Mind and Matter
AI and Quantum

Per Berglund is a professor and former chair of the department of physics and astronomy at UNH. After completing his undergraduate degree at Lund University in Sweden, he received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics at the University of Texas, Austin, and has held (visiting) research positions at CERN and the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, among others. Berglund’s research focuses on understanding the universe at its most fundamental level. He is particularly interested in the mathematical properties of the extra dimensions predicted by string theory, a leading candidate for a unified quantum theory of nature. Recently, Berglund and his students have used physics-informed machine learning techniques, allowing calculations of the extra-dimensional geometry, which may lead to an improved explanation of the interactions among the elementary particles. He is a passionate runner and wishes there were more time to go for long bike rides.

Liang Fu is interested in novel topological phases of matter and their experimental realizations. He works on the theory of topological insulators and topological superconductors, with a focus on predicting and proposing their material realizations and experimental signatures. He is also interested in potential applications of topological materials, ranging from tunable electronics and spintronics, to quantum computation. The APS Division of Condensed Matter Physics elected Fu “for pioneering contributions to the theory of topological quantum materials.”

Brenda Rubenstein is currently the Krieble Professor of Chemistry at Brown University. She was named to Popular Science magazine’s 2021 Brilliant 10 list of the top early career scientists and C&EN’s 2019 Talented 12 list of early career chemists, and she has received a number of research and teaching honors including the Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award, a Cottrell Teacher Scholar Award, and a Sloan Research Fellowship. While the focus of her work is on developing new electronic structure methods, she is also deeply engaged in rethinking computing architectures and computational biophysics. Prior to arriving at Brown, she was a Lawrence Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She received her Sc.B.s in chemical physics and applied mathematics at Brown University, her M.Phil. in computational chemistry while a Churchill Scholar at the University of Cambridge, and her Ph.D. in chemical physics at Columbia University. Brenda is an avid basketball fan and is likely either hiking the Whites or singing to the Cars with her son when not thinking about crazy ideas.