Quantum Technologies for Engineering
Current Members
We're a diverse and fun-loving group of researchers with a passion for learning and discovering new things in and outside of lab. Find out more about us below or look through our vacancies if you're thinking of joining us!
Victor Leong Xu Heng, PhD
Deputy Head of Department
Dr. Victor Leong studied Natural Sciences (Physics) at the University of Cambridge. He obtained his PhD from the National University of Singapore, working on single atom - single photon interactions at the Centre for Quantum Technologies. He has since worked in A*STAR, focusing on quantum photonics and quantum sensing technologies. He is a recipient of the A*STAR National Science Scholarship and the A*STAR Graduate Scholarship. He is fond of music (but is rubbish at making any), and is convinced that cat videos are the true purpose of the Internet.
Dmitry Kalashnikov, PhD
Scientist
Dr. Dmitry Kalashnikov received his Master and Ph.D. degrees in 2006 and 2009, respectively, from Kazan (Volga region) Federal University (former Kazan State University), Russian Federation. Since 2009 he has been working in A*STAR as research scientist in Data Storage Institute (2009) and Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (2018). His areas of research are quantum optics and photonics, single photon emitters, and integrated optics. Currently he is focused on the interfacing of single photon emitters from 2D materials with photonic structures on chip. His hobbies are reading history and science-fiction books, playing football, cooking nice food, and brewing beer.
Anna Paterova, PhD
Scientist
Dr. Anna Paterova received her undergraduate degree in 2014 from Lomonosov Moscow State University. She later moved to Singapore to start a PhD with the support of the SIPGA A*STAR and SINGA A*STAR scholarships. From 2014 to 2018 Anna was doing joint PhD research related to quantum optics and interferometry in Data Storage Institute, A*STAR and Nanyang Technological University. She successfully defended her PhD degree in 2018 at Nanyang Technological University on the topic “IR metrology using visible light”. Since receiving her PhD, Anna has been a research scientist in the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering at A*STAR. Currently, her research interests focus on the field of quantum interferometry and its applications. Beside her research she loves playing volleyball and reading books in her spare time.
Junyi Lee, PhD
Scientist
Dr. Junyi Lee received his B.A. in physics from the University of Chicago in 2012 and went on to pursue his Ph.D. in physics at Princeton University under the tutelage of Professor Michael Romalis. During his time at Princeton, Junyi worked on a project he affectionately named the Spin-Mass Interaction Limiting Experiment (SMILE), which improved the best laboratory limits of the (hypothetical) axion’s anomalous coupling to nucleons by an order of magnitude over two decades of axion mass range using a K-3He co-magnetometer and two slabs of 250 kg Pb weights. Junyi is currently interested in applying spin-squeezing techniques to improve the sensitivity per unit volume of scalar atomic magnetometers operating in geomagnetic fields, and he is also separately leading an effort to harness quantum computing for the optimization of non-linear optical elements. In his spare time, Junyi enjoys being out in the mountains hiking, camping, or skiing – assuming he gets there without misplacing his car keys first!
Aravind Padath Anthur, PhD
Scientist
Dr. Aravind P. Anthur obtained his PhD from IIT Madras, India in the year 2014 in the field of nonlinear optics and optical communication. He then worked in the optical communication industry in India before moving to Dublin, Ireland for post-doctoral research studies in the area of high speed optical communication systems based on optical comb sources and novel lasers. He later joined A*STAR to work on integrated non-linear optics that aims to make highly efficient non-linear devices for various applications like sensing, quantum optics and quantum communication.
Cleaven Chia, PhD
Scientist
Dr. Cleaven Chia graduated with a BSc in Physics with Theoretical Physics from Imperial College London in 2014, and a PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University in 2021. During his PhD, he worked under the supervision of Prof. Marko Lončar to develop a coherent spin-phonon interface between localized phonon modes in phononic crystals and spins within silicon vacancy centres in diamond. Cleaven's current research interests lie in developing hybrid quantum systems and quantum sensors that interface photons, phonons, and spins. He also has experience with Lumerical FDTD and COMSOL simulations, diamond nanofabrication, and fibre optical characterization. Outside of research, Cleaven follows Formula 1 and football (supporting Manchester United FC), and is also a fan of the band Muse.
Di Zhu, PhD
Scientist
Dr. Di Zhu received his Ph.D. (2019) and M.Sc. (2017) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and B.Eng. (2013) from Nanyang Technological University, all in Electrical Engineering. From 2019 to 2021, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. His Ph.D. thesis with Prof. Karl Berggren focused on superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, and postdoc research with Prof. Marko Lončar centered around thin-film lithium niobate photonics. He was a recipient of Harvard Quantum Initiative Postdoctoral Fellowship, A*STAR National Science Scholarship, and MIT Jin-Au Kong thesis award. His current research interests include integrated quantum photonics, applied superconductivity, and nanoscale electromagnetics. Outside of research, Di enjoys reading and hiking.
Muhd Danial, BSc
Specialist
Danial received his B.Sc (2017) from Nanyang Technological University in Applied Physics. He did his bachelor’s thesis and internship at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, where he worked on technical studies of high field magnets for next generation particle accelerators. He joined the Institute of Bioengineering and Bio-imaging (IBB), A*STAR in 2019 where he worked on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) research applications in the field of Neuroscience. He is currently a research specialist at QTE working on atomic magnetometers. His research interests include applied superconductivity and atomic magnetometry. He is convinced that there is a soundtrack to every activity and listens to too much music. He also enjoys watching football but enjoys playing it more.
Thomas Produit, PhD
Scientist
Dr. Thomas Produit received his Bachelor (2015) and Master degree (2017) from ETH Zürich, Switzerland. He later moved to the University of Geneva (Switzerland) to do his PhD in the framework of the European project "Laser Lightning Rod". The aim of this project was to use a high average and high peak power ultrashort laser to guide and/or trigger natural lightning discharges. In 2022, he moved to Singapore now works as a research scientist at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR. His current research interests focus on the field of quantum interferometry and its applications. Beside his research Thomas loves playing Tchoukball and travelling the world.
Tao Wang, PhD
Scientist
Dr. Tao Wang received his Ph.D. and B.Sc. from Beihang University where he worked on ultrahigh sensitivity spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) magnetometry for his graduate studies. From 2016 to 2019, he was a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Dmitry Budker at UC Berkeley. His research at UC Berkeley focused on optical magnetometry and its applications in dark matter detection, developing a customized atomic magnetometer for a NASA project, and beyond-standard-quantum-limit precessing ferromagnetic magnetometers and gyroscopes. From 2019 to 2022, he was a postdoctoral research associate with Prof. Michael Romalis at Princeton University where he worked on developing a precise vector geomagnetic atomic magnetometer for a DARPA project. He joined A*STAR in Mar. 2022 and his current research interests include: 1) Optical magnetometry, and its applications in biomedical imaging, magnetic anomaly detection, and fundamental physics, etc., 2) Precessing ferromagnetic quantum sensors. In his spare time, he likes learning about world religious history, ancient Chinese history, and playing table tennis.
Aswin Alexander, PhD
Scientist
Dr. Aswin Alexander graduated with a Bachelor of Technology degree in Engineering Physics from the National Institute of Technology Calicut, India. He completed his PhD in 2021 from the National University of Singapore under the supervision of Prof. Ji Wei. His PhD thesis focused on nonlinear optical characterization of metal-organic hybrid microcrystals. His current research interests include fabrication and characterization of nonlinear optical devices for quantum metrology. In his spare time, he enjoys playing almost any outdoor sport, especially cricket and badminton. He also tries to find time for watching movies, reading, and exploring new places.
Past Members
Leonid Krivitsky, PhD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Leonid Krivitsky obtained his MSc (cum laude) in 2003 from the department of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University. He obtained his PhD in 2005 from the same institution. In 2005-2008 he held postdoctoral positions at National Metrology Institute (Turin, Italy), Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (Erlangen, Germany), and Technical University of Denmark (Lyngby, Denmark). He is the recipient of several prestigious fellowships, including the Alexander Von Humboldt fellowship, Hans Christian Oersted fellowship, and an A-STAR Investigatorship. He was leading the Quantum Technologies for Engineering program at the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research. His scientific interests include quantum metrology and sensing, and quantum information processing.
Haizhong Zhang, PhD
Scientist
Yiding Lin, PhD
Scientist
Dr. Yiding Lin received his Ph.D. (2019), M.Eng. (2015), and B.Eng. (Hons, 2011), all from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. In 2018, he was a visiting student in the Electronic Materials Research Group (Prof. Lionel C. Kimerling & Dr. Jurgen Michel) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2019, he was interviewed by Optica (formerly OSA) for his Ph.D. research on strained Ge photodetectors. From 2019-2021, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Joyce Poon at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics (Halle (Saale), Germany). He joined A*STAR in Dec 2021 for the research and development of visible-light integrated single photon detectors and systems. His current research interests lie in integrated photonics at visible, near- and short-wave-infrared wavelengths, especially integrated group-IV (Si, Ge(Sn)) photodetectors. He was a recipient of SMART Graduate Fellowship (Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology) and was one of the valedictorians of NTU Convocation 2020. In his spare time, he likes playing soccer, travelling, reading, and spending time with family.
Hongzhi Yang, PhD
Senior Specialist
Dr. Yang Hongzhi received his master's degree in laser optics from Shandong University, China in 2007. In 2012, he received his PhD degree in nonlinear optics from the physics department of the National University of Singapore. His current research interests include optical measurement and instrumentation, IR imaging and spectroscopy. During his leisure time, Hongzhi enjoys reading, watching movies, listening to music, and travelling.
Prithvi Gundlapalli, Bsc
Specialist
Mr. Prithvi Gundlapalli graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Physics with a Specialisation in Quantum Technologies from the National University of Singapore in 2020 and plans to start his PhD in 2022. He has done various research attachments and his bachelor's thesis at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR, where he worked on quantum sensing with nitrogen vacancy centers in diamonds. He is currently a research specialist at the Institute where he is working on chip-based single photon detectors. His research interests are mainly in quantum sensing and in developing its practical applications. His hobbies include DJing, cycling, and playing with the numerous stray cats around his area, as well as convincing people that cats are better than dogs.
Desmond Toa Zi Siang, PhD
Deputy Head of Department
Dr. Desmond Toa completed his B.A. in Physics from UC Berkeley and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton University in 2011 and 2019 respectively. At Princeton, his main research revolves around vibronic quantum coherences in algal light-harvesting complexes using ultrafast two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy and quantum chemical simulations under Prof. Gregory Scholes’ supervision. His current research interest involves the following two topics: (1) spontaneous parametric down-conversion from aperiodically-poled nonlinear crystals and (2) expanding end-user applications in the chemical and biomedical industries for our quantum hyperspectral microscopes. He enjoys meditating, reading random pieces of knowledge, especially those pertaining to CPU design, and Chinese novels.