A Journey Through Physics

Akers’ journey into physics started at a young age.

“I grew up liking math and science and puzzles,” he says.

His passion for problem-solving naturally led him toward physics. During high school, Akers stumbled upon popular physics books by Sean Carroll and lectures by Steve Pollack, a professor of physics at CU Boulder. These resources fueled his interest in theoretical physics, steering him toward an academic career.

“I started in college as a physics major with academia as my goal,” Akers recalls.

Akers’ academic journey took him from Texas A&M University, where he explored various research areas, to the University of California at Berkeley for graduate school. Following his time at Berkeley, he pursued postdoctoral positions at MIT and the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. During these experiences, Akers refined his research focus, ultimately moving toward studying quantum gravity.

Current Research and Projects

Akers’ research at CU Boulder revolves around quantum gravity and the holographic principle. This theory suggests gravitational phenomena in our universe can be described by a quantum system in a lower-dimensional space that doesn’t include gravity.

As Akers explains: “There’s a completely different formulation of gravity that doesn’t involve gravity at all... this is sort of an emergent description of that other quantum system.”

In collaboration with colleagues such as Andrew Lucas and others at CU Boulder, Akers is working on simplifying complex problems in quantum gravity by examining them in fewer dimensions.

“We live in 3 plus 1 dimensions—three dimensions of space and one of time. But it turns out you can mathematically formulate an interesting theory of gravity in just one spatial dimension with one time dimension,” he adds.

This approach makes the equations governing quantum gravity more manageable while still preserving essential physics that can be used to build a deeper understanding of the fundamental nature of our universe.

Akers’ work is further supported by a $3 million grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation, which funds a collaboration among CU Boulder researchers to investigate how quantum gravity can be simulated using atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) systems. This effort could provide new insights into quantum emergent spacetime, potentially solving long-standing questions in physics.

Since arriving at CU Boulder, Akers has been impressed by the vibrant academic community.

“The people here are some of the best in the world at what they do,” he says, emphasizing the quality of his colleagues in the quantum group. “I get to talk about various aspects of quantum physics with some of the leading experts in AMO physics.”

In addition to the academic atmosphere, Akers enjoys the location and outdoor activities that Boulder offers. He’s looking forward to taking advantage of the city’s many hiking trails and outdoor adventures. “There’s so much to do, I can’t wait to explore,” he adds.

Off

Off

Rahul Nandkishore

Ever wonder why birds flock together? Or how molecules are organized in water compared to ice? Or if there are phases of matter besides the familiar solid, liquid and gas? These examples of emergent phenomena are found in everyday life, and they form the basis of a large subfield in physics called condensed matter physics.

Condensed matter is by some measures the largest subfield of physics, but it is not well-known outside of physics. Associate Professor Rahul Nandkishore remarked “when people think of physics, they think of string theory or large colliders, but there are large and fascinating areas of physics that are completely unknown to the public.” Nandkishore found himself eager to popularize the field and share what makes condensed matter so fascinating.

To make the subject more accessible, Nandkishore recently developed a Coursera course, “.” The course communicates the compelling nature of condensed matter physics at a level intended for the public. In the course, Nandkishore presents topics including emergent phenomena, phases of matter, symmetries, energy and entropy, and he demonstrates where these concepts show up in everyday life. 

Designed for the layperson, the course does not assume any prior knowledge of calculus or quantum mechanics. Nandkishore hopes people participate in the course at whatever level is comfortable for them. Ready to learn more about the study of complexity in systems? Join !

Off

Off

Professor Gao is a quantum information theorist, specializing in finding quantum computational advantages. Gao’s research explores the power and limitations of near-term quantum devices, quantum machine learning, and quantum optimization algorithms. He also investigates quantum error correction and quantum-inspired approaches to design classical algorithms.

Professor Gao received his PhD in Physics from Tsinghua University in 2018 in Beijing under the mentorship of Luming Duan. He was a Simons Visiting Scholar at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing. Prior to joining CU Boulder, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University in the Max-Planck Harvard Research Center for Quantum Optics.

Professor Gao is excited about joining CU Boulder and commented, “To achieve practical quantum advantage requires intense effort from both theory and experiment, and interplay among different areas across physics, computer science and math. As a theorist, I am eager to leverage the highly collaborative environment in CU Physics and JILA, where I can interact closely with world-class quantum experimentalists and other quantum theorists. I am excited to join CU as it provides an opportunity to foster interdisciplinary education, bridging the gap between physics and other disciplines, and facilitating stronger connections between theoretical and experimental research.”

Welcome, Professor Gao!

Off

Professor Shi received his PhD in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University in 2018. He received the Marshall N. Rosenbluth Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award from the American Physical Society in 2020. He was awarded a prestigious Lawrence Postdoctoral Fellowship, and prior to joining CU Boulder Physics, he was a Research Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

When asked why he was excited to join CU Boulder Physics, Professor Shi said “Doing research at CU Physics gives me the opportunity to not only work with leading plasma physicists, but also to interact closely with top quantum physicists. I enjoy stimulating discussions and supportive colleagues, and I think CU Physics has them both. I’m excited to join CU also because of its commitment to word-class physics education, which I believe is important for training the next-generation STEM workforce as well as nurturing our future citizens.”

Welcome, Professor Shi!

Off

The Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator from Venture Partners at CU Boulder has announced the first cohort of entrepreneurs selected to launch companies from CU Boulder research inventions.

CU Boulder Physics Professor and JILA Fellow Jun Ye developed a breathalyzer capable of detecting molecules in breath or air samples which will be brought to market by entrepreneur Eva Yao. CU Boulder Physics alumna Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan (EngrPhys’15, MS’15) was selected as the entrepreneur to lead PrecisionTerra which will bring to market a solution that improves signal strength of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers in urban environments.

Learn more about the first cohort of entrepreneurs and inventions from the Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator. The innovative program was also recently featured in the .

Off

Off

Off

Off