Dr. Steven Rayan DPhil (Oxford)

I am a Professor and NSERC, NFRF, and CFI-supported researcher in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Saskatchewan, which is located on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. I am a faculty member of both the College of Arts and Science and the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. In Arts and Science, I hold the role of Interim Vice-Dean of Research, Scholarly, and Artistic Work (RSAW). In addition to my Full Professor role in Mathematics, I am also an Associate Faculty Member in the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics. I also serve as the Lead for the University's Signature Area of Research in Quantum Innovation and as the Director of the Centre for Quantum Topology and Its Applications (quanTA).  I am also a member of Quantum Software Consortium Canada, an NSERC Alliance Quantum Consortium.  Finally, I am a paper track co-chair for the Quantum End-to-End Hybrid Use Case Studies (QECS) track within the IEEE Quantum Week conference.

Regarding my research, I am a mathematician and quantum scientist working across multiple areas and questions, including:

• the categorification of spaces and structures from quantum field theory and high-energy physics, relying upon algebraic, topological, geometric, and representation-theoretic perspectives
• quantum foundations, including theoretical aspects of quantum information and quantum matter, as well as the formulation of related quantum experiments
• fundamental and applied aspects of quantum technologies, including the design and benchmarking of quantum computing and sensing hardware, methodologies for quantum error correction, and the formulation of quantum algorithms for both their theoretical value and their utility in real-world use cases

I am heavily invested in various aspects of quantum computing, which is where many of the threads of my research converge, from mathematics to physics and from theory to applications.

You can read an overview of my research or you can view my papers directly. If you want to learn about some of my research and also see cartoons of hedgehogs at the same time, please have a look at Higgs Bundles without Geometry, a pamphlet that I wrote with Laura Schaposnik for the Oberwolfach Snapshots of Modern Mathematics series, which is "designed to promote the understanding and appreciation of modern mathematics and mathematical research in the interested public world-wide." You can also check out my TED^x talk about the mathematics and art behind quantum magic.

I was invited by the Canadian Science Policy Centre to write about grand challenges around quantum innovation in the current decade. You can read my article on page 39 of the 2020 edition of the Canadian Science Policy Magazine.

I am also an editor of the journal Research in the Mathematical Sciences, an affiliate faculty member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and a member of the NSF GEAR Network and Geometry Labs United.