Raphael Pooser

Dr. Pooser is an expert in quantum information science with emphasis in quantum computing and quantum sensing. He currently leads the Quantum Computing Testbed Pathfinder project at ORNL, a large multi institution collaboration. This project develops benchmarks for quantum computers, and seeks to determine the feasibility of running scientific applications on noisy intermediate scale devices. The project has produced the first quantum benchmark suite based on quantum chemical computations, demonstrations of quantum field theory applications, and the first nuclear physics bound state calculations on a quantum computer. He has also developed a quantum sensing program from the ground up based on quantum networks over a number of years at ORNL. He has been working to demonstrate that continuous variable quantum optics, quantum noise reduction in particular, has important uses in quantum control and error correction and are directly applicable to both quantum computing and sensing efforts. A number of demonstrations over the past decade have demonstrated the broad, practical applicability of quantum noise reduction. Dr. Pooser has over 16 years of quantum information science experience, having led the quantum sensing program at ORNL over the past eight. Dr. Pooser publishes in high impact journals, including in Science, Nature, and Physical Review Letters. He previously served as a distinguished Wigner Fellow. He also worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Laser Cooling and Trapping Group at NIST after receiving his PhD in Engineering Physics from the University of Virginia. He received a B.S. in Physics from New York University, graduating Cum Laude on an accelerated schedule. Dr. Pooser is active in the community, having served as a spokesperson for United Way and for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the TN Valley on many occasions in addition to volunteer work.