Quantum BC Seminar Series - Dr. Irina Paci
2025-11-04 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Vancouver)
Quantum BC Seminar Series Tuesday, November 4, 2025 at 2pm BC Time with Dr. Irina Paci
Join on Zoom: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/69443327772?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 694 4332 7772 Passcode: [REDACTED]
Join in Person at UVic: ELL 305
Seminar Title: Computational Modelling of Polarization in Quantum Materials
Seminar Abstract: Polarization links atomic-scale charge rearrangements to the emergent behavior of quantum materials, underlying dielectric and optical response, charge noise and qubit coherence. In this talk, I will outline how first-principles calculations can capture these effects, moving from the modern Berry-phase theory of polarization to its practical implementation in density-functional and finite-field formalisms. I will discuss recent literature as well as our group’s work in understanding how polarization evolves at surfaces, interfaces, and low-symmetry environments relevant in quantum applications. Applications of theory to oxide-based dielectrics and ferroelectrics and their heterostructures illustrate how computed polarization differences, local dipoles, and defect-induced fields relate to measurable quantities. I will conclude with ongoing efforts in our group to use data-driven modeling to identify low-noise, polarization-tunable materials for quantum technologies.

Short biography: Irina Paci is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Victoria. She completed her B.Sc. in Iași, Romania, and earned her Ph.D. at Queen’s University in Kingston, where she developed integral equation theories for liquids with low symmetry, including chiral and nematic systems. In 2004, she joined Northwestern University as a postdoctoral fellow with Mark Ratner, working on topics ranging from singlet fission processes for solar cells to self-assembled nanodielectrics and dip-pen nanolithography.
Since establishing her group at the University of Victoria in 2007, Dr. Paci has focused on developing and applying computational and theoretical methods for complex, nanostructured materials. Her group investigates polarization and optoelectronic response in metal and metal-oxide systems, with the dual goals of improving theoretical methodologies and guiding materials design for specific applications. A complementary research direction explores molecular and precursor deposition on metallic and oxide substrates, combining quantum-level investigations of binding and structure with mesoscale simulations to connect local interactions to macroscopic behavior.

Comm^2 Workshop
2025-11-13 - 2025-11-14 | University of British Columbia, Macleod Room 3038, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Workshop
2025-11-26 13:30 - 16:30
Our annual online EDI workshop will take place on Wednesday, November 26 from 1:30 to 4:30pm. To find out more and register please email bahiyyih.peters@ubc.ca

Quantum BC Seminar Series - Dr. James Brown
2026-01-13 13:30 - 14:30
Quantum BC Seminar Series Tuesday, January 13, 2026 at 1:30pm BC Time with Dr. James Brown
Please note the earlier start time at 1:30pm

Title: Empowering Quantum Research and Education: New Algorithmic Approaches and the qBraid Platform.
Abstract:
This talk presents recent advances in quantum computing research at qBraid alongside practical tools designed to accelerate both research and education in quantum computing. The first half of the talk will explore three cutting-edge research directions that address key challenges in quantum algorithms and molecular simulation. These include 1)An onion quantum reservoir computing (QRC) architecture for time-series prediction, inspired by classical echo state networks. By simultaneously evolving multiple quantum reservoirs that capture different temporal scales through controlled eigenvalue spectrum manipulation, we achieve superior performance in predicting aluminum alloy degradation under varying environmental conditions while maintaining shallow circuit depths suitable for current NISQ devices. 2)Improvements to the Generalized Superfast Encoding (GSE), a Fermion-to-qubit mapping designed for molecular Hamiltonians. Through path optimization, multi-edge graph structures for enhanced error detection, and efficient stabilizer measurement frameworks, our approach significantly outperforms traditional mappings like Jordan-Wigner and Bravyi-Kitaev. 3) We examine Hamiltonian transformations inspired by Qubit Coupled Cluster (QCC) methods that generate Clifford transformations deterministically. These techniques produce efficient classical approximations with accuracy between MP2 and CISD while significantly reducing entanglement, enabling improved DMRG calculations and low-depth VQE circuits with reduced CNOT counts. The second half of the talk will feature a live demonstration of the qBraid platform, which provides seamless access to GPUs, CPUs, and QPUs, alongside qBook—an interactive, web-based notebook environment designed to transform quantum computing education. These tools lower barriers to entry for students and researchers across the Quantum BC consortium institutions, enabling hands-on exploration of quantum algorithms and immediate implementation of cutting-edge research techniques.

Bio : I am a research scientist and software developer who develops and implements methods to calculate properties of materials using both classical and quantum/ quantum-inspired algorithms. I have published about methods to calculate a broad range of material properties including molecular vibrations, vibronic dynamics and electronic structure.

Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=q0R3tm8AAAAJ&hl=en)
Open-Source Software developed from research.
Tangelo (https://github.com/goodchemistryco/Tangelo)
TDDFTinversion (https://github.com/brownj42/TDDFTinversion)
Join on Zoom: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/69443327772?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 694 4332 7772 Passcode: [REDACTED]

Quantum BC Seminar Series - Jinyang Li from RIKEN
2026-02-10 14:00 - 15:00
Quantum BC Seminar Series Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 2:00pm BC Time with Jinyang Li
Join on Zoom: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/69443327772?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 694 4332 7772 Passcode: [REDACTED]

Seminar Title: Neural Operator Learning in Quantum Simulations

Seminar Abstract:
Simulating the real-time operator dynamics is crucial to characterize quantum many-body systems. The simulation can be performed efficiently using quantum computers and potentially exhibiting a practical quantum advantage over classical computers. However, due to decoherence in quantum simulators, the operator dynamics is limited within a short evolution time, such that the quantum systems are characterized with low accuracy. On the other hand, given the short-time data, neural networks with physics priors can potentially learn the operator dynamics and predict the long-time behavior. In this work, we implement neural ordinary differential equations (Neural ODEs) to learn the intrinsic dynamics from the short-time signal and extract physical kernels. By exploiting physical symmetries and locality, it reduces complexity while retaining essential operator dynamics. Our method provides a scalable and data-efficient avenue to characterize quantum many-body systems using noisy quantum computers where long-time dynamics is unavailable.

Short Bio:
Junior Research Associate, Division of Fundamental Mathematical Science, RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS)
Student Trainee, Division of Fundamental Mathematical Science, RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS) (concurrent)
My research at ITHEMS aligns with Quantum computing and machine learning. I have experience in optical quantum sensors and QCD thermal history.
Recently, I have become interested in utilizing both quantum and computer techniques to figure out some hints of underlying physics rules that are hard to discover directly. I am also interested in how closely a ML model can imitate a human, or more precisely, a physicist. For example, using ML method to study the intrinsic dynamics of a quantum process and make a long-term prediction.

Quantum Days
2026-02-18 - 2026-02-20 | Victoria Conference Centre
Join us for this annual event happening right here in BC!

Quantum Days 2026
Victoria Conference Centre
February 18-20, 2026
Details: https://2026.quantumdays.ca/

Quantum BC Seminar Series - Dr. Wojtek Fedorko
2026-04-14 14:00 - 15:00
Quantum BC Seminar Series Tuesday, April 14, 2026 at 2:00pm BC Time with Dr. Wojtek Fedorko (Triumf)
Join on Zoom: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/69443327772?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 694 4332 7772 Passcode: [REDACTED]

Quantum BC Research Day at the University of Victoria
2026-04-24 10:00 - 17:00 | University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada
Please join us for the 4th annual Quantum BC Research Day, taking place at the University of Victoria on Friday, April 24, 2026 from 10am to 5pm.

Register Here for Quantum BC Research Day 2026 at UVic

QBC Seminar with Tristan Zaborniak
2026-05-12 14:00 - 15:00
Quantum BC Seminar Series Tuesday, May 12, 2026 at 2:00pm BC Time with Tristan Zaborniak (University of Victoria)
Join on Zoom: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/69443327772?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 694 4332 7772 Passcode: [REDACTED]

Roadmapping Workshop
2026-05-21 - 2026-05-22
This annual workshop is tailored to students in quantum computing.
This year will take place at SFU Burnaby Mountain in the Physics department on May 21-22, 2026.
Register Here to attend the Roadmapping Workshop 2026

Quantum BC Seminar Series - Dr. Stepan Formichev
2026-08-11 14:00 - 15:00
Quantum BC Seminar Series Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 2:00pm BC Time with Dr. Stepan Formichev (Xanadu)
Join on Zoom: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/69443327772?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 694 4332 7772 Passcode: [REDACTED]
