Stony Brook's Quantum Frontiers

Jennifer Cano

Jennifer Cano is an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Arts and Sciences, and  a visiting scholar at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Quantum Physics. Cano received her PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is a theoretical physicist whose research focuses on the emergent properties of quantum materials, specifically, topological phases of matter. Cano developed the theory of topological quantum chemistry, which combines group theory, topology and chemistry, to predict new topological materials.

P. Scott Carney

Scott Carney joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences as chair and professor in Fall, 2025. He is a theorist with research interests in the interaction of light and matter on the atomic scale, and the translation of fundamental physics into new technologies. His work is used in nanotechnologies, medical imaging, and chemical classification from single and multi-photon molecular interactions.

Hyeongrak "Chuck" Choi

Hyeongrak "Chuck" Choi is an assistant professor in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He received his PhD in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2021, following an MS from MIT (2017) and a BS in electrical and computer engineering from Seoul National University (2014). He was a Claude E. Shannon Fellow and Samsung Scholar and continued at MIT as a postdoctoral associate before joining Stony Brook University as an assistant professor in 2024. His research focuses on quantum sensing, networking, computing and photonics.

Eden Figueroa

Eden Figueroa is the director of the Stony Brook Center for Distributed Quantum Processing and a Presidential Innovation Endowed Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Physics and Astronomy. Upon receiving his PhD, Figueroa joined the Quantum Dynamics Group at the Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik in Garching, Germany where he worked in implementation of quantum networks utilizing single-atoms trapped in high-finesse optical cavities. As leader of the Quantum Information Technology group at Stony Brook University, he has developed scalable room temperature quantum memories and entanglement sources, aiming to construct the first working prototype of a quantum repeater network. Figueroa holds a joint appointment with the Instrumentation Division and the Computer Science Initiative at Brookhaven National Laboratories. 

Himanshu Gupta

Himanshu Gupta is a professor of Computer Science at Stony Brook University's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, with current research interests in quantum networking and computing. He graduated with a B.Tech in computer science and engineering from IIT Bombay, and MS and PhD in computer science from Stanford University, His past research interests include database systems, wireless networks, and free space optical networks.

Angela Kelly

Angela Kelly, is a professor of Physics and Science Education in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Physics and Astronomy. Kelly’s roles include teaching and advising students in the PhD Program in STEM Education, directing the MAT Physics Program, and teaching undergraduate physics. Her research interests include pre-college and university quantum, physical science, and engineering education; reformed STEM teaching practices; sociocognitive influences on STEM access and participation; STEM curricular integration; and science teacher recruitment and retention.