The UBC Blusson Quantum Matter Institute (UBC Blusson QMI) is thrilled to announce that Dr. Olivia Di Matteo and Dr. Jess McIver have joined its team of Principal Investigators.
Dr. Di Matteo specializes in quantum computing, focusing on compilation, circuits, and algorithms; tomography and characterization; open-source quantum software; and education. As a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Quantum Software and Algorithms, she leads a team developing innovative software that enables researchers and practitioners to write and run algorithms on quantum computers.
Her team is designing methods to optimize and debug quantum programs, simulate physical systems, and to translate algorithms for experimental quantum devices being built by colleagues at UBC. These advancements aim to enable robust quantum algorithms capable of addressing complex problems across various domains, laying the groundwork for the next generation of quantum technology.
Dr. Di Matteo joined UBC’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as an Assistant Professor in January 2022. She earned her PhD in Physics (Quantum Information) from the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing in 2019. Following her doctoral work, Dr. Di Matteo joined TRIUMF as a Science Associate working on quantum information and later worked as a quantum computing educator and researcher at the Toronto-based quantum computing company Xanadu.
Dr. Jess McIver is an Associate Professor at UBC’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Gravitational Wave Astrophysics and currently serves as the Deputy Spokesperson of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. Dr. McIver’s research explores the hidden Universe with gravitational waves, including black holes and neutron stars, with current ground-based detectors LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA, and future space-based detector LISA.
Her group plays a crucial role in gravitational wave science, contributing to searches for signals from spinning neutron stars and characterizing gravitational wave sources like merging black holes and neutron stars. They also develop innovative techniques for multi-messenger astrophysics, using machine learning methods to enable rapid, accurate validation of candidate gravitational wave events.
Dr. McIver has played a key role in advancing the performance of gravitational wave detectors, leading recent efforts in noise characterization and detector calibration. Her contributions have enabled landmark discoveries, including the Nobel-prize-winning first detection of gravitational waves from the merger of two black holes (GW150914) and the first multi-messenger detection of gravitational waves in concert with light from the merger of two neutron stars (GW170817). Her team’s work supports the current LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run, which has added over 100 new gravitational wave candidates to the previous 90 detections reported from previous observing runs.
As part of UBC’s LIGO effort, a team of UBC Blusson QMI researchers led by Dr. McIver is working towards improving the mirror coatings for future gravitational wave detector upgrades. UBC Blusson QMI Investigators Joerg Rottler, Jeff Young, and Ke Zou have combined their expertise in modelling, thin-film deposition, and characterization to enable a cycle of simulation, fabrication, and measurement of candidate thin-film materials with the potential to develop new materials that would allow gravitational-wave detectors to increase their reach into deep space, allowing researchers to conduct new tests of cosmology and general relativity.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Di Matteo and Dr. McIver to UBC QMI. Their innovative research and leadership promise to shape the future of quantum technologies and astrophysics, further enhancing UBC’s position as a global hub for groundbreaking scientific discovery.
