Since 2023, Yingkai Ouyang has been an EPSRC Quantum Technologies Fellow at the University of Sheffield. Previously, Yingkai was a postdoc with Marco Tomamichel, Earl Campbell, and Joseph Fitzsimons. Yingkai graduated with a PhD from the University of Waterloo (in Combinatorics and Optimization) with Debbie Leung, and did a Bachelors in Physics in Caltech.
Yingkai's core competency lies in quantum error correction and mathematical optimisation theory. Quantum systems are fragile. To maximise the potential of existing quantum hardware, it is pertinent to optimise their performance subject to practical and realistic constraints. Yingkai's primary speciality within quantum error correction lies in constructing bespoke quantum error correction codes that satisfy prescribed physical constraints. A prominent example of such codes are permutation-invariant quantum codes, which are invariant under any permutation of the underlying qubits. Such quantum codes can be optimised for quantum applications such as quantum sensors, amongst the multitude of quantum technologies. We like to bring theoretical constructions closer to reality, and so our theory is informed by experimental needs.
In our research group at Sheffield, we focus on the theory and the intersection of quantum error correction as well as quantum metrology. In particular, we are interested in a diverse range of topics in quantum computing, such as
1) Quantum error correction
2) Quantum metrology, especially in the multiparameter estimation setting
3) Quantum information tasks, such as learning
4) Quantum cryptography: applications of quantum homomorphic encryption with information-theoretic security
We are also part of the UK Quantum Computing Hub.
Postdoc:
Kao-Yueh Kuo
PhD Student:
Lewis Bulled