Openings
The Computing and Mathematical Sciences (CMS) Department at Caltech invites applications for one Postdoctoral Scholar position under the supervision of Professor Lin Lin. The start date is 7/1/2027 or earlier. The position will focus on the development and analysis of quantum algorithms, with particular emphasis on the following areas:
- Open quantum systems
- Experimentally realizable quantum advantage
- Interplay between classical and quantum statistical physics
- Non-Markovian dynamics
Given the highly interdisciplinary nature of the work, we welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds with PhDs in broadly related fields. The successful candidate should demonstrate the ability to learn new tools independently and efficiently. A strong publication record in quantum algorithms is highly desirable.
All applications should be submitted online. Candidates should prepare and upload the following documents through the application portal:
https://www.cms.caltech.edu/about/positions/computational-mathematics-x
If you would like to be considered for the IQIM Fellowship, please note that this does require a separate application and you should mention my name in your application.
All applications must be submitted through the websites listed above. Please do not send application materials directly to me via email.
Graduate students:
All graduate applications must be applied through the Computing + Mathematical Sciences (CMS) Department's application portal. Please do not send application materials directly to me via email. I apologize for being unable to respond to emails regarding potential PhD supervision inquiries from students who have not yet been admitted to Caltech. I typically mentor one to two PhD students each year, on subjects broadly related to computational quantum many-body problems (which includes quantum computation). CMS is a very interdisciplinary program and your Bachelor's degree does not need to be in Mathematics.
Internship:
There are currently no internship positions available.
Current group members
| Name | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Joao Basso | PhD student (co-mentored with Nikhil Srivastava) | |
| Zherui Chen | PhD student | |
| Ethan Epperly | Miller Postdoctoral Fellow | |
| Sergio Escobar | PhD student | |
| Gil Goldshlager | PhD student | |
| Haoen Li | PhD student | |
| Jiaqing Jiang | Simons Quantum postdoctoral scholar (co-mentored with Umesh Vazirani) |
|
| Juan Diego Fernandez Pottecher | PhD student (Chemistry, co-mentored with Martin Head-Gordon) |
|
| Stephen Quinton | PhD student (Chemistry, co-mentored with Martin Head-Gordon) |
|
| Michael Ragone | Morrey Assistant Professor | |
| Rahul Sarkar | Postdoctoral scholar | |
| Avijit Shee | Postdoctoral scholar (Chemistry, co-mentored with Martin Head-Gordon and Birgitta Whaley) |
|
| Yilun Yang | Postdoctoral scholar | |
| Xiehang Yu | Postdoctoral scholar |
Gone but not forgotten
| Name | Then | After/Now |
|---|---|---|
| Nilin Abrahamsen | Simons Quantum postdoctoral scholar, (2021--2024) (co-mentored with Umesh Vazirani) |
Voleon |
| Dong An | PhD student (Graduated in 2021) | Hartree postdoctoral fellow, U Maryland / Assistant Professor, Peking University (Mathematics, BICMR) |
| Amartya Banerjee | Postdoctoral scholar (2015-2018, co-mentored with Chao Yang) |
Assistant Professor, UCLA (Materials Science) |
| Mo Chen | Undergraduate student (2018-2019) | PhD student, MIT |
| Anil Damle | NSF postdoctoral scholar, (2016-2017) | Assistant Professor Cornell University (Computer Science) |
| Zhiyan Ding | Morrey Assistant Professor | Assistant Professor, U Michigan (Mathematics) |
| Yulong Dong | PhD student (Graduated in 2023) (co-mentored with Birgitta Whaley) |
Bytedance / Assistant Professor, U Michigan (ECE and Mathematics) |
| Di Fang | Morrey Assistant Professor (2019-2022) Simons Quantum postdoctoral scholar (2022-2023) (co-mentored with Umesh Vazirani) |
Assistant Professor, Duke University (Mathematics) |
| Fabian Faulstich | Postdoctoral scholar (2020-2023) | Assistant Professor Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) (Applied Mathematics) |
| Zhen Huang | PhD student (Graduated in 2026) | Postdoctoral scholar, Flatiron Institute |
| Kevin Stubbs | Postdoctoral scholar (2022--2026) | Research scholar, University of Minnesota |
| Hans Gundlach | Undergraduate student (2020-2021) | Master student, Cambridge |
| Jiang Hu | Postdoctoral scholar | Assistant Professor, Tsinghua U (Mathematics) |
| Wei Hu | Postdoctoral scholar (2014-2017, co-mentored with Chao Yang) |
Professor University of Science and Technology of China (Chemistry) |
| Weile Jia | Postdoctoral scholar (2016-2020) | Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Computer Science) |
| Jason Kaye | Undergraduate student (2013-2014, co-mentored with Chao Yang) |
PhD student, Courant Institute/ Research Scientist, Flatiron Institute |
| Raehyun Kim | PhD student (Graduated in 2025) | Ansys |
| Paul Kottering | Undergraduate student (2020-2021) | Master student, Courant Institute |
| James Larsen | DOE CSGF Fellow Internship (2025 Summer) | |
| Jiaqi Leng | (2024-2026)Simons Quantum postdoctoral scholar (co-mentored with Umesh Vazirani) |
Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech (Computer Science) |
| Choco Tianyue Li | Undergraduate student (2021-2022) | PhD student, U Michigan |
| Jeffmin Lin | PhD student (Graduated in 2021) | Calico |
| Michael Lindsey | PhD student (Graduated in 2019) | NSF postdoctoral scholar, Courant Institute / Assistant Professor, UC Berkeley (Mathematics) |
| Jin-Peng Liu | Simons Quantum postdoctoral scholar (2022-2023) (co-mentored with Umesh Vazirani) |
Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT / Assistant Professor, Tsinghua University (Mathematics, YMSC) |
| Xiang Meng | Undergraduate student (2019 Fall) | PhD student, MIT |
| Subhayan Roy Moulik | Postdoctoral scholar (2021-2023) | Research Fellow, Cambridge University |
| Hongkang Ni | Undergraduate student (2021 Summer) | PhD student, Stanford |
| Jeffrey Ren | Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) (2025 Summer) | |
| Xun Tang | Undergraduate student (2018-2019) | PhD student, Stanford |
| Yu Tong | PhD student (Graduated in 2022) | IQIM postdoctoral fellow, Caltech / Assistant Professor, Duke University (Mathematics and ECE) |
| Pranav Vaidhyanathan | Undergraduate student (2020-2021) | PhD student, Oxford |
| Jiasu Wang | PhD student (Graduated 2024) | Vatic Labs |
| Hamlin Wu | Undergraduate student (2023-2024) (Chemistry, co-mentored with Martin Head-Gordon) |
PhD student, Harvard |
| Xiaojie Wu | Postdoctoral scholar (2018-2020) | Amobee |
| Jin Xie | Undergraduate student, (2015 Summer) | PhD student, Stanford |
| Xin Xing | Postdoctoral scholar (2020-2023) | Apple |
| Ze Xu | PhD student (Graduated in 2019) | Two Sigma |
| Leonardo Zepeda-Nunez | Postdoctoral scholar, (2017-2019) | Assistant Professor University of Wisconsin, Madison (Mathematics) / Google |
| Jiahao Yao | PhD student (Graduated in 2023) | Citadel |
| Xinzhao Wang | Visiting student (2024-2025, Computer Science, Peking University) | |
| Jiefu Zhang | PhD student (Graduated in 2021) | |
| Hongli Zhao | Undergraduate student, (2020 Summer) | PhD student, U Chicago |
| Tiangang Zhou | Undergraduate student, (2019 Summer) | PhD student, Tsinghua University |
| Yuanran Zhu | Postdoctoral scholar (LBNL, co-mentored with Chao Yang) |
Research Scientist, LBNL |
| Ruizhe Zhang | Simons Quantum postdoctoral scholar (co-mentored with Umesh Vazirani) |
Assistant Professor (Computer Science) |
| Qinyi Zhu | PhD student (Graduated in 2023) |