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Sophia Economou

Stephanie J. Blackmon Headshot

Current University
Virginia Tech

Research Area

Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics

Research Summary

Economou’s current research interests include quantum computing with various types of qubits, including spin-based, superconducting, and photon. She is also interested in photonic entanglement in quantum networks, as well as quantum simulation algorithms for solving many-body problems on quantum devices.

Background

Economou is a Physics professor  and Hassinger Senior Fellow of Physics. 

She’s vice chair of the American Physical Society's (APS) Division of Quantum Information (DQI) for 2022, and also directs the Virginia Tech Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering (VTQ).

Economou spent several years at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., first as a National Research Council (NRC) postdoc and later as a staff researcher.

Economou organizes a week-long summer school for high-school students, which she initiated in 2021 as part of C2QA (Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage) outreach activities, with the participation of members from other C2QA groups.

Alma Mater

Economou earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego.