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Morgan B

- Research Program Mentor

PhD at Stanford University

Expertise

Physics, particularly Quantum Physics and Condensed Matter

Bio

Hello! My name is Morgan, and I recently completed a Ph.D. in Physics at Stanford University. Throughout my eight years of research experience, I focused on experiments about how the structure of materials impacts their behavior; in particular, my doctoral research involved assembling two-dimensional materials on an atomic scale and observing the resulting electronic behavior. I also taught many courses covering topics such as classical mechanics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, quantum physics, and astronomy, and I am passionate about using my knowledge to help students flourish. I am also passionate about games in all of their forms, and am working independently to improve my skills as a programmer and game developer.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Quantum Computing vs Classical Computing

When reading about quantum computing, one might see headlines saying things like "quantum computers are 47 years faster than conventional supercomputers". What exactly do statements like this mean, and if this is true, why aren't we all using quantum computers for everything? Find out through a combination of programming and literature review! First, identify a problem that has a proposed solution with a quantum algorithm (e.g. integer factorization with Shor's algorithm). Solve this problem via classical computing in your programming language of choice, and analyze how long the problem takes to solve depending on the input (e.g. depending on how big the number being factored is). Compare this performance to the performance expected from a quantum computer implementing the known algorithm, and prepare a report based on the results.

Coding skills

MATLAB, Python, C++

Languages I know

Japanese, beginner

Teaching experience

I have served as a teaching assistant in various Physics courses at Stanford University totaling around two years of experience. This experience covers a broad range of subject material, such as classical mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, quantum physics, and astronomy. As a teaching assistant, I was responsible for preparing and reviewing questions to be covered during active learning sessions, facilitating said active learning sessions by guiding students via the Socratic method, writing and grading problem sets and exams, and delivering lectures. Additionally, I have served as a mentor to junior members of the lab in which I conducted my Ph.D. research, including one high school student and one undergraduate student.

Credentials

Work experience

Stanford University (2017 - 2023)
Graduate Researcher
University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) (2015 - 2017)
Undergraduate Researcher

Education

University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB)
BS Bachelor of Science (2017)
Physics
Stanford University
PhD Doctor of Philosophy (2023)
Physics

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