Quantum Chic: How UCSB is Styling the Next Era of Computing
By Kelli Luu | 06 Mar, 2025

The University of California, Santa Barbara is at the forefront of quantum physics, advancing science in ways we never have dreamt of

Imagine if you had a computer with the power of a million brains that could think about every solution to any problem—it would be like fabulously trying on every outfit combination in your closet all at the same time, without having to look at a pile of mess after making a decision. This is the same magic found in quantum computing and the University of California, Santa Barbara is in the process of bringing a sci-fi fantasy to life. 

The future of tech that is being invented right in front of our eyes has the potential to affect everything, and I really mean everything. From cracking ultra unbreakable codes to creating perfectly tailored skin care formulas to designing an algorithm that could match you with the love of your life—these are just tiny glimpses of what can be made possible with quantum computing. 

Just when you thought UCSB couldn’t get any cooler with their stunning oceanfront campus, it has actually become a prominent center of research for quantum computing, making it a hotspot, drawing in some of the most intelligent students in physics and engineering. 

The study of quantum computing at UCSB began in 2014, when professor John Martinis joined forces with Google to announce their production of a “new computer” with unthinkable qualities, raising eyebrows, of course. After breaking this news, UCSB was awarded a $25 million grant from the Department of Energy in order to habilitate one of the country’s first Quantum Foundries, which was finally established in 2019

Not only does the university have its own Quantum Foundry, but the campus is also home to Google’s Quantum AI team where geniuses are developing computers that will eventually do the impossible. What makes this better is the fact that so many members of the Google Quantum team and UCSB Quantum Foundry are young scholars who come from all different backgrounds—some even representing the Asian community. 

By October 2019, Google, in collaboration with UCSB’s Quantum Research Team, came to the light declaring quantum supremacy with a 54 qubit processor that they named Sycamore. Let me explain to you how insane this is. Sycamore is the equivalence of technology going from a Motorola flip phone to a working time machine. Google revealed that Sycamore was able to solve an overly complicated math problem in just 200 seconds, something that would have taken a top notch supercomputer 10,000 years to complete. 

You probably have to be Einstein smart to even get a chance to intern at Google’s Quantum AI team. During the summer of 2021, Aleksei Khindanov, a former UCSB student researcher, was able to score an internship with the Google Quantum team where he worked on fine-tuning the performance of Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices. Basically, Khindanov helped make the technology of quantum computers less glitchy and more reliable so they can complete their tasks without issues. 

In July 2024, to highlight the lengths of research UCSB’s Quantum team has conducted, assistant professors—Xiao Luo, Chenhao Jin, Vojtech Vlcek and Yang Yang—were each honored with a $75,000 Sloan Research Fellowship, which is appointed to entry-level scientists who have participated in groundbreaking scientific research.

While some of us struggle with assembling IKEA furniture, the Quantum team at UCSB are figuring out how they can stop quantum computers from second guessing their decisions as if it’s a friend group attempting to choose a restaurant to dine in. 

We have these thoughts in our head of all the mind-blowing heights that quantum computers can reach, but bringing the fantasy back down to reality, they’re still a hot mess. This technology is chaotic. The qubits that quantum computers rely on are madly sensitive and that means even the smallest of vibrations can mess up an entire calculation. 

Right now, the goal is to scale up on qubits, but the more you add, the more difficult they will be to control. That’s where UCSB’s Quantum Foundry comes to play an important role in forming new materials that can stabilize quantum computers before they become too forceful. 

Even though quantum computing is still in the midst of a transformation, UCSB’s Quantum Foundry has the brain power to conduct a full makeover. Every breakthrough brings us one step closer to near perfect technology—meaning one step closer to that flawless and efficient way to choose an outfit in the morning. Until the time comes, we will let the masterminds at UCSB do the heavy lifting so we can sit back and watch quantum computers become the greatest problem solvers that we’ve ever seen.