questions. The rapid developments now occurring with quantum technologies, which exploit the exotic properties of quantum mechanics, represent an enormous scientific opportunity. My team and I are working on developing new types of quantum-enhanced simulation techniques for fundamental particle interactions. Our work includes the development of a new generation of hybrid quantum-classical simulations. The development of these new quantum simulation techniques will have wide-ranging applications also in other areas, such as condensed matter physics and quantum chemistry.