CQE Student Feature – Agnes Villanyi (Agi) 

Research group name: MIT CSAIL Theory of Computation Group

Research Advisor: Anand Natarajan and Martin Rinard

Hometown, Country: Framingham, MA, USA

Academic History Prior to coming to MIT: BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT

What brought you to MIT? I became interested in quantum information theory during my sophomore year of undergrad, when I took 6.S089: Introduction to Quantum Computing. I then decided to stay here for graduate school because of MIT’s diverse set of opportunities in the field of quantum computing.

What interests you most about your research? It is a very exciting time to be in the field of quantum computation. While substantial progress has already been made, many fundamental questions remain open. For example, the same quantum resources that offer exponential algorithmic speedups also contribute to inherent difficulties in the delegation of quantum computations and the design of programming paradigms, which are the focus of my research. Results in this area have both a practical and philosophical flavor to it, which I find fascinating, and I really enjoy the interdisciplinary nature of chasing solutions to these open problems! 

What are your future plans: My goal is to continue in academia and become a professor. I find both research and teaching to be extremeley rewarding, so I would really enjoy this career path. I am also interested in eventually becoming involved with entrepreneurship in quantum computation.