Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Associate Professor Sufei Shi has been awarded a $1.3 million grant over five years from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to pursue research goals focused on quantum simulation. The funding, part of the Foundation’s Experimental Physics Investigators program, is intended to establish a flexible and scalable platform for quantum simulation.
The research leverages moiré superlattices, created by precisely aligning atomically thin materials, to confine and tune exciton behavior using electric fields. Shi’s planned research will take two complementary approaches: trapping large, highly excited excitons using advanced nanofabrication, and controlling exciton behavior through moiré patterns. This method is intended to enable scalable and flexible simulations of complex quantum systems, which are currently challenging for classical computation.
The research focuses on strongly interacting quantum systems, such as those underlying superconductors and quantum computers. This work, which draws on multidisciplinary expertise in condensed matter and atomic physics, could inform the design of next-generation quantum devices in fields such as quantum optoelectronics and information processing.
Read the full announcement here.
October 9, 2025
