Scholar Highlight

Scholar discovers her passion, right on time

Kirsten Apodaca — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:15:33 +0000

Scholar discovers her passion, right on time Kirsten Apodaca Thu, 02/19/2026 - 08:15

Kirsten Apodaca

Megan Thompson

For as long as she can remember, Megan Thompson wanted to study something science related. Fast forward to her senior year as a double-major in physics and math at С�� Boulder, she is fully immersed in the sciences and has found her passion—precision time measurement.

The path that led her to time metrology and precision time measurement was shaped by several pivotal moments, each bringing her closer to the research field she enjoys today.

In middle school, Thompson considered studying aerospace engineering but soon realized she was more interested in the physics behind how everything works.

In high school, she participated in a Saturday morning lecture series hosted by Fermilab. “They had different experimentalists and theorists talk about their research, and that’s when it hit me. I remember thinking ‘that’s what I want to do,’” she says.

After applying to several universities, Thompson chose С�� Boulder—and now feels very lucky she did. Growing up in Colorado and with family ties to С�� Boulder, she was familiar with the campus. But, as she recalls, “I had no idea how good the physics program was until I actually came to С�� Boulder.”

Quantum Scholars sparks an interest

During her freshman year, Thompson attended the Physics and Quantum Career & Internship Fair. There, she spoke with Professor Noah Finkelstein at the Quantum Scholars booth, which sounded like an ideal way to explore different areas of physics and quantum.

“Quantum Scholars seemed like an amazing opportunity to meet people with similar passions and learn more about a field I was interested in,” says Thompson.

She applied and was accepted to the program. Thompson was awarded the Jennifer Turner-Valle Scholars Fellowship, established in honor of the late Dr. Jennifer Turner-Valle, an engineering physics alumna. Thompson said Dr. Turner-Valle’s legacy as a teacher, role model and mentor in the fields of optical engineering and business was inspirational.

At one of the Quantum Scholars meetings, Professor Scott Diddams gave a talk on metrology and precision measurement that sparked Thompson’s interest. She realized that was the research field she wanted to pursue.

Time for research

In spring 2024, thanks in part to connections made by her Academic Advisor Claudia Numan and Professor John Cumalat, Thompson began working on precision time measurement research with Judah Levine, professor adjoint of physics and fellow of JILA and NIST.

A storied scientist with a long legacy in time and frequency, Levine joined what was then known as the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in 1969. It was later renamed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the 1980s. He worked for many years on developing methods for comparing clocks that are only linked by noisy and unreliable channels.

Though Levine is semi-retired, he remains active in the research community—mentoring students, advising on policy, and conducting research. He is currently working on how to connect clocks on the Moon and eventually on Mars, with the existing reference systems on Earth. Early on, Thompson says Levine gave her a stack of papers to read. She pored over them and now meets with him weekly as he continues to guide her research.

“The methods of combining clocks make use of algorithms and statistical methods that are not part of the undergraduate physics curriculum,” says Levine. “Megan has learned to speak a language that is very different from the language heard in the undergraduate physics laboratories.”

Thompson works with a clock ensemble—a series of 32 clocks at NIST. Using computational physics, she analyzes the noise stability of atomic clocks and works to characterize all of the clocks in the ensemble as one entity.

Her work involves modifying an algorithm to estimate the state of a dynamic system from a series of noisy measurements, with the goal of minimizing the variance of estimation error.

“In timekeeping, it’s important to have something as stable and as predictable as possible,” says Thompson. “Without timescales, GPS and cell phones wouldn’t work, and a lot of modern infrastructure would fall apart without the precise understanding of time.”

Levine adds, “apart from the numerous practical applications, the proposed re-definition of the length of the second in terms of an optical-transition frequency depends fundamentally on ensemble techniques that can transform the optical frequency into a lower frequency that can be used in conventional applications.”

Thompson’s next big task? Creating a modified version of the Kalman time scale.

Thompson is currently writing her senior honors thesis on this research, which she plans to defend before graduating this spring.

Reflecting on Quantum Scholars

“I’ve loved being able to learn about the different disciplines of quantum science and engineering from leaders in the field. I wouldn’t have found my current area of interest without Quantum Scholars,” she says.

Quantum Scholars not only helped Thompson find her research area, it also connected her to a community of students pursuing similar interests. As a member of the first cohort, she’s seen the program flourish over the last few years. Thompson says, “I really like the community that’s been built. It’s helped me meet more of my peers.”

Thompson is currently mentoring a younger student through the program’s Alice and Bob mentoring initiative. She also participated in the program’s hackathon during her sophomore year, where her team won first place!

Advice for future students & what’s next

Her top advice for future students? “Go to your professors’ office hours if you can!”

She also highly recommends connecting with academic advisors and faculty when looking for a research position. “Those connections can really help. Even if they’re not in the research field you’re interested in, they can point you in the right direction,” she adds.

After graduating this spring, Thompson plans to pursue a PhD in physics, focusing on optical metrology theory.

How С�� Boulder senior Megan Thompson (Math,Phys'26) found her calling in precision time measurement and the mentors who helped guide her path.

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Kanishka Jayathilake (CompSci,Math'26)

Kirsten Apodaca — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 15:56:58 +0000

Kanishka Jayathilake (CompSci,Math'26) Kirsten Apodaca Fri, 01/30/2026 - 08:56

Mason Hergert

This week we are highlighting Kanishka Jayathilake, a senior double major in Computer Science and Mathematics with a minor in Quantum Engineering! He is also working toward the research-based accelerated masters program in computer science.

Kanishka grew up in Sri Lanka, and first became interested in physics and quantum when he joined an astronomy club in high school. At the club, he was especially drawn to high energy and particle physics. Not long after, he also gained an interest in computer science.

As one can guess, he fell in love with quantum computing, as he loved the intersection between the fields of physics and computer science. He is most fascinated by Quantum Error Correction (QEC), as well as the intersection between quantum information theory and computational complexity.

Kanishka has been involved in research in lattice-based post-quantum cryptography, quantum optimization, and high-performance quantum simulations. Over the years, he has collaborated with several faculty members, but he is currently working with Professor Ramin Ayanzadeh on his honors thesis. His thesis focuses on a quantum annealing-based side channel attack on Module Learning with Errors (MWLE). After graduating, he plans on pursuing a PhD focused on quantum computing.

Kanishka first learned about the Quantum Scholars program when his advisor encouraged him to apply. He first joined in Fall of 2024, so he’s been in the program for nearly two years. He’s loved being part of a community that shares so many interests in the quantum field, across numerous disciplines like physics, engineering, and of course computer science and math. He’s also enjoyed learning more about the different fields utilizing quantum science, such as quantum sensing and quantum gravity.

Outside of classes, Kanishka enjoys reading fantasy; he particularly enjoys novels related to magic, and a favorite book series of his is Game of Thrones. He also reads Sinhalese novels that discuss people’s experiences in Sri Lanka.

When asked what advice he’d give others looking to study quantum science, Kanishka recommends being patient and persistent with learning the sometimes counterintuitive ideas. It’s not a topic that can be understood in a short amount of time, but slowly allowing himself to digest the material has helped Kanishka excel in this research field.

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Eric Rodriguez (Astr,Math'26)

Kirsten Apodaca — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 22:22:59 +0000

Eric Rodriguez (Astr,Math'26) Kirsten Apodaca Thu, 01/15/2026 - 15:22

Zaidee Bennett

This week, we highlight Quantum Scholar Eric Rodriguez, a senior in Astrophysics and Mathematics at С�� Boulder!

Over the last few years, Eric has discovered a love of quantum physics, particularly theoretical and mathematical approaches. Joining Quantum Scholars was a step he took towards making connections with experts in the field and others that might provide him with opportunities. Eric said, with regards to quantum physics, “it is an exciting field in its infancy, and I want to contribute to the growth that it will provide to society in the coming decades.”

In Quantum Scholars, Eric has found a particularly welcoming environment that is friendly to everyone. He has also found it is a great place to begin with making connections, as the program is good at connecting people who do not already have extensive networks. Therefore, the opportunity to meet and connect in a way that inspires success is Eric’s favorite part of the Quantum Scholars program.

Eric is currently involved in a research group that is overseen by Ute C. Herzfeld, a research professor in Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering. Eric works with data from several satellite missions, one of which is called CALIPSO. In his research, he uses a Density-Dimension-Algorithm to analyze atmospheric lidar data.

Once he graduates from his undergraduate program, Eric would love to head outside of the United States, perhaps to Switzerland or Denmark. He is particularly interested in École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and KU in Copenhagen. No matter where he goes, he wants to study quantum science. After that, he wants to either pursue a PhD in quantum science or go into the industry.

Eric likes to ski, hike and run in the mountains. He is also a fan of playing tennis and weightlifting, and he loves to cook Spanish food for his friends and family!

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Carson Griffin (Phys'29)

Kirsten Apodaca — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 22:49:09 +0000

Carson Griffin (Phys'29) Kirsten Apodaca Tue, 12/02/2025 - 15:49

Our next highlight is Carson Griffin, a freshman physics student from West Fargo, North Dakota!

For as long as he can remember, Carson has always been curious about understanding the cause and reasoning behind occurrences in the world, whether it’s events in the universe or human behavior. Naturally, his desire to understand the world led him to studying physics. Since being in college, his love for physics has only grown due to the immense opportunities offered by the С�� Physics Department.

He has taken every opportunity he can find to learn more about physics, going to as many events and talks as possible, whether it’s about atmospheric physics, astrophysics, or, of course, quantum physics. He goes to every conference he can find, including ones in Denver, to simply talk with scientists and learn more about physics.

Quantum science and quantum computing have especially caught his eye, and his time in Quantum Scholars has cemented his desire to jump into the quantum ecosystem in Colorado. He has loved the opportunities to become more familiar with quantum sensing devices for high-precision measurement, such as atomic clocks and frequency combs.

In his free time, Carson enjoys playing video games such as Stardew Valley, Minecraft, and Factorio, and he is learning to play the bass guitar. He also loves watching science and math videos, including 3Blue1Brown’s series on the Essence of Linear Algebra.

In the future, he hopes to pursue research in quantum applications. He especially is interested in exploring applications in quantum encryption and computing.

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Jessie Hsu (CompSci'28)

Kirsten Apodaca — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 19:11:57 +0000

Jessie Hsu (CompSci'28) Kirsten Apodaca Thu, 11/20/2025 - 12:11

Zaidee Bennett

This week we highlight Quantum Scholar Jessie Hsu, a sophomore in computer science at С�� Boulder!

Jessie joined Quantum Scholars to meet others who are interested in quantum theory and computing, two areas that she has always been interested in and was excited to see that Boulder focuses on. She hoped joining Quantum Scholars would help her find more opportunities in the quantum space.

Even though she only joined Quantum Scholars this year, Jessie has had more than enough time to recognize the effort that the board members put into creating new opportunities for the people who are part of the organization. “It's…wild (in a good way) being surrounded by all of these people with crazy cool interests and research,” said Jessie.

Currently, Jessie is working under Richard Terrile–a PhD student in computer science–at the Peleg Lab on East Campus. Their research is focused on “building temporal models of honeycomb structures under geometric frustration” and uses “image processing and data analysis to study their pattern over time,” as Jessie described. She is excited to be doing this research, and it means that she gets to work with bees!

Jessie has recently discovered a passion for cooking, although she isn’t always able to dedicate the time towards it that she’d like to because of school. She’s always loved music and caffeine. Recently, she’s been drinking lots of tea!

Although Jessie has not yet decided what she wants her future to look like, she plans to pursue a higher degree before entering the industry. She’s recently completed an internship in healthcare technology and might consider a career in that field, but she’s also interested in the up-and-coming discoveries of quantum computing.

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Arjun Dalwadi (ElEngr'26)

Kirsten Apodaca — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 20:34:19 +0000

Arjun Dalwadi (ElEngr'26) Kirsten Apodaca Mon, 06/09/2025 - 14:34

Arjun Dalwadi, a third-year electrical and computer engineering student, is immersing himself in all things quantum through the Quantum Scholars program and as an undergraduate researcher in the Gyenis Lab. Dalwadi is on the journey to make an impact for quantum computing.

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