Saikat Das

Physics PhD student @ USC (Levenson-Falk Lab)

Los Angeles, California, United States

About

I am a Physics PhD student at the University of Southern California working in the Levenson-Falk Lab, which focuses on quantum computing using superconducting circuits.

Experience

  • Graduate Student Intern at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    May 2026 - Present · 2 mos

    Quantum Coherent Device Physics Lab. Mentored by Dr. Alessandro Castelli

  • University of Southern California (1 yr 11 mos)
    • Graduate Research Assistant
      May 2025 - Present · 1 yr 2 mos

      Research assistant in the Levenson-Falk Lab. Our research focuses on the use of superconducting circuits and resonant cavities for quantum computing, quantum simulation, precision measurement, and foundational physics research.

    • Teaching Assistant
      Aug 2025 - Dec 2025 · 5 mos

      Teaching assistant for undergraduate Quantum Mechanics in the Physics department.

    • Teaching Assistant
      Aug 2024 - May 2025 · 10 mos

  • Research Intern at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
    Sep 2022 - Dec 2022 · 4 mos

    • Studied under Prof. Heung-Sun Sim, KAIST. • Studied the theory of topological quantum computing using Majorana fermions, focusing on one- and two-dimensional superconductor-based physical realizations. • Analyzed the physical braiding schemes and techniques for quantum gates required to achieve universal quantum computing, specifically the Hadamard and CNOT gates. • Created and analyzed scalable designs and the practicality of such designs in emulating complex quantum gates.

  • Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Daejeon, South Korea)
    • Research Intern
      Sep 2021 - Dec 2021 · 4 mos

      • Studied under Prof. Heung-Sun Sim, KAIST. • Studied the theory of topological quantum computing using Majorana fermions, focusing on one- and two-dimensional superconductor-based physical realizations. • Analyzed the physical braiding schemes and techniques for quantum gates required to achieve universal quantum computing, specifically the Hadamard and CNOT gates. • Created and analyzed scalable designs and the practicality of such designs in emulating complex quantum gates.

    • Research Intern
      Jun 2021 - Aug 2021 · 3 mos

      • Studied under Prof. Hyoung-Soon Choi, KAIST • Explored the theory behind quantum fluids, including the Gross-Pitaevskii Model of the Bose-Einstein condensate, solitons, and vortices.

  • KAIST International Student Association (Daejeon, South Korea · On-site)
    • Team Leader of Web Division
      Mar 2020 - Jun 2021 · 1 yr 4 mos

      • Built a new website for KISA (https://kisa.kaist.ac.kr/) using the Django Python framework as the backend and Bootstrap JS framework as the front end. • Specifically worked on a new design for the website, an event scheduling application, a blogging application, and an election voting application for university students to use.

    • Web Developer
      Sep 2019 - Feb 2020 · 6 mos

      • Built aspects of the old KISA website using the Django Python framework as the backend, jQuery, and Bulma as a frontend CSS framework. • Specifically worked on a blogging application for university students to use.

    • Team Leader of Finance Division
      Mar 2019 - Aug 2019 · 6 mos

      • Supervised the workings of the Finance Division • Organized the smooth operation of large events like the International Food Festival.