I am a researcher in the Dept of Applied Maths and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) at the University of Cambridge and member of the Centre for Quantum Computing at the University of Cambridge. I also maintain local links to the Engineering Department and the Microelectronics Research Centre (MRC) at the Cambridge University, and Hitachi Cambridge Laboratories and many universities abroad.
I am currently an Advanced Research Fellow of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and have held positions as a Marie Curie (Senior Research) Fellow at the University of Kuopio in Finland as part of an EU-funded knowledge transfer programme, as well as a Research Fellow of the Cambridge-MIT Institute, now known as the Cambridge-MIT Partnership before, where I was also a coordinator for the Quantum Technologies Group.
Research: My research to date has been mainly in the area of quantum physics, in particular on characterization, modelling and control of quantum systems, with a strong emphasis on applications ranging from quantum chemistry to quantum computing. More generally, I am interested in computational physics and scientific computing. Other interests I have unfortunately not have much time to pursue recently include mathematical biology, especially computational neurobiology, complex dynamics and fractals.
Teaching: In addition to supervising numerous undergraduate and PhD students, I am also teaching a course on Control of Quantum Systems, which usually runs during Lent term (see teaching website for details). I have also done quite a bit of teaching in mathematics and chemistry, mostly as a Teaching Fellow (primary instructor) in the Mathematics Department, and to a lesser extent as a Teaching Assistant in the Chemistry Department, at the University of Oregon a couple of years ago.
Outreach: I am very passionate about science, which helps us understand the universe we live in, and mathematics, as the language of science, and I do my best to try and communicate this to others, whether they be colleagues, students or members of the public. As a such I have been involved in various outreach activities, from organizing Open Day exhibits to creating web-based educational materials. I am also a contributor to our recent quantum wiki project quantiki.
Events: I've organized several workshops and summer schools, including a Summer School on Quantum Information Theory and Technology together with Myungshik Kim of Queen's University Belfast in 2005, workshops on Quantum Control (2001), Industry in the Quantum Age and Quantum Information Technology Standards and a Symposium on Quantum Technologies in 2006 among others.
I've given presentations at over 30 workshops, conferences and symposia. In 2009 I will be participating in workshops and special programmes related to quantum control at the Institute of Mathematics & Applications at the University of Minnesota, the Bernoulli Institute in Lausanne and the Kavli Institute in Santa Barbara. Recently, I have also participated at programmes at Banff International Research Station and elsewhere.