The Boeing Quantum Creators Prize recognizes early-career researchers for work that moves the field of quantum information science and engineering in new directions. The program began in 2021 and expanded in 2023 thanks to a commitment from Boeing. Prize awardees participate in the annual Quantum Creators Prize Symposium, receive a monetary honorarium, a certificate, and reimbursed travel to the annual Chicago Quantum Summit.
The 2025 Quantum Creators Prize Symposium will be held as part of the Chicago Quantum Summit on November 3 – 4, 2025.
Seokjin Bae
Role: Postdoctoral researcher
Institution: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Bio: Seokjin Bae is a postdoctoral researcher at UIUC working with Prof. Vidya Madhavan. He earned his Ph.D. from University of Maryland in Prof. Steven Anlage’s group. He has developed an ultrafast scanning tunneling microscope and has been investigating ultrafast light-matter interaction at atomic scale in quantum materials.
Margarita Davydova
Role: Postdoctoral fellow
Institution: California Institute of Technology
Bio: Margarita Davydova is a Burke postdoctoral fellow at Caltech. Her recent work explores physics-inspired approaches to fault-tolerant quantum computation, quantum error correction, and robust dynamical phases of matter. Margarita earned her Ph.D. from MIT.
Uma Girish
Role: Postdoctoral research scientist
Institution: Columbia University
Bio: Uma Girish is a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University hosted by Professor Henry Yuen. She received her PhD from Princeton University advised by Professor Ran Raz. Her research focuses on the interplay between quantum computing, quantum complexity theory and the analysis of Boolean functions.
Connor Holland
Role: Graduate student
Institution: Princeton University
Bio: Connor Holland is a graduate student working with Lawrence Cheuk at Princeton. During his PhD, he helped develop a new quantum science platform utilizing individual polar molecules trapped in reconfigurable optical tweezer arrays. He is broadly interested in leveraging the rich internal structure provided by multi-level quantum systems—such as molecules—to extend the capabilities of near-term quantum simulators.
Guanhao Huang
Role: Postdoctoral fellow
Institution: Harvard University
Bio: Guanhao Huang is an SNSF Postdoc Mobility Fellow and Aramont Fellow in Prof. Marko Lončar’s group at Harvard University. His research develops ultralow-loss diamond nanomechanical platforms for quantum sensing and tabletop tests of gravity. He received his PhD in Physics from EPFL with Prof. Tobias Kippenberg, where he demonstrated room-temperature quantum optomechanics and advanced integrated free-electron quantum optics.
Barbara Maria Latacz
Role: Junior research scientist
Institution: CERN
Bio: Barbara Maria Latacz is a junior research scientist at CERN. Since 2020, she has been a member of the BASE Collaboration, working in Prof. Stefan Ulmer’s group on the development of new quantum-limited technologies for measuring the antiproton magnetic moment. Prior to joining BASE, she completed her PhD in 2019 within the GBAR Collaboration, where her research focused on antihydrogen production.
Francesco Anna Mele
Role: PhD student
Institution: Scuola Normale Superiore
Bio: Francesco Anna Mele is a PhD student at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, Italy, supervised by Vittorio Giovannetti and co-supervised by Ludovico Lami. His research interests include all aspects of quantum information and computation, with particular expertise in continuous-variable systems, quantum learning theory, and quantum Shannon theory.
Josephine Meyer
Role: PhD student
Institution: University of Colorado Boulder
Bio: Josephine Meyer received her Ph.D. in Physics Education Research from the University of Colorado Boulder in May 2025 specializing in the teaching and learning of quantum computing and quantum information science. She is an internationally-recognized advocate for the responsible development of quantum technologies and the integration of holistic, research-based pedagogies in the Quantum 2.0 classroom from the beginning.
Hong Qiao
Role: Postdoctoral researcher
Institution: University of Chicago
Bio: Hong Qiao is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago, where he earned his PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering under the supervision of Professor Andrew Cleland. His research focuses on developing hybrid quantum computing platforms that integrate acoustic phonons with superconducting qubits.
Rhine Samajdar
Role: Postdoctoral fellow
Institution: Princeton University
Bio: Rhine Samajdar is a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University. His research lies at the interface of quantum information science and condensed matter physics. Samajdar earned his PhD from Harvard University in 2022, working on quantum simulation with neutral atom arrays.
Mehmet Tuna Uysal
Role: Postdoctoral researcher
Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bio: Mehmet Tuna Uysal is a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology working with Professor Vladan Vuletic. He received his PhD from Princeton University in Professor Jeff Thompson’s group in 2025. His work explores photonic interfaces for atomic systems and entanglement generation with solid-state qubits for quantum network applications.
Chuankun Zhang
Role: Postdoctoral scholar
Institution: California Institute of Technology
Bio: Chuankun Zhang recently completed his PhD at JILA/University of Colorado, Boulder with Jun Ye. Using a custom-developed VUV frequency comb, he demonstrated quantum-state-resolved thorium-229 nuclear spectroscopy to realize a solid-state optical clock. Now an IQIM postdoc at Caltech with Andrei Faraon, he is focused on crystalline platforms hosting narrow resonances for precision metrology and quantum technologies.
View Previous winners
- 2024 Boeing Quantum Creators Prize Winners
- 2023 Boeing Quantum Creators Prize Winners
- 2022 Boeing Quantum Creators Prize Winners
- 2021 Boeing Quantum Creators Prize Winners
Questions can be directed to quantum@uchicago.edu.