Quantum science is one of immediately’s most talked-about fields, full of buzz and seemingly limitless potential to reshape how we perceive the world — and what know-how can obtain. Including subsets like quantum info science and quantum mechanics, the discipline is a topic extra individuals have heard of than can clarify, usually surrounded by daring claims, from floating, earthquake-proof cities to creating time journey potential.
But for Anastasia Pipi, the focus stays grounded in actual science fairly than in science fiction. Growing up in Cyprus, Pipi was all the time fascinated by physics. But explaining her need to make it a profession was typically a problem.
“Physics didn’t seem like a common career path among the people I knew; many saw it as limiting,” she mentioned. “But I was naturally drawn to it — it just made sense to me. I knew that pursuing it could open many more doors.”
Excelling in science all through highschool, Pipi was captivated by her first physics class, the place her trainer kindled her curiosity by opening every chapter with deceptively easy questions — equivalent to how an object would transfer in the vacuum of area — inviting college students to motive from first rules earlier than they’d discovered the formal legal guidelines.
Intrigued by the problem of theorizing about the unknown and pushed by a love for math, she went on to review mathematical physics at the University of Edinburgh, the place she was first launched to quantum science.
Eager to innovate in a cutting-edge discipline, she traveled to the U.S. to affix UCLA’s master’s program in quantum science and technology, or MQST.
“I was excited that UCLA offered opportunities to explore not only theory, but also the computational and experimental sides,” Pipi mentioned. “It was a great way to learn how to apply my skills in practice — and it was incredibly motivating to see everyone here pushing boundaries at such an inspiring, accelerated pace.”
Roger Lee/UCLA
What is quantum science?
The energy of quantum, Pipi says, lies in its skill to revolutionize safe communication, providing unprecedented safety for delicate knowledge in an more and more digital world; to sort out complicated pharmaceutical challenges equivalent to customized drugs and focused drug design; and to discover basic questions in physics, from the nature of gravity to the thriller of darkish matter and past.
Still, she emphasizes that the foremost objective — each for her and her colleagues — is to resolve the sensible challenges that stand in the means of making quantum applied sciences really viable.
“When we think about the future of quantum, it’s easy to get swept up in the hype,” she mentioned. “But the real excitement lies in the tangible, transformative progress we’re making — even if it comes with big challenges.”
But what, precisely, is quantum?
“In a nutshell, quantum physics is our framework for understanding nature at the smallest scales,” Pipi mentioned. “While Newtonian physics helps us make sense of things like planetary motion or how a ball rolls across the floor, those laws break down when we look at microscopic particles. The behavior of something like an electron is probabilistic — instead of tracing a neat, predictable path, we can only calculate the likelihood of where it might be at any given time.”
Pipi’s scientific curiosity and drive to discover the potential of quantum applied sciences made her a pure match for UCLA’s MQST program.
“Anastasia was a standout member of our inaugural cohort and represents exactly the type of student our program was designed for,” mentioned Richard Ross, MQST program director. “She showed an impressive aptitude and curiosity for this interdisciplinary field and is well prepared to make her mark in it.”
Bringing analysis to life with Nvidia, Caltech and extra
Pipi’s time at UCLA was so rewarding that she stayed on after incomes her MQST diploma to pursue a doctorate in physics beneath the mentorship of Professor Prineha Narang, a pacesetter in bodily sciences and electrical and laptop engineering. With Narang’s steerage, Pipi is advancing analysis at the intersection of basic physics and rising know-how, creating quantum management strategies powered by synthetic intelligence in atomic, molecular and optical methods, in collaboration with scientists at Caltech and the know-how firm Nvidia.
As she seems to be past her commencement, Pipi is raring to deepen her work on creating computational instruments that may assist make quantum applied sciences extra sensible and scalable. In the meantime, she’s absolutely embraced life on and off campus, steadily constructing her worldwide profile as a researcher. In addition to presenting her work on quantum logic spectroscopy as a lead writer at the American Physical Society, she traveled to Denmark earlier this 12 months to attend the prestigious AI4Quantum: Accelerating Quantum Computing with AI convention, organized by the international well being care firm Novo Nordisk.
But Pipi’s pursuits prolong far outdoors the lab. A licensed open-water diver, she can be obsessed with ballet, piano and snow snowboarding. She sees creativity not as separate from science, however as a necessary half of it — a perspective that continues to form her method to analysis and life as she continues to discover new and thrilling horizons.
“Physics offers a unique outlet for creativity,” she mentioned. “Science is an art form where imagination can be just as important as logic.”
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