Event
MSE Seminar: Graduate Students, UMD
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
3:30 p.m.
Room 2110 Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Building
Sherri Tatum
301-405-1935
statum12@umd.edu
Student presentation #1 by Felix Timothy Adams: "Quantum kernel machine learning methods for accelerating materials discovery."
Abstract: In materials science, we’re interested in exploring a large number of materials as fast as possible by only performing the most informative computations and experiments. In the field of quantum machine learning, kernel machine learning models using quantum kernel functions have been shown to require less training data for some specific datasets. In this work, we test if Gaussian process-based active learning can predict a materials phase map using fewer x-ray diffraction measurements when augmented with a kernel calculated on a quantum computer. We calculate a quantum kernel using both classical simulation and IonQ’s Aria trapped ion quantum computer. Our results highlight the promising potential of quantum kernel machine learning methods for accelerating materials discovery, and support more research at the intersection of materials science and quantum machine learning.
Bio: I'm a fourth year PhD student working with professors Yifei Mo and Ichiro Takeuchi. I study the application of scientific computing and machine learning to materials science.
Student presentation #2 by Joseph Falvo: "Growth and characterization of thin-film A15 Nb-Al intermetallics for superconducting quantum electronics"
Abstract: As superconducting qubit technology progresses, there is an increasing demand for materials with high critical temperatures and critical magnetic fields to allow for devices to be more robust against external excitations. A15 intermetallic compounds, a family of superconductors explored in the 1950’s through the 1970’s, provide one potential avenue to such high critical values. In this work, we synthesize Nb3Al, one of many A15 compounds, as a thin film by co-sputtering from elemental targets, followed by a rapid thermal annealing procedure. We confirm realization of the desired ratio and crystal structure within our films by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and x-ray diffractometry, respectively. For films with thickness close to 200 nm, we achieve thin films with Tc greater than 16 Kelvin and zero-temperature critical fields greater than 30 T. Additionally, we report single-photon microwave quality factors of 190k and estimates for kinetic inductance similar to NbN at comparable thickness.
Bio: Joseph Falvo graduated from Alfred University in 2023 with a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering. Throughout his undergraduate studies, Joseph worked with physicists at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, NY to enhance the field of quantum computing by interfacing disparate qubit types, including superconducting qubits and trapped ions. Since August of 2024, Joseph has worked under Dr. Kasra Sardashti at UMD and the Laboratory for Physical Sciences to investigate alternative materials for creation of superconducting quantum circuits and qubit devices.
