Undergraduate Summer Placements

Summer research opportunities for undergraduate students.

The UCL EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Quantum Computation and Quantum Communications offers paid summer research placement opportunities for undergraduate students. These placements are an excellent way for students to gain experience working in a lab on a research project and obtain research experience during the summer months. During the project, you will be based within the research group of your academic supervisor and provided with relevant training as required.

Each summer we are offering research bursaries to work on projects of up to 8 weeks with academic staff and PhD students from the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training. These projects will provide direct and relevant research experience to interested undergraduates. The projects are especially beneficial to students who are considering doing a PhD and want to get a better understanding of what doing research in quantum technologies involves. Previous experience is not required, only enthusiasm and the intention to learn.

The key details:

• Placement Length: Up to 8 weeks
• Placement Dates: Between June and August 2025
• Location: UCL, Bloomsbury, London
• Funding: Placements include a bursary of £3437 (£1718.50 per month) 
• Pubication of projects: Thursday 6th February 2025
• Applications will open on Thursday 6th February 2025
• Application Deadline: 17:00 (UTC) Wednesday 2nd April 2025

Project 1: Using electron spins in diamond for ultrasensitive disease diagnostics

We have pioneered the use of quantum defects (nitrogen-vacancy centres) in nanodiamonds to produce a significant improvement in the sensitivity of lateral flow diagnostic tests. We do this via the optical readout and microwave-based control of the electron spin states associated with the nitrogen-vacancy centre. This versatile system has biosensing applications in detecting disease biomarkers, and biophysical measurements. Our interdisciplinary team combines researchers with expertise in Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, and Physics to tackle the broad set of challenges in the development and optimization of these technologies.

The student’s project could consist of some combination of the following, depending on the student’s interests:

• A literature review of the relevant techniques, possibly including spin readout techniques, biochemistry/receptor ligand kinetics, optics, instrumentation.
• Training in performing optical and diamond spin-based modulation measurements on a microscope and/or optics bench.
• Optimization of protocols including pulse schemes and bias field.
• Optics, instrumentation, and automation (python).
• Training in assay development.
• Training in conjugating nanodiamonds with biomolecules for lateral flow based assays.
• Training in microwave systems engineering.
• 3D computer aided design, 3D printing, and optical device design.
• Performing some characteristic spin measurements of nanodiamonds on lateral flow assays and/or bare particle measurements.
• Data analysis of time dependent fluorescent signals from the nanodiamond

We would expect the outcome to be a combination of the literature review and a summary and analysis of some of the measurements taken.

Essential

A good understanding of solid-state physics and quantum mechanics Coding proficiency (Matlab or Python)

 

Desirable

Experience with optical systems Experience in a wet lab Chemistry and/or a Biology A level

• The ability to learn and understand techniques from a broad set of disciplines

Project 2: Peeking through a wormhole: Unruh-DeWitt detectors in the study of wormhole solutions

This is a new research direction, tangent to the main work done by the PhD student. However, it builds upon his experience with Unruh-DeWitt detectors from his MSci project which was on the use of particle detectors in the study of black holes.

Traversable wormholes are a class of solutions of general relativity where two distant regions of spacetime are joined by a “shortcut”. From a point of view of an outside observer an object falling through a wormhole can appear to travel faster than light, but in reality it follows an inertial trajectory with constant speed with no violation of relativity. The goal of this project is to investigate the response of a particle (Unruh-DeWitt) detector travelling through a wormhole and “seeing” a quantum field living in the spacetime. This work would generalize previous attempt at this problem [1] to more realistic wormholes with non-vanishing throat length and would utilize techniques from quantum optics and open quantum systems to investigate the evolution of the detector, following [2-5]. The first steps are finding the quantum field on the given background and it’s two-point correlation function. Then, one may compute the evolution of the detector. Possible interesting extensions of this project, which could be considered if time allows, include: coupling the detector to the exotic matter which holds the wormhole, or considering two wormholes in a configuration that allows time travel. The first extension is based on the idea that traversable wormholes are protected against collapse by some unknown exotic matter of certain special properties. One could attempt to quantize it and use the detector to investigate it. The second extension uses the fact that certain dynamical configurations of wormholes can be used to construct closed timelike curves which allow travel to the past without violating rules of general relativity. The results can be compared to a study of Unruh-DeWitt detectors in spacetimes with closed timelike curves done by one of our collaborators [6].

Essential skills:

• Very good understanding of quantum mechanics in its modern formulation, i.e. familiarity with the Dirac notation, harmonic oscillator, second quantization, notion of vacuum and creation/annihilation operators.
• Very good understanding of special relativity.
• Mathematical methods: partial differential equations using analytical methods.

Preferred skills:

• Quantum field theory. It is our understanding that it is likely that the candidate would not have done a course on QFT before the internship, thus we would allow time to learn it during the project. However, for best results, it is recommended that the candidate attempts to read on it beforehand. The project will only involve a scalar field – Klein-Gordon. Good starting points are: M. Peskin, D. Shroeder “An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory”, Chap. 2, N. Birrel, P. Davies “Quantum fields in curved space”, Chap. 2-5, with emphasis on chapters 2,3.
• General relativity. Similar case to QFT, however, wormhole solutions are known for their simplicity and thus equations of motion will to a large extent be reduced to special relativity. Thus, it’s been proposed that they are used as a tool to teach GR: M. Morris, K. Thorne “Wormholes in spacetime and their use for interstellar travel: A tool for teaching general relativity”. For more in depth introduction, see first few chapters of S. Carrol “Spacetime and Geometry. An Introduction to General Relativity”.
• Quantum optics, open quantum systems, Markovian quantum dynamics. The part of work that requires these tools is the last step of the project, thus one should prioritize QFT and GR. A good source is H. Breuer, F. Petruccione “The Theory of Open Quantum Systems”.
• Complex analysis, contour integrals, residue theorem. These concepts are essential for some of the computations, however, they can be learnt in due course. This is covered for example in K. Riley, M. Hobson, S. Bence “Mathematical methods for physics and engineering”.

Project 3: Using Machine Learning techniques for Trapped-Atomic Ions Simulation

Trapped atomic ions are a strong candidate for quantum computation and simulating physical problems. Alkaline metals, like Ytterbium, are ideal due to hyperfine splitting and stable states. The Mølmer-Sørensen (MS) scheme enables simulating spin models, including the Ising, XY, and XYZ Heisenberg models. The process begins by initialising a linear ion arrangement in a trap using Coulomb and trapping potentials. The MS scheme employs individual and counter-propagating global beams to generate beat-note detunings, determining spin couplings. This project focuses on optimizing MS scheme parameters, such as frequencies and detunings, to improve the versatility of spin model simulations.

This student will address the inverse problem of optimizing parameters in the Mølmer-Sørensen (MS) scheme to simulate spin models accurately. Specifically, it focuses on determining the optimal Rabi frequencies (Ωn) (Rabi frequencies Ωi from the laser beams acting on the ions) for beat-note detunings (μn) (frequencies of the bi-chromatic laser beams and the global beam) using the interaction graph (Jij) from the Ising model . However, the relationship between the interaction graph and Rabi frequencies is highly non-linear, making conventional analytical solutions challenging.

To tackle this, a machine learning approach will be required, leveraging its effectiveness in solving inverse problems by identifying patterns in data. Previous research has demonstrated that machine learning can approximate inverse relations successfully, making it a promising tool for parameter optimization in quantum simulations. Several machine learning architectures will be explored, extending previous work and assessing new models for improved accuracy and efficiency.

By refining these models, this project aims to enhance the precision and scalability of trapped-ion simulations for spin models, including the Ising, XY, and XYZ Heisenberg models. The ultimate goal is to develop an optimised framework that allows for efficient simulation of quantum spin interactions, contributing to advancements in quantum computation and quantum many-body physics.

Essential Skills

• Python,
• Basic machine learning skill

Eligibility criteria

To apply for these placements:

• You must be enrolled on an undergraduate degree programme at a UK university (e.g. BSc, BEng, MSci, MEng)
• You must currently either be in the second year of a three-year course or the third year of a four-year course
• You cannot also apply for admission to the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training’s PhD programme this year
• No previous experience is required: we welcome applications from students who have not done an internship or research placement before

We particularly welcome applications from women, people with disabilities, and candidates from minority ethnic and socially disadvantaged groups as they are under-represented within STEM disciplines. UCL is committed to equality of opportunity, supports and encourages under-represented groups, and values diversity.